Arizona student with autism reaches his goal of high school graduation

From The Arizona Republic:

With thousands of high-school and college seniors preparing for graduation in the coming weeks, many students have had to face adversity.

One Peoria student, however, faced challenges that most believed he could not overcome.

Greggory Ohannessian, 17, (pictured) is a senior at Centennial High School and just like others in his class, he's excited for graduation. He's even more excited for next year, when he will go to ASU West for college.

He is friendly and offers a firm handshake to anyone he meets, and he's a whiz at math. He wants to study business so he can one day open his own restaurant.

However, he isn't much of a talker and doesn't hold a conversation for too long. He struggles with forming opinions and takes time to answer questions.

When he was 6 years old, he was diagnosed with autism, a brain-development disorder that impairs social interaction and communication.

Despite his autism, he believes he can succeed.

"I feel like I'm ready to go on to the next thing," he said. "I want to go to college so I can complete my goals."

His mother, Kris, is happy for him to graduate, but she is also nervous and worried.

"I am very excited that he's graduating, but the next steps are scary," she said. "We're going to have to start from Square 1 all over again."

It's not the first time that his mother has been worried about Greggory's transitioning into another school.

As a freshman at Centennial High, he had trouble learning in class and doing common tasks. He would be distracted if he was seated behind other students, he often had to reread a sentence several times in order to understand it, and he was shy and timid when interacting with others.

His mother said that most of his challenges are what most people take for granted every day.

"Some things like tying your shoe or holding a conversation is something he couldn't do that we do every day," she said.

At the start of his freshman year, he took classes for the entire school year and into the summer to keep up with his peers.

He would not take those extended-school-year classes for long.

One of those classes helped him become a more confident and better student. A Life Skills class taught by Meghan Schulz, a special-education life-skills teacher and Greggory's case manager, soon became one of his favorite classes.

Schulz said Life Skills, an elective class that focuses on job-readiness skills, helped Greggory learn interviewing and communication skills.

"He made so much growth and progress in the last four years," Schulz said. "He's gone against all odds with a disability that he learned to adapt and live with."

Schulz said he improved on his social communication and even learned how to ask a girl on a date. He's been to two proms but said he hasn't found "the one" yet, although he hopes someday to have a family.

With a newfound confidence, Greggory decided to appear regularly during the high-school announcements as a movie reviewer.

He said movies are something he really enjoys watching as long as it's not a horror movie.

"I really like movies because it makes me feel better about what's going on around me," Greggory said.

He took a step further outside his shell when he petitioned for homecoming king last fall. With the help of his family, friends and teachers, he was presented with the crown during the homecoming football game in front of hundreds.

"High school has been a lot of fun for me, and I couldn't have done it without my family and teachers," Greggory said.

Greggory also was honored and awarded a $1,000 Against All Odds scholarship from the Peoria Education Enrichment Foundation for overcoming physical and life-changing challenges.

Although he has grown much since he started high school, he still has trouble with abstract concepts and forming his own opinions. Schulz said Greggory performs well in math because it's always the same. English, on the other hand, is abstract for him because it's difficult for him to think creatively.

Greggory's mother said that before high school, he was a shy and reserved student, but over four years, he's done things she never thought he could do.

"It's going to be another challenge, but I believe he can do it," she said.