This past week I took a four day work shop on Autism Spectrum Disorder. It was facilitated by Debbie McDonald from The Community Autism Centre in St John. Debbie who is a wealth of knowledge did a lot of talking, teaching and preaching (she’s a former minister LOVE her, she may not know it but I bonded with her) and we also watched a series of DVDs by Michelle Garcia Winner. I would have to say that after working with Autistic Spectrum children, teens & adults for 3 years I wish I had had this information at the beginning of my journey! I was so excited and saddened that both Debbie’s experience and Michelle’s experience and findings validated what I often fought for to no avail. There are tons schools of thinking out there on Autism and how we should approach it. For my purpose today I’m just going to focus on mainly 2 things. There are those that believe that controlling the behaviour and the environment is what will work for people on the Autism spectrum. That is fine and dandy but to me that whole program based controlled atmosphere is what brings about more anger and aggression out in those who the program is being imposed upon. I often find we Neurotypicals ( you know the normal ones of society PLEASE sense the sarcasm ) want to fix people and make them just like us!!! Perhaps it’s not those that have autism that need to change but us who think we have it all figured out! I can’t tell you how many times I was disliked for my stand on the fact that these people are human first and they want to connect with us and it’s not all about us being right!!! I had all kinds of things said to me like your spineless, you have no back bone, you’re a push over. To even a staff member saying out loud in front of a client to another staff member I need to get out of her I can’t stand those two together (meaning myself and the client) basically because I got along with her and didn’t hate her. I choose to get to know her world a bit instead of enforcing mine on her. Anyway enough about that. I just wanted to give you a glimpse into my very limited experience with Autism. Now about this week, There was tons of good stuff, regarding Social Cognition and exploring how social communication develops and strategies to help. About social thinking across the home and school. Learning to Speak Autism & Thinking about thinking -behaviour mapping talking about strategies that work in helping to build better communication opportunities for person’s with autism.
Wednesday was a day of AH HA for me! I want to figure out a way that we can tell and help everyone understand what is being said!!!! It’s basic apples and oranges. Though they are both fruit we can never ever make an orange be an apple no matter how hard we try! The teaching Wednesday talked about definitions of ASD but what really was an eye opener for me was when they showed pictures of an autistic brain and a neurotypical brain. The fabric of the grey matter is different, the density of the brains are different Autistic brains are more dense like concrete and our brains are more like jello a little squishy. The brain stem is totally different. The brain stem of a person with autism is shorter then the normal brain stem. As well we normal ones have Trapezpoid body, Facial Nucleus and Superior olive in that area. (I not going to pretend to know all about the workings of the brain a doctor I’m not but it‘s like three little olives at the base of our brain) but here is the finding in their brains you know the ones we want to act just like us! They have a considerably smaller facial nucleus and absolutely no superior olive. So it’s a huge, huge difference, with out their superior olive they have no secretary to bring back things and store them in their brain for them. There is a ton of neurological defences to tell us that we are apples and oranges and we are never ever going to make them an become an apple and getting mad at them for not being an apple isn’t going to work either. So when you teach someone with autism something one day and the next day when they are somewhere else and don’t do it. Keep in mind that they don’t have a secretary to tell them; “oh remember yesterday at home when they said to do it like this, you should do it like this here at school too. One of my favourite things Debbie said that I’ve taken away is we don’t know it all, what we know about autism can fill a thimble (I don’t even think my thimble is full) but what there is to know about autism can fill a very large building. We are just scratching the surface. So please if you have or look after or know anyone with autism keep learning. If you want to take the course I highly recommend it.
Debbie McDonald is awesome. It’s 4 days for $25.00 and the things you learn are priceless!!! (The Community Autism Centre Inc. Saint John NB 642-1128 she does the course once a month).
Michelle Garcia Winner website: www.socialthinking.com
This ia great website done by some guys with Aspergers’s who kind of poke fun at us “NORMAL” people. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of “Normal” Disorders.
http://isnt.autistics.org
Accept me-for what I am. Not what I could have been or even will be. Accept me-so I need not twist myself to fit your pattern...but resting in acceptance, can grow. -Ruth Reardon
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