A Career As An Autistic Student

1) explain why it is important to recognise that each individual on the autistic spectrum has their own individual abilities, needs, strengths, preferences and interests

Autism spectrum condition affects a range of different individuals and is a spectrum condition and affects people in a number of different ways. It is important when supporting an individual with autism to identify and recognise each individuals’ abilities – what they can do successfully, needs – what the individual needs support with, strengths and gifts – what the individual is good at, what they have a real talent in, and interests – what is motivating for the person.

In conclusion, the experiences I have had working with my clients as a behavior therapist and the past experience with people who are not considerate of children with disabilities, have encouraged me to pursue a career in Applied Behavior Analysis.Through my job, I have acquired certain skills that are needed to be a behavior analyst, such as data collection and behavior interventions. Nevertheless, there is always room for improvement in my techniques and much more for me to learn about this

After earning my undergraduate degree in Psychology at Rutgers University, I have learned that I have a sincere passion for the Counseling field in particular. Growing up, I was never too sure what I wanted a career in. However, my mother always told me that whatever decision I make, it should benefit others as well, because ultimately the best success is when you know you have impacted the lives of others in a positive way. I have been very fortunate to have had the experience in working with children that range from ages 0-21. I have worked with young toddlers and infants in a Montessori school, as well as with children and teenagers that have been diagnosed with Autism and other disorders. Working in a diverse population has benefitted me in numerous ways and greatly shaped my interest in the counseling field.

The way information is processed can be described as hypersensitive or hyposensitive. The sensory system can be viewed as having seven components:

My life is a bit of a rollercoaster. I knew what I wanted to do since a young age; however, different paths and decisions brought me to my goal in a roundabout way. After high school I decided to take time off before going to college because I was fortunate enough to have a successful career in retail management. Around the nine year mark I decided that I wanted to return to my goal of entering the medical field, which I was already in the process of doing by attending Northeastern and working towards my BS in Biological Sciences. My ultimate goal being to achieve an MS as a physician assistant. When moving into health care I started in the Urgent Care Department which was closely related to one of the fields I am interested in when practicing

While the idea of being a physician assistant or a physical therapist isn’t a bad one at all, I always felt that somehow, something was always missing. I was missing an objective. I was missing what I really wanted to do as a physician assistant. The practice of curing and assisting people without exposing how to prevent future outcomes of illnesses and the spread of diseases to them didn’t really sit well with me at all. I began to doubt my potential future career choice as a physician assistant in general. They say variety is the spice of life; although I knew and loved the knowledge of assisting a medical physician, it was the serious lack of variety within that specific field and the limited options of growth that gave me heavy thoughts day in and day out. I wanted a career that would enable me to help a large amount of people, help place a heavy emphasis on prevention and care, and also challenge me continually to motivate and improve myself. Seeing that I no longer had an interest in being a physician assistant as I initially intended, my thoughts and passion quickly gravitated towards the area of public health, particularly

Soon after my graduation, I became an Adaptive Physical Educator (APE) and worked at a public school in Puerto Rico for three years. While as an APE my empathy for those suffering from diverse disabilities increased. Although circumstances beyond my control forced me to work in other facets, the personal and professional growth obtained as an APE will follow me for the rest of my life. After several decades of working on other jobs, and feeling dissatisfied with my existing profession at that time, I decided to conduct a career assessment. The assessment pointed out mostly at professions helping people; among them, psychology. It was then that at 42 years of age, I decided to return to school and study

Up until recently I did not know what I wanted to do with my degree. I was attending school and taking courses but I really had no idea which way to go upon graduation. Recently, after contemplating multiple career choices have decided that I want to become a licensed professional counselor and specialize in expressive/creative therapy working with children. Expressive therapies are those that introduce action to psychotherapy and that action within therapy and life is rarely limited to a specific mode of expression. Specifically, creative arts therapies share a commitment to the "expressive action that engages emotions in a direct and physical way; an ability to generate creative energy as a healing force for mind, body, and spirit; and a

The conceptualization of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in the framework of neurodiversity has been a revolutionary approach to the diagnosis. While this framework, as reviewed by Baron-Cohen (2017) can be applied to ASD and related disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), it is not a viable approach to take on other categories of disorders in the newest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). According to Baron-Cohen (2017), ASD can be viewed under the neurodiversity framework because individuals with ASD have neurological differences and yet, are still able to function at a normal capacity given the proper environmental conditions. These two main characteristics that allow

Dipeolu, Storlie, and Johnson (2014) focus on strategies for school counselors in assisting students with disabilities, more specifically students with High-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (HASD) in their transition process. These counselors are not as prepared to work with the unique transition path of HASD students in comparison to their typical peers. The purpose of this article is to build awareness and understanding of the struggles the HASD students face and provide the school counselors with strategies to assist these students in their transition beyond high school. Dipeolu, Storlie, and Johnson use a model of eleven essential elements for a successful transition:

I am in a behavioral therapist position for kids with Autism and related disorders at a

Since special needs students are typically excluded, they are not able to develop the social skills they need to succeed in life beyond school. Teachers and students in mainstream schools may not know how to handle students who stutter, keep to themselves, or refuse to participate in group activities. Although the lack of these social skills can become frustrating, it is the responsibility of the teachers, parents, and caregivers to teach the students these social skills. A woman named Patricia Braus wrote a book about children with autism. In her book, Braus communicates that autistic children fail in developing social relationships with peers, have limited ability to initiate conversation, and show a need for routines and rituals (Braus).

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed on 10 December 1948, but it still did not include the rights of persons with disabilities. In other words, in many countries, people with disability did not have their rights guaranteed by law. So, soon organizations began to emerge to fight, represent and guarantee the rights of all people with disabilities. Today there are hundreds of them representing all types of disabilities, for example Autistic Minority International and The Center for the Human Rights of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry (CHRUSP).

There is no doubt that raising a child with autism is challenging. There is endless research on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) but a very limited amount on the costs and benefits of caring for a person with the disorder. In order to gain a comprehensive perspective on the biggest challenges parents and caregivers of autistic children face, a look into the private lives of these families and close networks is necessary. The only way to give support and provide the much needed services required to help, one must ask them what the most difficult parts about managing autism are. Below examines three of the most common struggles these families face when trying to understand and help their autistic children develop into the capable people they are certainly able of becoming.