I Cannot Call My Sister Cute Analysis

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.

Now for most people that stereotype falls into the “really? People really think that? I mean that's just silly” category. However this is truly a very real stereotype. This stereotype comes from the fact that some people with autism are shy or have issues talking with people verbally. In Mandy Klein’s piece in Typed Words Loud Voices She talks about

“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.

Stereotypes tend to be made by those who lack understanding whether is unintentional or not. Understanding is the key to accepting and valuing all differences. Whether it is about our race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or whatever else makes up an individual’s identity. It is this lack of understanding that normally leads to stereotyped views, prejudice and discrimination. This sadly is mostly the case for those with autistic spectrum conditions and has a large affect on not only the

Let’s say you have a box of crayons. It represents ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), now inside the box you have different colors of crayons. Each color/crayon is a different disorder. The color we want to talk about today is teal, the official color for autism. Stuart Duncan once said, “Autism, like a rainbow, has a bright side and a dark side and even though it can mean rough waters it can be beautiful.” Autism isn’t a label, it’s a diagnoses. People with autism can be just as successful as neurotypical people. People with autism have been the subject of stereotypes and neglect for decades. Only in the last 150 years or so have things started to change. We don’t know what causes autism, but thanks to increased research and awareness we’re making more progress than ever. People with autism face many challenges everyday, autism is a spectrum. It’s not the same for everyone. Due to it being a spectrum it can be hard for people without autism to understand the challenges autistic people face, and how to go about interacting with autistic people. There are lots of autistic people worldwide, it’s time we start making them feel more like people.

Autism has been made to seem like this huge issue, something that needs to be stopped. While there are many issues that come with autism, it is not something that should be getting such negative attention. People with autism seem to be the most extraordinary out of any of us. “They are usually intelligent, gifted, honest, hard workers when interested in a task and excellent problem solvers. People with high-functioning autism are thought to become excellent scientists and engineers or enter other professions where painstaking, methodical analysis is required. Some believe this particular assertion is a stereotype, as some high-functioning autism adults tend to struggle with the traditional work setting and the surrounding societally accepted ways of behaving,” (Synapse, Pg 2). There

As a child, I often avoided confrontation by keeping my opinions to myself, no matter how offensive someone was. But when someone directed negative comments toward my autistic brother who could not defend himself, I lost my self-control. Witnessing the struggles Bo has gone through, I feel it is cruel and ignominious to belittle the battles autistic children deal with daily. I share this story to help disclose the need to treat others with the courtesy we all deserve.

According to Barnes “Autism is found throughout the world in families of all racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds.”(Barnes 2015). Grandin also explains her experiences living with autism in her novel Thinking in Pictures. Grandin acquired her the ability to create and imagine through her visual thinking. In contrast, one barrier that hindered her was her inability to comprehend or associate social cues and emotion to a picture. With this in mind, Grandin using her natural talents to learn enabled her to push through what most people consider an accessibility issue.

It is extremely important for teachers as well as other adults to use strength-based language when talking to or referring to children with disabilities. Strength-based language or people first language is a positive approach that emphasizes a person before their disability. This is important to use because the way we refer or talk about someone significantly influences the images and attitude we for create about them. Which can leave either a positive or negative impression for others. Sadly, sometimes an individual’s diagnosis or disability is used to define them. For example, some people might say “oh, that’s the boy whose autistic”. Instead, you should say “that boy has autism or has been diagnosed with autism”. When identifying a person

When reading the first chapter of Ten Things Every Child with Autism wishes you Knew by Ellen Notbohm, multiple thoughts ran through my head. I honestly feel that she did an excellent job expressing the thoughts about autism. In my point of view autism is so much more than a diagnosis. Two important people in my life have autism and honestly, they are the most amazing individuals I have ever met. The authors words that brought tears to my eyes was, “My autism is part of who I am, not all of who I am” (Notbohm 17). This statement moved me, because individuals with autism are so much more than a label. Individuals that have autism are talented, intelligent, caring, kind, and funny. We should not judge or treat an individual different by the way they express themselves. Each individual is unique and should be able to express themselves in their personal way instead of being labeled in a negative way. I have personally encounter individuals use words such as, “that autistic boy” or “just leave him other there, he doesn’t understand the material because he is autistic”. When I hear people says these negative things, it makes me angry and sad, because I believe that they have not fully comprehended the diagnosis as well as not allow themselves to get to know

People with Autism experience different perceptions in response to the same stimulus than people without a disability.

To eliminate bias and hatred against autistic or differently abled children and individuals, it is important to educate the masses about the endless possibilities autistic people are born with.

Men and women are often stereotyped. Autistic men and women are no different. Autistic Women are all around the world. Your best friend, roommate, or even siblings can be part of the Autistic Spectrum. You probably won’t even realize how much they struggle to be normal because if they are on the higher end of Autistic Spectrum they can hide their struggles very well. Autism is usually spectated as someone who is not intelligent or doesn’t know personal space. Autistic women do exist but know how to hide it; they are stereotyped as unintelligent but our uniquely smart in many aspects.

Another prime example of this goes no further than a beloved Disney movie. In the 2003 movie “Finding Nemo”, it features 3 unique characters: Nemo, a young, physically disabled fish, Marlin, Nemo’s father and a fish with anxiety and PTSD, and Dory, a mentally disabled fish with short-term memory loss and no sense of direction. All 3 were portrayed as being perfectly capable of being “normal” protagonists, and none of their disabilities were played out just to make you feel sorry for them or as a joke. While they were all initially rejected and ostracized by society, Nemo and Dory both helped save the lives of hundreds of fish, and they all earned their rightful positions as valuable members of society, regardless of their disabilities and quirks

In order to work with children who have autism as an art therapist, it is important to know which theoretical views will have the most impact. It is also important to know the probable environments art therapists work at with the population. Since autistic children typically do not have the necessary social skills, art therapy should work to develop and improve the skills. Another thing art therapists considering working with autistic children should consider, is whether or not they will be likely contributors to the art as well. This paper examines those critical points and how art therapy affects children with