* I was floored to hear that insurance companies don't want to claim children who have autism or aspergers. These children need just as much aid as any other child and it peeves me to think that they aren't treated equally. I was glad that Michelle explained the difference between Aspergers, Autism, and PDD-NOS. I wasn't aware of PDD-NOS so I was glad she explained it. I've always read definitions, but when she put it into her own words it made more sense to me.
*I am glad Michelle is not afraid to speak about her son. Speaking about her son makes her experience easier to understand, and it is easy to tell that she is passionate about what she is doing. I am glad she wasn't afraid to tell the class what types of disorders her son has and explained things that work for her son and things that don't work.
*Reading the autism facts were startling. The fact that 1 in every 110 kids has autism is crazy. What is even crazier is that the government isn't helping these children. I was kind of surprised that more boys have autism, but as I look back on the autism cases that I know of they are all males. I can't believe how expensive autism is. I came back to my room after Michelle's lecture and talked to my boyfriend about it and he wants to do charity work or something to help raise money with me. Anything I can do to help would make me feel better about this situation.
*The learning tips Michelle gave were helpful for us future teachers. I like how she showed the video of picture rules and instructions because this helped show me what I would like to do in my classroom. This is just one easy accommodation to help students who need extra help. I also liked the social stories that she showed to help children with autism understand things. I think this would be a fun project to help a child with autism out with. I would like to be that teacher who asks parents for testing records and anything that can help their child learn. I understand that some children need more help, and I would like to be a positive influence on a child's learning. All students, not just children with autism, learn better visually or auditory. There are many ways for students to learn and I think all teachers should know all of their students, not just the students who have special needs.
* A book I read this past winter was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. I absolutely loved this book because it allowed me to see how a child with Aspergers thinks. This book is written from a child who has aspergers point of view. This book really helped me see how children who have aspergers reacts to situations and how meticulous and smart they are. I suggest this book to people to read. If you want more information click here and you can click on the book to read a couple pages.
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteAs I wrote in my blog, I have a situation that is similar to yours. As you know, I work at a day care during my breaks, and I have had several students with Autism. Typically, they are the smartest, hands down. They're the ones who can spell at three years old, and Michelle was right, they love making sure I know! However, I could have really used some preparation. It is so frustrating when you have a child with autism and you have no idea what to do or how to reach them. I feel like in our short 45 minutes, I am already better prepared.