Interview With Autism

“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.

Based on the case study, Sara has many elements and character traits that can identify with her diagnosis of autism. I do strongly believe Sara diagnosis is appropriate and in line with IDEA definition and the revised criteria for ASD in the DSM-5.

Originally, I was drawn to speech pathology after my sister’s diagnosis of Autism at the age of three. Watching Diane struggle with language development and acquisition while other children seemed to grasp these skills naturally is what initially sparked my interest in helping families like my own. At the start of my junior year, I set out to obtain experiences working with different populations. Toward the latter half of junior year, I became involved as a clerical volunteer at the Sacramento Scottish Rite Childhood Language Center. By senior year, I was balancing a full course load alongside three volunteer experiences. In addition to Scottish Rite Childhood Language Center, I divided my time between tutoring at a neighboring elementary school in the Twin Rivers School District and serving as an intern at the Autism Center for Excellence (ACE). During my undergraduate experience, I welcomed the opportunity to work with students that struggled with literacy, language, and pragmatic skills. After graduation, it was my goal to obtain additional experience in the field as a speech-language pathology assistant.

As a part of American culture, Autism Speaks has wriggled its way into the homes and mouths of families across the country, throwing massive amounts of money into fundraising, advocacy, research, and advertising every year. They are one of the most well-known, easily recognized organizations that advocates and raises awareness for the growing community of Autistic people in America. However, can the American people really be sure that Autism Speaks is going about it in the right way? With better, faster diagnoses, disability services, and more qualified specialists, why is Autism Speaks focusing tightly on researching connections and causes and cures, rather than channeling that money into assisting families of autistic children and adults? Why do some of the salaries of their board members exceed six figures, if they truly are a “non-profit” organization? Why do some of their ads treat autism like a man in an alleyway waiting to rob someone of their happiness, their money, and their “happy marriage?” (I am Autism). While millions of Americans believe that Autism Speaks is a worthy non-profit organization, the truth is that their spending is reckless and their treatment of autistic

“Don’t think that there is a different, better child ‘hiding’ behind the autism. This is your child. Love the child in front of you. Encourage his strengths, celebrate his quirks, and improve his weaknesses, the way you would with any child. You may have to work harder on some of this, but that’s the goal,” Claire Scovell LaZebnik wrote of living with a child who has autism. Autism has been made to look like a grand epidemic. Autism is nothing of the kind. There are plenty of people with autism that are high-functioning and can live on their own, and autism is made to seem like a bigger deal than it is. Many would argue that medicines are needed to treat autism, that autism needs to be ended. There is always a better way.

Steve Silberman, also the author of "NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity," illuminates in his article "Autism speaks needs to do a lot more listening" that the organization raises millions of dollars to fund autism research yet fails to prioritize the people on the autistic spectrum. Instead of Autism Speaks devoting their efforts towards bettering the lives of people on the spectrum, he claims the organization invests more time into research which does not greatly impact the lives of Autistic people. Silberman elaborates on this assertion by first appealing to the reader's emotions by detailing the dehumanizing methods the organization has adopted, outlining corroborative facts

Currently, efforts are being made by foundations, such as Autism Speaks and the National Autism Association not only to bring awareness of seriousness of the disorder, but also to establish ways towards the cause and a cure for autism. In 1997, Congress requested the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Autism Coordinating Committee (ACC) to “enhance the quality, pace and coordination of efforts at the NIH to find a cure for autism” (NINDS, 2009 p.18). ASD is too extensive of a disorder to find a single cure for it; these “cures” would require millions of dollars in further research and testing, just like any other medication or treatment. While there have been autistic geniuses in the past, not all with ASD should be hailed as such; instead of trying to justify or cure the disorder, more people should be willing to accept it.

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

According to Gable, Mostert, & Tonelson (2004), “collaboration affords general educators, special educators, and support personnel staff to establish rewarding and long lasting social and professional relationship (p. 4). Furthermore, collaboration is progressively becoming a commonality for schools and other professionals (Cook & Friend, 1991, p. 6). Thus, I decided to interview a parent of a child diagnosed with Autism and a behavior analyst who works on his ABA program. Both parties regularly collaborate with the client’s school and staff to promote the best effective treatment possible. This brings a unique perspective of the use of interagency collaboration among parents, teachers, and an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) agency.

Autism can be a beautiful diagnosis to have, it allows individuals to see, hear, and feel things that most people do not. I have had the pleasure of becoming friends with many people who have been diagnosed with different levels of autism and they are some of the most interesting, caring, and intelligent people who I have encountered. So many people in the world do not have personal experience or knowledge of this diagnosis. Individuals

My interviewee is a close friend of mine, she is a Curtin university student, as well as working at a daycare center. Her job involves working with children from 0-3 years of age. She provides care and guidance for children as well as teaching kids primary and essential knowledge from young age. She deals with all types of children and she observes the children’s behaviors on daily basis, as this is a important role for her job. In the past she has spent time observing specifically autistic children, she explained how fascinating she found autistic children, and that she would like to learn more about their condition. She explained how often she has to try harder to explain simple things to autistic children, by repeating herself several times, showing him/her examples of her instructions. She also told me how as soon as autistic children understand her instruction, follow her rules to the best of their ability, often doing an excellent job. She said that its as almost if these children are adults, for example when she tells children “it is home time, time to put away all the toys”. Autistic children put the toys exactly where they got them from often in an organized manner. After that I asked her if she is interested in knowing more about autism. she explained her knowledge of autism is limited and that she would like to know why autistic children, have an excellent performance in areas such as, music, art, math and perform poorly in other areas such as,

Befriending autistic people can change an autistic person’s life because they will be comforted and feel apart of the community. By understanding their feelings or thoughts, society will be able to accept them for who they are. It is important that Monte Vista High School deals with the treatment in order to create a safe student body and to further increase awareness about autism in order to stop bullying or

In the interviews gathered, the researcher was trying to gain knowledge of what people think autism is and how they feel towards those who have autism. The most important finding in this was study was most people had a different experience with those with autism and most did not know what autism specifically is. This is the most important finding because the interviews helped gain a different perspective from what the literature said. Interviews were very interesting for the researcher to gain these insights from interviewees. The answers give insight into perceptions individuals have of experience and judgments interviewees have of autistic people.

Autism affects the individuals’ social interactions and the social construction of the world (National Autistic society, 2015). Children with Autism follow a different developmental pattern from other children and develop at the different rate. It could be understood as a social/psychological disability. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) – is a neurological condition that affects the way a person experiences and interacts with the world. Children with Autism spectrum disorder have problems with communication, imagination and interaction. This disability affects 1 in 100 children. There are around 100.000 children with Autism in the United Kingdom itself. To recognize Autism Spectrum Disorder theory of mind could be used to answer the question how children with Autism can be supported in education. Some of the answers could be Makaton and The Transporter systems.

Financial burdens are an obvious upset to families with autistic children, on top of the already heavy expense of having a child there is now medical costs and often counselling. Sen and Yurtsever (2007) reported that families often feel “shock, denial, suffering, depression, guilt, indecision, anger, shame, bargaining, acceptance and adaptation” upon discovering they have a child who suffers from ASD. This disorder has effects on their daily “lifestyles, social relationships, economic situation, health, and goals or expectations for the future” (Norton & Drew, 1994; Sen & Yurtsever, 2007). “Autism is the most common neurological condition diagnosed in children and it is now