Sunday, April 15, 2012
As I further my research about autism, much of the information that I have been reading has been shown in different classrooms I have seen. During my internship, I had 2 students on IEPs, neither were children with autism. However, the second grade classroom next door had a student who was autistic and I was his aide for a day. He was the sweetest, brightest student you could ever imagine! Everybody in school knew him, he was nice to all, he loved math (and was very good at it might I add), and enjoyed playing basketball at recess! All of the students got along with him, it was just that he needed an aide with him at all times and it was extremely hard for him to learn language and social skills. Many of the teachers and especially his aide could make out EXACTLY what he said, but for many of the students it was difficult. The students in his class were very respectful of him; never looking or talking to him any different than the other students. This is what he needed. He may have had a very different schedule when he was in the classroom and often times called out answers when he was not called on, but the students understood and never made a big deal about it. I enjoyed watching the class become close with this student and it helped me have faith that as a teacher I CAN TEACH each and every student no matter what special needs they posess or no matter how much I have to differentiate the instruction, I CAN!
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Ok Liz, I seem to have an issue with comments/figuring this whole blog thing out! I thought I commented already on your blog this week, but it never showed up! So I apologize for the delay. This is a great topic because there are so many children affected with autism and it is still something people do not know a WHOLE lot about. Throughout our practicum/internship I was able to see a very wide range of children who have autism. In my preschool practicum I worked with twin boys who had autism and they didn't speak. It was difficult to figure out what they wanted, they would cry and scream often as well. Then during my kindergarten placement I had the privilege of meeting a young boy who with autism (just 1 year older than the twins) who could communicate. He would scream when the music was too loud, but his behavior was very different from the twins. Both of the families were awesome and very open to learning about new things that could help their children in and outside of school. Your entire blog makes me wonder what the effect of having a child with autism is on a family. Have you found any information on this? Or have you worked with the families of children with autism?
ReplyDeleteYou have found some good family websites (eg autism speaks). One thing to be aware of in your discussion is person first language. A child is a child first, then a child with autism. Beware of using terms like 'autistics' - it is offensive to some.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dr. Carr! I actually did this when I was speaking with another teacher during my internship and she corrected me. I sometimes am unaware of how I use language, especially when it comes to a type of disability. I will be more aware of this and I appreciate you letting me know.
Delete-Liz