Diagnosing With Disabilities

I bet you’ve seen at least one before. You know, those articles on the news about someone with autism, doing something amazing that any typical person would never envision them doing. Getting elected homecoming king, being on a cheerleading team, or carrying out an act of kindness that even non-autistic people wouldn’t ever consider are just some of the things that I’ve seen. Though these are spectacular self-esteem lifters for these individuals, warm and fuzzy stories for the public and excellent publicity for wherever they occur, many often forget that autism is a spectrum condition, and functioning levels vary, from wheelchair bound individuals to those in society whose names everyone recognizes.

“Work to view my autism as a different ability rather than a disability. Look past what you may see as limitations and see the gifts autism has given me…Be my advocate, be my friend, and we’ll see just how far we can go” –Ellen Botbohm, author of Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew.

Disability is a topic viewed differently by each set of eyes. To truly understand a disability, one must live through it or frequently view the lives of another, struggling with an infirmity. Living with a disability may be hard, but it does not mean it is not worth living. Nancy Mairs, author of the essay “On Being a Cripple,” has written about her views and experiences, explaining to the public the truth behind being a “cripple,” and proving that disease does not control you. Explained in the paper, able-bodied people make assumptions to how low quality life must be, living with a disease and that these individuals are constantly unhappy however

Most parents wonder what is the next chapter after their child with autism spectrum disorder graduate from high school, for some individuals, it is to move onto higher education. As stated by Cai and Richdale (2015), the USA has one of the lowest rates of college enrollment for individuals with ASD, with over 50% of these individuals being in neither education nor employment following their secondary school, with similar finding in the UK (p. 31). For the individuals with ASD who move forward in gaining a higher education will have to learn to adapt and determine how to transition into higher education. Mentioned by Cai and Richdale (2015), a USA national survey illustrated poor outcomes from transitioning from secondary school into adult-hood. “The findings showed that after young adults with ASD left the public school system, 80% continues to live at home, only 32% attended postsecondary education, just 6% had competitive jobs, while 21% had no employment or education experience at all. Further 40% reported having no friends. (p. 32)”

In ninth grade, my mother suggested that I volunteer with peers at my high school who are special needs. She thought it would be good for me to meet other people my age who have their unique struggles in school, much like myself. I protested originally, but little did I know I would love volunteering with my peers, regardless of their disability. During this time, I signed up to volunteer with a local organization called Buddy Ball. At Buddy Ball, I had the opportunity to teach children with disabilities ages five through twenty-one baseball. When I volunteered with my peers, I mainly saw high schoolers with severe autism, intellectual disabilities, and emotional disturbances, whereas with Buddy Ball most of the participants had severe autism, intellectual disability, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, epilepsy, or a multiple of disabilities. Both of these experiences allowed me to gain knowledge of a variety of special

The lecture “Life on the Spectrum: Living, Learning and Growing as an Autistic Person” presented by Howie Jordan was given on October 27, 2015 at USC Upstate. This speech was about the struggles one with autism faces on a daily basis and the adversity they must overcome. Jordan tells the audience about autism through his eyes and the lessons he has learned through his struggles. Lessons such as how to overcome bullying, physical and mental obstacles, and educational struggles. Jordan’s purpose is to shine light on the idea that a person with autism is just that, a person. No matter what disabilities one may have they are still human and deserve to be treated like one in every part of life.

In today’s world, it is easy to label people based on what society defines as “normal.” Society dictates how we view people on a daily basis and this forces people to view things from a singular perspective. Unfortunately, this single point of view may lead to discrimination against people who are “different.” For example, those with disabilities and other diagnoses are neglected, overlooked, or judged by those who are influenced by that singular perspective. In specific, Autism which is referred to as Autistic Spectrum Disorder, is something that the public has heard before but they do not fully understand or are unaware about its true definition. “According to the Centers for Disease Control’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM), approximately 1 in 68 children have been identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)” (CDC, 2016). This increased prevalence is why it is important to continue educating the public about those living with Autism as well as critical for social awareness and for the overall health of the community.

