Seeing Past the Autism to the True Person Inside

          I am just about finished reading Carly's Voice. A story about a girl in Toronto who suffers from severe Autism. When you look at Carly, the first thing most people notice is all of her Autistic behaviors. It is not until you take some time  to get to know her that you see her intelligence, sense of humor, and all around great personality. For those of you who have not heard of Carly Fleichmann, she is a now 16 year old girl who is nonverbal, and displays many behaviors that go along with being severely Autistic, such as flapping, rocking, bleating, etc. Carly had been working intensely with therapists since her initial diagnosis, but her inability to communicate prevented her from showing her true abilities. At the age of 12, while working with her therapists, she typed out "HELPTEETHHURT". From then on Carly has not only introduced her family to her true self, but also educated the world about what it really means to be Autistic, and has given a voice to so many people who are not able to use their own. Reading this book has really opened my eyes to what it is really like to have Autism. It has made me that much more sensitive to my students and what they are going through. I have always known that people with Autism have sensory issues, but the way Carly described what was going on with her body,  how her legs feel like they are on fire, and her arms feel like they are crawling with ants, and the only way to relieve those sensations is to bang her body on the table or walls. Carly has written about how frustrating and hurtful is was to be scolded for banging or yelling, when she couldn't help herself or she was doing those things to prevent her body from doing something even more destructive. The way Carly explained how people with Autism filter sounds, and process visuals, shows us that even when they seem like they are in a completely different world, they are still aware of everything that is going on around them. Many people tend to think that people with Autism, especially those who are nonverbal, are not intelligent and do not comprehend the world around them. This is a gross misjudgment and an insult to these people. I have worked with people of many different disabilities and varying degrees of these disabilities, and I treat them all like what they are-people. I talk to them like I would anyone else their age. I have more patience and appreciate that some may need a little more time to process what I am saying, but just because they are in diapers, or cannot speak does not mean they cannot comprehend typical conversation. What is even more disgusting to me is that there are people who claim to be experts that are calling Carly a fraud. They don't believe that it could ever be possible that someone with Autism as severe as hers can have such intelligence and candor. I believe these "experts" should be stripped of their titles and degrees. Especially these so-called "education experts". As an educator you should be steadfast in your belief that everyone can learn and be relentless in your efforts to find ways to teach those who have a hard time excelling with conventional teaching methods. It is not up to us to decide that a student has reached their learning potential, and can no longer learn. It is our DUTY to keep pushing our students to succeed despite the odds and others' low expectations of them.  Why is it so hard for people to believe that people with Autism can be intelligent, well spoken people? Having Autism, means your brain is just wired differently, not defective. In actuality, having Autism gives these people abilities us "neurotypicals" don't have. People with Autism perceive the world differently  than neurotypicals, and in that way they can have a great impact, and can solve problems that we have never been able to solve. When everyone looks at a problem and attacks it from the same viewpoint and perspective, no real solution will ever discovered. Now comes a person who has a different outlook on things. This person is more sensitive to sounds, textures and visuals, and because of this approaches the problem for a different direction, and finds a solution. We need to embrace these differences and do what we can to help those we know who have Autism to overcome their sensory issues and open up and reveal their true selves; their whole person. The old adage, "You can't judge a book by its cover" has never been so appropriate as it is when working with people with Autism, or any other special needs diagnosis.

Celebrating Everyday

          I had an Education professor in college, who used to begin every class asking "What are we celebrating today?" His reasoning was quite simple, whenever you turn on the news or pick up a paper, all you read about is tragedy and scandal, you rarely read/hear any good news. With all the negativity swirling throughout the media, we need to take time out of our daily lives and find something, anything to celebrate. In the beginning of the semester, there was usually a small period of awkward silence, followed by people mentioning family members' birthdays and anniversaries, but the sharing pretty much ended there. As the semester went on, people were more excited to share, and classmates began celebrating one another, and my professor would have to ask some of us to save our celebrations for the next class. I have learned many things in that class, but the one thing that stuck with me the most was celebrating everyday. This idea of celebrating the little things in life, has really helped to prepare me for my career of teaching children with Autism. Working with the students that I have, I have learned to embrace the little victories and celebrate them as if my student won the Nobel Prize.  Last year, I had a student, whom I affectionately nicknamed monster. Monster had just turned 5 in August, he was extremely active, always trying to run, and loved to play in water. He required a sensory diet, in which he would go to the PT/OT room twice a day to jump on the trampoline, climb the stairs, etc in order to help him release his excess energy so he would no longer try and run out of the room, as well as address his sensory needs, so he would stop biting us. When school first started, he could not complete a 3 piece in-set puzzle (he preferred eating them), or even sit for two minutes to complete a task. By his IEP meeting in March, he was completing multiple tasks in one sitting, and was able to complete a 12 piece in-set puzzle (he also drastically cut down on putting non-edibles in his mouth). When his mother came in to my room for the meeting she saw him sitting down doing a puzzle and she was astounded. She could not believe he was sitting, let alone actually doing a puzzle. If a stranger had walked into my room in March, and saw my monster working, they would just assume that he was low, however, if they had seen where he was back in September, and how far he had progressed since then, they would appreciate all he had done. It is vital when working with children with special needs not to grieve over what they can't or probably won't do, but to celebrate their potential as well as what they can do and how far they have come. Obsessing over what a child cannot do, is not helping them in any way, shape or form. Instead we need to find their strengths and use them to help our students reach their full potential. Celebrate the little things in life, and your life will be much fuller.

