A question came up during our last class, Introduction to Counseling Interventions with Larry Welkowitz that I have been pondering since leaving Keene on November 19. Do we teach our kids with Autism and Asperger's to conform to society or do we teach society to accept them with all of their quirks, gifts and intelligence? I have seen both attempted with some success. I have not been in this field long enough to observe what happens when these children grow up into adults and face "the real world". It seem like it is a catch-22. If you do not teach them to fit in with "typicals" they face a lifetime of lonliness and social isolation. The moment they are out of your safe cocoon of acceptance they will be smacked in the face with the cruelty of the "real world". If you do teach these children to conform, will they lose some of the magic that makes them who they are? Why should these kids conform to what society views as "normal"? Could we possibly teach society to value what the children and adults with Asperger's and Autism have to offer? In a society that still ostracises people for looking different, I am not so sure that society could accept people who act differently. How sad for the rest of the world. These are the people that have made significant contributions to medicine, science and technology. Without them, the rest of the "real world" would still be drawing pictures in caves.
See you next time,
Sara
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Who am I?
Hi there!
My name is Sara and I live in Connecticut. I am an ABA Therapist. Prior to my current position, I was a Special Education Teacher's Assistant in the same school district that I work in now. I worked in a K-2 elementary school. Prior to that I was a Child Development Specialist at a residential facility for behaviorally challenged children ages 5 - 15 .
I am enrolled as a student at Antioch University New England in their Autism Spectrum Disorders Program. I am enrolled in a class called Introduction to Counseling Interventions taught by Larry Welkowitz. This blog is a requirement for the class. It is my first experience with blogging. So far, so good.
I first became interested in children with autism when I began to work as a Special Ed. Teacher's Asst. My first "one-to-one" was with a child with (unofficially) High Functioning Autism. I was fascinated by the fact that he was so intelligent but the way the information got into his brain was so incredibly different than other students. Since then, I have met several wonderful children ranging in severity. Each child presents their own set of strengths and weaknesses. I have enjoyed working with each of them. Each of them have taught me more than any undergraduate college course I had ever taken. They ignited a fire in me to find more information about Autism so that I could do the best I possibly could for them.
See you next time,
Sara
My name is Sara and I live in Connecticut. I am an ABA Therapist. Prior to my current position, I was a Special Education Teacher's Assistant in the same school district that I work in now. I worked in a K-2 elementary school. Prior to that I was a Child Development Specialist at a residential facility for behaviorally challenged children ages 5 - 15 .
I am enrolled as a student at Antioch University New England in their Autism Spectrum Disorders Program. I am enrolled in a class called Introduction to Counseling Interventions taught by Larry Welkowitz. This blog is a requirement for the class. It is my first experience with blogging. So far, so good.
I first became interested in children with autism when I began to work as a Special Ed. Teacher's Asst. My first "one-to-one" was with a child with (unofficially) High Functioning Autism. I was fascinated by the fact that he was so intelligent but the way the information got into his brain was so incredibly different than other students. Since then, I have met several wonderful children ranging in severity. Each child presents their own set of strengths and weaknesses. I have enjoyed working with each of them. Each of them have taught me more than any undergraduate college course I had ever taken. They ignited a fire in me to find more information about Autism so that I could do the best I possibly could for them.
See you next time,
Sara
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