Asperger's Syndrome Personal Statement

591 Words2 Pages

I was first labeled in second grade, when I was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. The therapist who diagnosed me told my parents that, best case scenario, I would grow up to be an accountant. While accountancy never really appealed to me, I accepted the general idea. I believed that poor social skills were destined to stick with me, all because of that diagnosis. Having accepted this, little eight-year-old me saw no reason to better my social skills, because why should I waste time trying to change my destiny? At some point, however, I realized that I didn’t have to give up. I sat through countless hours in speech therapy at my school, being quizzed on some of the most mind-numbing questions possible, such as “Why is Timmy, who dropped

Show More
Related

  • Call Me Different Not Difficult Summary

    816 Words  | 2 Pages

    Those with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) see the world in a diverse way; teachers and adults need to recognize this. Robison gives examples of his childhood where he misinterpreted information from others including social cues, as well as instructions. He was in these situations punished either socially or academically.

    Read More

  • Comparing Malcolm X And Helen Keller's A Word For Everything

    1228 Words  | 3 Pages

    “It would have been difficult to find a happier child than I was as I lay in my crib at the close of that eventful day and lived over the joys it had brought me, and for the first time longed for a new day to come. I had now the key to all language, and I was eager to learn to use it” (Keller 146). The ability to actually comprehend words and associate those words to thoughts and feelings rejuvenated her. Keller was reborn that day, with a new ‘vision’ and a new direction. What started that day, culminated into Keller becoming the first deaf person to earn a bachelors degree. She learnt to speak and ‘hear’ by following the movements of people’s lips. Keller was extremely hardworking and she personified willpower and diligence by patiently untangling the taboos of society to prove her critics wrong.

    Read More

  • John Elder Robinson's Diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome

    1472 Words  | 3 Pages

    Asperger syndrome belongs to a group of childhood disorders commonly known as pervasive developmental disorders or PDD's. The disorder is recognized as a less severe case of autism. Children who have the disorder have a difficult time in social settings but excel in other areas of inteligence. The disorder is usually a lifelong struggle but has few cases where the patent recovers in adulthood. The disorder is not widely understood by the population but it is becoming a more well known disorder. There is currently no cure for this disorder.

    Read More

  • Leo Kanner And Asperger Syndrome

    801 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 1940’s two doctors in different countries observed children displaying similar behaviors and deficits. One of the doctors was Viennese pediatrician Dr. Hans Asperger and the other was a child psychiatrist named Leo Kanner. Dr. Kanner was the first of the two doctors to report his observations. What he described were behaviors similar to those seen in children with what we call Autistic disorder. The behaviors affected the children’s communication, social interaction and interests. Dr. Asperger later published an article discussing what he dubbed “Autistische Psychpathen im Kindesalter” which translates to “Autistic Psychopathy”. Although some behaviors overlapped, there were differences leading to the belief that these doctors were documenting two different disorders. The two most prevalent were the differences in motor and language abilities (Miller, Ozonoff). Another was Asperger’s belief that his patients were of normal or above average intelligence. It was not until 1994 that Asperger Syndrome was entered into the Diagnostics and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM IV), finally becoming an official diagnosis. At the time, Asperger Syndrome (AS) was labeled as a subcategory of autism along with autistic disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder and pervasive development disorder. Since then, the community of people with Asperger Syndrome has grown to love and better understand the disorder that they live with every day. Some of them have even affectionately named themselves “Aspies”.

    Read More

  • Living with Asperger's Syndrome

    560 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...at comes naturally to most people: listening to others, looking them in the eye, and trying to understand another's point of view. Dr. Attwood believes, "Children with Asperger's Syndrome have the strong desire to have friends while recognizing their considerable difficulties with achieving and maintaining genuine friendships. Many experience ridicule, exclusion, teasing or bullying. Education programs can be used to assist them."

    Read More

  • Removing Asperger's Disorder from the DSM V

    1473 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1944, Asperger’s disorder was first discovered by Hans Asperger who was a child psychologist and pediatrician who described a group of boys between the ages of 6 and 11 as “little professors” because of their interests and use of language (van Duin, Zinkstok, McAlonan & van Amelsvoort, 2014). In the DSM-IV, Asperger’s disorder (AD) refers to individuals who have an average or high IQ, but have difficulty in social interactions, poor communication skills and restricted interests (Wing, Gould & Gillberg, 2010). Another component in the Asperger’s diagnosis in the DSM-IV was that the individual did not meet the full criteria for an Autism diagnosis (Ghaziuddin, 2010). On May 13, 2013 the DSM-V was published, which was followed by extensive controversy surrounding the removal of the Asperger’s diagnosis. Some individuals diagnosed with AD under the DSM-IV prefer that label to being diagnosed as autistic. Additionally, many individuals with AD and their families feared that services would no longer be available to their children. Proponents of removing AD from the DSM-V asserted that there was no reliable difference between AD and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and that combining these disorders would increase reliability and validity.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: My Relationship With Writing

    858 Words  | 2 Pages

    But of course, the voices of my aunts and uncles were always in the back of my head: "you're not smart" , "you're not trying hard enough", "you're not good enough", "just give up". And the fear of failure would make me nervous when a test was around the corner. I couldn’t ask my parents for help because they weren't literate in English and they were only Spanish speakers. I couldn’t ask my brother he was always playing outside with his friends and I couldn’t ask my cousins because they would only make fun of me and tell their parents. So, there was a time I stopped asking for help. My parents saw my struggle so they signed me up for afterschool tutoring. I didn’t know what to expect, I just hoped I would get the tutoring I need to pass my classes. The tutors were so understanding and they didn’t just have homework tutoring but activities for learning which were fun. They also had books they read to us and they made the big kids read to the little