          I am currently reading Push Has Come to Shove by Dr. Steve Perry. Early on in his book, he tells a story about a student he had while teaching in Strawberry Mansion High School in Philadelphia. This student during a discussion blurted out "How could these teachers teach us when they don't even like us?" Reading this really hit me.We must genuinely care for our students if we want them to reach their potential. Everyone knows the time at the end of the year, when you get your class roster for the following September. The first thing we all do is read the list, see who we know and find out about the students we don't know. This is a time when you can really tell how much a teacher cares about his/her students as well as the passion he/she has about the job. Since, I teach in a school for children with Autism, when a teacher is asked about another student, he/she will talk about any behavior issues the student has, but usually follows up with how to address it. However, what really tells which teachers are there for the right reasons, is when you ask him/her about a "difficult" child, he/she has something positive to say about that student. I was told by my Assistant Principal, that when they put my class roster together, they thought I was going to have a rough class. The behaviors that my guys were known for having added up to a tough year for me. When I first saw my list, I was ecstatic. I knew 3 of my 6 students and knew of 2 more, and was very excited to have them in my class. I was not aware of the "behaviors" that the administration had apparently seen in them. I wasn't aware of my "difficult class" until my AP had told me halfway through the year. It wasn't until I sat down and thought about some issues some of my students had that had the potential to cause a difficult class. The reason I never saw this before, was because a lot of the potential behaviors never came out, and whenever a behavior did happen, we dealt with it and moved on, we don't dwell on the negatives, we focus on the positive. I think the chemistry my paras and I have is a huge factor in the success in our room. We all love what we do and we all genuinely love our kids, even when we are at our wits end with one of them. I think my students can sense that, and because they know we truly care, they feel comfortable enough to relax and let their true selves show. Once that happens, then optimal learning can really occur. My paras and I have made a point to know our kids, what they like, don't like and how they learn best in order to really connect with them. I have one student who loves to sing, especially Lion King songs. Him and I sing together just about everyday, usually alternating between "I Just Can't Wait to be King"(he sings Simba's part and I am Zazu) and Hakuna Matata" (He's Timon and I'm Pumbaa). In October our school held a talent show. I told the music teachers that I wanted him to sing in it, and they were surprised but they agreed. Time came for the talent show and he got up on stage (with me right next to him) and stole the show with "I Just Can't Wait to be King." His past teachers and paras as well as the music teachers were blown away by his performance and came up to me after the show saying how they were so impressed by him and never would have thought he would ever do something like that. My reaction (in my head) was "are you serious?" This little boy loves attention and all he does is sing. The first thing I thought when I first got to know him was he needs to be a soloist in our unit's show (which he will be in May). Every child we will ever come across as teachers, has a special talent, an area where he/she really thrives. It is our job to find that talen, bring it to the forefront, and use it to help that child reach his/her full potential. That way when your students' next year teachers come up and ask you about them, you will have positive things to say.

Spreading Autism Awareness and Celebrating its Impact

         I was going through my Twitter feed today, and realized something. Other than the Autism accounts I follow, there seems to be absolutely no talk of Autism whatsoever. This oversight is not only on Twitter, no other media outlet has done anything to spread awareness. I found this disheartening especially with April being Autism Awareness Month. All throughout Black, Hispanic and even Women's History Months, there have been T.V. and radio commercials celebrating the accomplishments achieved by their respective people. There is no shortage of people on the spectrum who have accomplished very impressive things, and who have had progressive and profound impacts within their respective fields. Why isn't anyone celebrating their accomplishments? Although, Autism has only been discovered and defined relatively recently, it has been around for Centuries with so many influential people who are now believed to have been on the spectrum, going through their lives undiagnosed. Not only can those "The More You Know" spots be used to highlight these achievements, as well as educate people on the recent scientific breakthroughs, the importance of early intervention, the early signs of Autism etc. Even if these PSAs only run throughout the month of April, it will do so much to educate people on Autism as well as debunk some popular myths about Autism. The media has so much power to reach mass amounts of people fairly easily, it should be their duty to use that power to educate the masses about important issues. With the new statistics having just been released, stating that 1 in 88 children have Autism, it is vital that the we urge the media to take advantage of the power of the media to educate the world.

