Earlier in the semester, I participated in the field trip to Hodges Library to attend a lecture from Barb Rentenbach. Barb is an author advocating for people who have Autism. What is more remarkable is that Barb has Autism herself, and requires assistance with communicating, among other things. I was blown away by what I heard in the lecture. During the lecture, Barb sat in the front row, interacting with those around her while her assistant told us about Barb and her book. We all read excerpts from the book, and let me just say, Barb is hilarious. Her jokes were mostly pointed to Autism itself, which I found odd at first, but I realized that she was trying to point out that she is above Autism. I think she wants people to know that having Autism doesn't label her, it empowers her. She wanted to make it known to the world that people can live with Autism, and other disorders, and they can thrive.
I have been working at a facility for children with Autism for almost three years. This was my first exposure to Autism, and it changed my mind about those people who have to live with it. They're just people who sometimes think differently than I do. The children that I work with have many difficulties coping with their emotions and daily tasks. As a staff, I constantly remind them that they can accomplish those tasks, and that they can learn to cope with their anger/sadness/etc. Reading some of Barb's book was another eye opener for me. Now, I can tell the children that I work with, and the children in my future classroom, that they can live with Autism and they can become as successful as they want to be.
Given your experience with autism, how do you think your reaction to Barb and Lois' presentation differed from those with little exposure? What kinds of things will you do in the classroom to help students like Barb?
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started learning about Autism, I was surprised to see the different levels that are involved. There are more severe cases (where they need complete assistance in daily living skills) and there are less severe cases (where they only need to practice social skills or managing emotions). The more I knew about Autism and the children I was working with, the more I was able to help them with their tasks. Seeing Barb was a different kind of realization. I had no idea that someone could go as far as she did with her severity of Autism. She appeared to have a minimal vocabulary (from what I could tell), but she still wrote a book! It amazed me, and it made me more proud to be able to work with this population.
ReplyDeleteI recently completed an observation in a Special Education classroom, so I got to see how things differed in a gen. ed. classroom. The teacher used textbooks several grades lower than their actual level to have them practice completing assignments. She implemented several assignments and topics based on some of the interests of the students. I will definitely be using things like this in my classroom.