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
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