Autism Acceptance and Pride

          Hello all! I know I've been MIA this past week, I was away. I was upset for being gone so long, especially during Autism Awareness Month, since I do have a lot to talk about on the subject, but I know that I'm not only going to speak about Autism during the month of April. As an educator of children with Autism, I think it is extremely important to use this month to spread awareness and educate others about the realities of Autism. That being said, I went to my principal last week suggesting that we do something this month to raise awareness within our school's community. Not only is our school the biggest school for children with Autism, it is made up of "units" placed within general education community schools. I thought it would be nice to educate the gen ed students as well as the community on what Autism is. I proposed we held a walk along with a show to celebrate and showcase our students talents. I wanted to show the gen ed students as well as the community that just because our students have Autism, doesn't mean that they don't have anything to offer to society. My principal seemed to really like my idea, and said that she would speak to the APs of each unit and try and set something up. She asked me to come back and talk to her on Monday. On Monday, I went to see my principal again, and her excitement seemed to have faded a bit. She said that she had spoken to the APs and they had reservations about publicizing the fact that our children have Autism. She said that a lot of our students, especially the ones in inclusion are not aware that they have Autism, and she's not sure that we should make a big deal to tell them. Instead she suggested that I put together a brochure about the facts of Autism to hand out to the gen ed students. I was pretty upset. March was Respect for All Month, and students were taught to celebrate their differences. What better way to follow up that theme than by teaching about Autism, and celebrating the gifts that can come along with it? I understand that people who aren't affected by Autism don't always know anything about it, and most people tend to think of those who are lower functioning especially cognitively. The APs and inclusion teachers were concerned that by telling their students that they have Autism, they will upset and confuse them and ostracize them from their gen ed classmates. While I do understand their reservations, I think it is important that these students know that they have Autism, and take pride in it. As with any disorder, Autism can provide those who are affected with many frustrations. I think by letting them know that they are different thatn their peers can help them understand their issues a little better. It is also important to teach their classmates who are not Autistic, about what it is like being Autistic, so when a behavior arises, or he/she stims or has a sensory issue, they will understand it better. Schools spend so much time celebrating children of different cultures and races, why not focus on abilities? These gen ed students share a school building with my students and that's about where the interaction ends, not including the inclusion students. They have the unique opportunity to learn about, with, and from students with Autism, and yet, we hide the true identity of our students from them. By doing so, we are doing a disservice to everyone involved. It was an inclusion student, a student with Autism who won the last school wide spelling bee against gen ed students. By teaching our inclusion students, and all of our students to take pride in everything that they are, Autism included, and by teaching the gen ed students about Autism  we can unite our two schools that share a building, and allow all students to take pride in themselves "shortcomings" and all.

Autism Awareness Month

Hello all! Happy Autism Awareness Month! I believe that it is extremely important for people to raise awareness about Autism, this and every month throughout the year, especially now that Autism is becoming more and more prevalent. When people think about Autism, they tend think of "low functioning" children with tantrums, behavior issues, sensory issues, and all the negatives and heart breaks that are associated with this disorder. What people fail to see is the positive aspects of Autism and the blessings children with Autism can bring to the world. It is true that families affected by Autism have many obstacles to overcome in life, it is also true, that these same families share in many positive experiences in life as well. Whether it is learning to appreciate the small victories in life, or having a child with Savant abilities, there are so many gifts that come along with Autism. People with Autism see, and experience the world differently than us "neurotypicals". This is not necessarily a bad thing, however. My favorite example to support this statement is Temple Grandin. Temple Grandin completely changed the way the livestock industry treated and viewed their cattle. It was because of her Autism that she was able to design more humane livestock facilities. Because of the sensory issues she dealt with due to her Autism, she was able to relate to the fear and anxiety the livestock felt as they were walking to their slaughter. To minimize the anxiety, she designed facilities that help calm the animals. Like everyone in this world, people with Autism have so much to offer to society, we just need to take the time to discover their talents. Many people on the spectrum thrive in various artistic and mathematical venues. People with Autism see the world differently, and process things in a way we could never imagine. Some of history's greatest minds, such as Albert Einstein Thomas Edison, Beethoven and Abraham Lincoln are believed to have been on the spectrum. Here is a list of famous novelists, inventors visionaries, etc. believed to be on the spectrum http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/article_2086.shtml We need to embrace the gifts that come along with Autism, and not look at it as a curse. Embrace the Amazing!