Welcome to Niko’s Blog

The views and opinions expressed in Niko’s blog posts are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Council. Please help us maintain a space that welcomes conversation without allowing for personal attacks.  If we see a disrespectful comment, we will remove it.

My name is Niko Boskovic, and I am so very pleased to be able to share my thoughts and experiences living as an autistic teen.

First, about me: I live in North Portland with my parents and sister, and just graduated with an Oregon high school diploma. I’ve started taking credit classes at PCC, and I work part time at the Hollywood Trader Joe’s where I stock and face products. I’ve wanted to work there since I was fourteen. It’s incredible to earn money on my own!

I’ve been autistic all my life. My earliest memory of being different was when I started kindergarten. The teacher was not welcoming or at all accommodating of my needs. She acted like I was the biggest pain in the history of her teaching experience. I didn’t know how to handle her hostility, so I would stim to comfort myself. That seemed to make matters worse – she would get so frustrated that she would ignore me and tell my aide to deal with me. She was awful to my mom too. She would talk about her to others in front of me as if I couldn’t understand. I really hated her and how she made me feel.