    Read More

  • Extended Goal Statement

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    I sat in my child development class in a “brick and mortar” classroom setting. What was I doing there? I was extremely interested in what the professor was speaking on and what was being discussed. However, I was beginning to doubt whether I wanted to continue in my current field of study, Speech/Language Pathology. I no longer felt I was being fulfilled. There was something lacking. I talked to a few of my friends who mentioned how much money I would make as a Speech/Language Pathologist. I heard what they were saying, but somehow it just did not matter. I had to find the missing link…….

    Read More

  • What is Asperger Syndrome?

    2757 Words  | 6 Pages

    Many people across the world are unfamiliar with disorders associated with autism. Some people do not even know what autism actually is. Asperger’s Syndrome is one perplexing disorder, of countless, that needs to be acknowledged. Although it is one of the more well-known disorders, an understanding of Asperger’s is far from common knowledge. There is an abundance of misconceptions and people unaware of what Asperger Syndrome actually is. Being uncertain about the characteristics of a person with Asperger’s allows people to go through life not understanding the disorder itself and people who have it.

    Read More

  • For A Deaf Son Summary

    1102 Words  | 3 Pages

    In my view, I feel that I would have taken a similar form of instructing method that parents of Kenny Orihuela did. His mother desired to give Kenny choices so that he would be able to decide for himself in the future which led towards bilingualism. If he decided to sign later on she would approve of his choice and that seemed to draw my attention and convey my thought and feelings if I were in the same situation. During the interview, Kenny's father explained how rewarding he felt knowing that Kenny was able to hear a little more than before and that joy was directly shown through the interview. I my opinion, I feel that they are attempting to make the right decision to benefit Kenny, and they acknowledge that he is deaf and need to accommodate his needs instead of attempting to change him to suit their own needs. I firmly opposed the therapist’s thoughts that without practical speech, deafness determined what a person could do in their life. The reason behind why I differ from her opinion is because there have been many hard of hearing individuals who have not utilized functional speech and have still turned out to be exceptionally successful, for example, Leah Katz-Hernandez and Marlee Matlin. Lastly, the final event that caught my attention was the point at which the man was narrating to the children. What I think truly got to me was the interview with Nancy Shook, she stated Thomas is learning

    Read More

  • Autism Spectrum Disordern (ASD)

    1247 Words  | 3 Pages

    Autism Spectrum Disorder is rapidly changing as new developments are being made. The release of the fifth Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has altered the way people see and diagnose autism.

    Read More

  • Speech Pathologist Personal Statement

    625 Words  | 2 Pages

    An interest in the field of speech-language pathology was ignited in my mind and my heart at the young age of 9. It was career day in Mrs. Garrett’s third grade class and our school speech pathologist was speaking to the class about her profession. I knew at that moment that this was my calling. I was fortunate to have a support system that focused on helping my passion flourish, so my wonderful teacher arranged for me to spend a week with our school speech pathologist, during this time I was able to see how she helped students communicate. During high school, I was given the opportunity to spend two days per week volunteering with the elementary school speech-pathologist in our district. These experiences continued to shape my goals and dreams for the future. Unfortunately, my dreams soon came crashing down around me. As I prepared to apply for college, I realized that my parents had spent my entire college fund during a financial hardship. I was devastated by the setback, but decided to attend a community college instead, planning to transfer after two years. During my time at community college, I faced yet another setback, my parents were getting a divorce and soon I found myself without a place to live. Consequently, my grades and GPA suffered as I bounced

    Read More

  • ABA Therapy and Autism

    1267 Words  | 3 Pages

    Children who suffer from ASD usually have the appearance of normal development and then become withdrawn and regress from social interaction (Melinda Smith, 2013). The impaired social interaction of the disorder affects communication both verbally and non- verbally (Melinda Smith, 2013). Their communication with others and the world around them is also affected, as well as their thinking and behavior (Melinda Smith, 2013).

    Read More

  • My Personal Story on the Challenge of Being Deaf

    645 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...nger needed. I was excited, but very nervous. Northern Voices only had about 5 students in each classroom and Rice Lake had about 27. It was so noisy! I saw kids chattering, but was so shy to meet them. The kids were welcoming and I quickly made friends through talking. This moment I felt that talking is now part of me as it is ingrained into my soul. Signing has left my soul. Growing up with hearing students for the past 12 years, I no longer feel that I am part of the deaf community, but part of the hearing community. My true self blossomed. The difference between body and self

    Read More

  • Examples Of Overcoming Shyness

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a young child I was a non social person, and did not like to participate in anything. I liked to be an individual person, and do things on my own. I was shy and not outgoing like all my other friends were. When I enter a situation for the first time, I have a hard time speaking up until I feel comfortable. As being as shy as I was, my school work was affected a lot because I would not raise my hand to ask questions if I did not understand something, or go to the teacher for help. It was hard to transition from that stage to being more outgoing and talk more with my peers. It was difficult to communicate with others becuase of this as well, i was not able to be the perosn that i really am.

    Read More

More about Asperger's Syndrome Personal Statement

Open Document