I began working in special education in the year 2012. I have worked at two middle schools, and currently work at an elementary school. During this time I have worked with many students, of many different ages that have Autism. When working with these students I often form personal relationships with them, but it is still hard to figure out sometimes what is going through their brain. This is why I wanted to read a book written by someone with autism. I know that every person is different, and one persons ' experience is not at all the same as another. However, I feel as though reading a book by someone with Autism will give me some insight. The book I chose to read is titled Nobody Nowhere by Donna Williams. This was the first book that …show more content…
Abuse seems to be normal for her, as she has been beaten since she can remember. Because she can be so compliant she can be easy to take advantage of. Donna also can 'disappear ' into her own world as the abuse is happening, so it seems as though it isn 't affecting her. When working with students who have autism it 's important to teach them self-awareness and self-respect. When working with them I make sure that they feel safe with me and that they feel as though they can be themselves around me. Eventually Donna begins seeing doctors and psychiatrists after she begins cutting herself. She begins to trust these doctors and they really seem to have her best interests at heart. They understand her and are able to help her express herself. Because of a psychiatrists persuading Donna eventually went to college at the age of 18 even though she had dropped out of secondary education at the age of 15. She did well in college and after that went to University which is where she received an Honors Degree in Sociology, a degree in Linguistics and a postgraduate Diploma in …show more content…
Donna Williams wrote in a way that made it feel as though I was really inside of her world. I was saddened when I read about the abuse that was given to her by her mother, and boyfriend. But I rejoiced when she succeeded. It 's also very inspiring to me that she was able to accomplish so much. She has written many other books, given speeches at universities, appeared in documentaries, and even has a band. As someone who works with students who have autism I continually try to help inspire them and try to find out what motivates them. I hope that I am able to help them, even in a small way, so they can be successful in their own
It was painful to see how hard the parents worked to get Lynn to be normal like the rest of the family. They spent so much of their time focusing on getting her to talk and read lips that they overlooked one huge factor: that no matter how hard they tried, Lynn was deaf. It was so frustrating to see how much resistance they had towards using sign language. It was sad to see how disappointed the parents were when they learned of Lynn’s deafness even though it was easy to see they loved their child very much. I feel as though this book was a great look into how the world wants to fix, and repair people with disabilities and how strong and proud the deaf community is that they would rather consider themselves to be special and of their own culture than to be considered less abled than a hearing person. I like that the story started off with the parents frantically trying to fix Lynn, and ultimately led to their love, acceptance, and celebration of their daughter’s deafness. In the beginning of the book Thomas and Louise are told not to treat Lynn like she is deaf because then she will act
Dr. Temple Grandin once said “I am different, not less.” Throughout all her high school years Temple Grandin was constantly teased just because she had autism. She could not control her autism and had no choice in the matter; but to the outside world, Temple Grandin had autism and thats all that mattered to them. She was labeled as the “autistic girl,” and to her, it seemed like not a single person viewed her in any other way.
As a child, she suffered from years of neglect and sexual abuse from her immediate family members. Donna admits to using drugs when pregnant with her youngest child and suspects that he may have fetal alcohol syndrome as he is unable to control his emotions and has a difficult time in forming social bonds. Donna was working for a social outreach program that was mainly focused upon helping women and children find alternatives to prostitution and drugs. Donna is currently under a considerable amount of stress as she was recently divorced and laid off from her job. Donna has admitted to recently relapsing with the use of alcohol and has recently shaved her head in a personal contract with herself as a symbol of her renewed commitment to sobriety.
The experience changed her life, she learned to rethink her own attitude and self determination. I learned that people with mental retardation are not to be separated from society or even treated with less respect because of their disability. “Riding the Bus with My Sister” taught me to never neglect people with mental disabilities. Readers learned that people with mental retardation, just like everyone else, have families, desires, and determination. They cry, they laugh, they have emotions just like the rest of us. We can learn new things from those suffering from mental retardation. ‘Riding the Bus with My Sister” taught me that civil rights apply to
Before I get into all the specifics I’m going to give you a summary of the book I picked
ASD individuals may find it hard to communicate and socialize with others around them. However, because each child is unique, they have their own unique abilities and ways of responding to new experiences. Other issues children with ASD have include; anxiety, sleeping problems, and learning disabilities. Those who are diagnosed with ASD or any other disability are usually judged and bullied. In the documentary Violet’s mother says she is afraid of her child being labeled and underestimated because she is diagnosed with autism. A child’s disability can also affect their family members. Family members may have a difficult time understanding and getting to know the autistic child in order to provide for them. They struggle to find interventions such as treatment and therapy for them, the right medical care, and trying learn to cope with all this. At times parents and caregivers can also feel stressed or irritated knowing they have to fulfill all of the child’s needs. Siblings on the other hand, may find it unfair that the autistic child gets the most attention and
Special education is evolving, evolving in form and substance. Education of the special needs population in the United States lacks uniformity of purpose and deed. In many school districts within the United States, special education creates a financial burden that subjugates the traditional programs (Higbee, Katz, & Shultz, 2010). The lack of consistency to approach and positive results has created academic chaos for methods and strategies in working with the special needs population. The difficulty in educating special needs children to develop their academic and social skills has created many strategies for supposed benefit, and in fairness, some work for some children. Too many instances exist where not all children benefit (p. 8). The problem is developing a strategy and curriculum that provides for the needs of all children whether they are involved in an inclusive, mainstreaming, or self-contained classroom. This is particularly significant with a particular segment of the special needs population, Asperger’s autism. Asperger’s autism is a controversial diagnosis, a diagnosis that creates a schism of psychiatric thought. Some psychiatrists classify this as a pervasive developmental disorder, while other psychiatrists see this as a form of personality disorder that has many traits associated with schizophrenia (Odom, Buysee, & Soukakou, 2011). The Asperger’s child lacks emotional development normally associated with their age group. An example that illustrates the emotional development issue concerns age appropriate demonstrations of concern or awareness in their environment. Many of the Asperger’s children are not able to tell whether someone is making fun of them and will join in making fun of themselves as unsuspecting ...