As someone who works with individuals with autism and other disabilities, it is disheartening seeing the mistreatment that they must endure in all aspects of their lives. The stereotypes and stigmas that surround these individuals are often incorrect and misguided. There are plenty of individuals with disabilities that are capable of living productive lives and it is important for them to be included in

Furthermore, school is a place where you make friends and integrate with one another. However, individuals with disabilities are often susceptible to face vast number of stereotypes, labels or discomfort at school. That is because of the lack of consciousness and biases that is created by imposing a distinction between non-disabled versus disabled from an early age. Valerie Piro tells us that some her classmates told her that she has a “perfect personal essay topic” (Piro 3). Her friends imply that she has the “perfect essay topic” because of her disability. Yet, it is rather confusing that they are being ironic, jealous or making fun of her situation. As Piro emphasizes, human beings need to “encourage one another to demand that society accept”

Those individuals who have a disability and are not able to read or write is discussed throughout this journal article. Education that is inclusive is suppose to guaranteed to those students who are disable. They have the right to be in a program within the school that offers them support. Resources offered in the community school aren’t given to adults, so children need to take advantage of these services being offered. Yes, education as a child is very important, but at the same time adults need to be given the chance to be provided with services in the community that will help them learn. Disable adults need just as much thorough effort to the rise of being able to have the readiness to the easy services as it pertains to literacy and proficiency.

There are numerous individuals that believe disability makes a person helpless and incapable of obtaining a life full of accomplishments. Catherine Kudlick proved that this is not the case; anyone with a disability has the opportunity to achieve their life goals. It is clear in her interviews and writings that people without disabilities need to be educated on how disability can be an advantage. She learned how to change her perspective and in doing so, she dedicated her career to change other’s perspective on disability and the way it is viewed by society, in general. Catherine Kudlick has learned over time and through her experiences that disability is not to be ashamed of and with her acceptance she has made her career on educating individuals about disability.

Ms Lynn Brition Called this worker and she said that her mother has sever disability issues and is 95 years ole living in an assisted living facility, Pacific View, but she was re-evaluated and her CA/PS assessment score is SL=17, so she lost her long term care benefits.

My trip to India in the summer of 2014, instantly changed my life. There, I visited an orphanage and rehabilitation center for autistic children who were abandoned by their families at a very young age. I sat with the children at the orphanage as the therapists allowed me to preform activities with them such as feeding, doing arts and crafts and gymnastic exercises. Nine-year-old Zara, suffered from a disintegrative disorder which enabled her ability to speak, and walk properly. The orphanage coordinator that I spoke with told me her parents had abandoned her on the side of the road when she was only three years old, because they were unaware of her condition couldn’t afford treatment. I met other children in the orphanage that were in similar circumstances as Zara, and realized international advocacy and awareness is a crucial aspect in putting an end to this unfortunate phenomenon. Educating individuals of the various disorders that children may be born with is something that is very important in making a change in communities similar to Jaipur, where families and parents are unaware of the commonality of these disorders and their symptoms.

When I was a little kid as far as I can remember I did not progress like all the other kids. I didn’t learn how to read until much later in life when there was new technology to diagnose disabilities such as learning disabilities like dyslexia (A condition in the brain that makes it hard for a person to read, write, and spell) or (A variable often familial learning disability involving difficulties in acquiring and processing language that is typically manifested by a lack of proficiency in reading, spelling, and writing) which I still have and at a lower rate I still suffer and struggle through today, which makes college an extreme obstacle. I want to go back to when I was just beginning elementary school in August of 1998. I had no clue what

In reviewing the required videos and reading on low incidence, there were a large range of how it affected individuals are processed by individuals without disabilities, these videos demonstrates what it is like to try to be normal with a disability. The first video called, Autistic Basketball Player,” presented an enlighten outcome, that people should not assume that individual with disability are not able to contribute to a job or sport. Jason Mcelwain’s a young man with Autism that id given to chase an individual with a disability self-worth is just as valuable as the rest of the team when it come to sport. The second video called, “Breaking Barriers of Autism: The power of Kindness and friendship present how individuals with disabilities are able to leap bounties id one person will acknowledge them. In his lecture he was able to present insight on how lonely it is on another side of the disability spectrum.