In, "No One's a Mystery," by Elizabeth Tallent, a very naive eighteen-year old girl, who remains unnamed, neglects to realize the truth that is so plainly laid out before her. She is riding with Jack, and older married man with whom she has been having sex with for the past two years, and fiddling with the birthday present she received from him; a five year diary. A Cadillac that looks like his wife's is coming toward them, so he shoves her onto the floorboard of his filthy truck. Jack and his wife exchange subtle gestures as they pass, and the young girl is then given permission to get back onto the seat. When she asks how he knows his wife won't look back and see her Jack replies, "I just know...Like I know I'm going to get meatloaf for supper...Like I know what you'll be writing in that diary." Jack proceeds to tell her that within a couple of years she will not even to be able to recall his name or remember what interested her in him, other than the sex. Contrary to what Jack knows is true, the young girl imagines a sort of fairy tale life where she and Jack have a family and live happily ever after. She is totally oblivious to the truth that is so blatantly staring her in the face. Tallent demonstrates the way our heart and mind work together to blind us of the truth if we are not mature enough to see through the self created facade and face reality.
My younger brother was diagnosed with high-functioning autism at a very young age. I am glad that to any bystander, he just seems like a quirky little kid, but sometimes I wonder about how people will treat him as he grows older, and how he is going to adapt to life as a long-term students (he is currently home schooled). When most people think of a developmental disorder, they imagine something along the lines of gaining some brain damage in your early years of life that puts you in a vegetable state for the rest of your waking days. After learning lots of information on the topic of autism spectrum disorders, I know now that this idea of developmental disorders like autism is entirely outdated and does not do the entire population of people with these disorders any real justice.
Before completing the assignment of reading “Thinking in Pictures,” by Temple Grandin, I did not have much knowledge about autism. My only understanding was autism was some sort of neurological disorder that is seen similar to mentally handicapped individuals to someone with little understanding, like myself. I am very thankful to have been given an assignment like this one that gives me more knowledge of something I should already have in my line of work (though I am sure that was the whole purpose of the assignment, to educate the ignorant). I now have a better understanding of the cause, learning process and functioning of different levels of this defect.
One of the most difficult things teachers will face when dealing with Autistic children is their lack of communication skills and inappropriate or nonexistent social skills. In addition to academic instruction children with Autism require instruction in communication techniques and social skills. Kamps et.al. says “A key to accommodating students with autism in public school settings is the provision of social and behavioral programming to develop meaningful participation with nondisabled persons” (p.174).
After much research I went in depth of how children with autism are discriminated against their peers. In school and everywhere they go. Many studies have shown how important it is to raise awareness to stop the discrimination, of people who can’t help but be themselves. There are countless solutions to letting discrimination dye down. It all starts with you, and also parents teaching their children and others about autism and raising awareness. Children with autism are just like everyone else in this world and they shall be treated
Jordan, R., & Powell, S. (1995). Understanding and Teaching Children with Autism. New York: Wiley.
I have always grown up in a more ‘normal’ setting and seeing people with disabilities was something that was rare to me. When I was younger, my thoughts on people with disabilities were that they could only be physically seen, nothing else (mentally, intellectually, etc.). As I reached middle school, I realized how broad the world is and how many ways people were affected by disabilities. Some of them led a more normal life and some have a harder time adjusting. Just seeing and reading how so many are affected and how harder it is for them really opened up my mind and allowed me to have a wider perception of how broad things are in the world.
It was not until I saw the movie (before our class) “I Am Sam”, my thoughts about people with learning disabilities started to change. The movie changed my perception that mentally challenged individuals are strange by nature because they do not seem to understand when people talk to them and is different from myself. The movie showed me that they do comprehend information, have feelings as I do, and most importantly, that I have wrongly stereotyped their differences.