Personal Narrative: My Journey To 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.

In Catherine Maurice’s novel “Let Me Hear Your Voice: A Family’s Triumph Over Autism” Marc and Catherine Maurice are the parents of three children, two of which, Anne Marie and Michel, have autism, whereas the eldest of the three children, Daniel, does not. Catherine Maurice first had Daniel, and all was well with him, as it was for her second child, Anne Marie, at least for a little while. Between the time Anne Marie turned one and when she turned two, her parents started to notice some behaviors that were not normal, like repeating behaviors, or a lack of communication skills. They receive a diagnosis of autism for Anne Marie and their world is turned upside down. They go to a number of doctors and are presented with the same bleak outlook from each one. Catherine however decided to search for her own answers and discovers behavioral therapy, and hires a therapist named Bridget to work with Anne Marie. As well as Bridget, Catherine found a supporter of holding therapy, Dr. Welch. With intense training, Anne Marie begins to move away from some of her problem behaviors. At first, Catherine believed that Dr. Welch’s holding therapy was the answer, but she eventually realized that Dr. Welch was a self serving therapist that was more concerned with her own status. As things are finally beginning to improve for the family, Catherine starts to worry about her next child, Michel. At first, the concern level was relatively low due to the fact that Michel was more outgoing and

A lot of people don’t realize the challenges of living with a child who has been diagnose with Autism can be. It is a twenty-four-hour seven day a week job no vacation, no sick time and no pay. From the time the child is diagnosed it is a constant worry especially if the parents don’t know much about the condition. It starts with continuous Doctor visits, social services, and therapy sessions, just to figure out how serious the condition may be and what level of the disability the child has and this is only this beginning. Next, to find the tools the child needs to overcome the disability, like learning development and cognitive process, social skills, comprehension capabilities, and many more depending on the severity of autism.

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.

My life's journey is aspiring to further my education to become a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) as well as acquiring the credentials for Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC). Upon achieving a master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, I plan to apply my skills in a rehabilitation setting focusing on individuals with disabilities. My goal is to make an impact in the lives of many families and to empower these individuals to strive to their fullest potential. Furthermore, I find it gratifying helping individuals reach their goals and most importantly their dreams. I am currently working with the community and volunteering with the Autism Services Clinic at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). Assisting children with special needs has been an exceptional

When I first found out my brother had autism, I didn’t know what to think. At first I blamed myself because I spent a lot of time with him ever since he was born, showing him how to use iPads, computers, and other electronics and I thought these things had something to do with it. Even after people have been telling me that there is no clear cause for autism, to this day I still can’t help but think that I had something to do with my brother’s disorder. As his older brother though I promised myself that I would do whatever it takes to help my brother live with his disorder and still become a functional member of society. My family started by placing my brother under Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy. The therapy sessions took place at

It is exciting to watch the improvements of the child I work with in a daycare situation. Under his plan provided by his team I have worked on

The story “let me hear your voice” is told from the perspective of Catherine Maurice and the challenges she faced to help her children overcome autism. Catherine has three children, her first child was Daniel who was nurotypical and is considered a “normal” child. Her second and third children were Anne-Marie and Michel respectively, and they were both born with autism. Anne-Marie is described as having a “delicate face, with porcelain skin and faint roses in the cheeks and framed by wispy brown curls” (Maurice, 1993). Anne-Marie was reported as shy and introverted when she was about 13 months but ahead of other children her age. She would play in one spot for hours and never really crawled around but could say simple sentences like “hi daddy” when she was only 15 months. She would cry a lot and did not like unexpected events or to be away from her mother for too long. Anne-Marie began to regress a little later in the story; she didn’t really speak as much anymore but could repeat things that Catherine said like “car” and “cookie”. Anne-Maries tantrums grew worse as well and would sometimes bang her head on the floor when she was particularly moody. She was cared for by her mother Catherine, her father Marc, and her nanny Patsy. Michel developed a little differently than Anne-Marie. At one year old Michel was walking, talking, eating with a fork, and can say the word “no”. Michel was also friendlier than his more withdrawn sister at that age. His language skills were delayed

I always wanted to have a positive impact on my community, as well as facilitate positive change. Joining W.H.Y and being a part of my community through my church has allowed me to expand and have a say in what goes on. As a part of W.H.Y I am privileged with the opportunity to expose myself to different things including classrooms with toddlers who happen to be autistic. These visits to our local preschool are meant to help the children to socialize and become used to people they do not encounter every day, as well as help the teachers with their respective loads in terms of classroom maintenance.

As someone who studied Family Sciences and Human Services for six years, I want to join an organization where I can put my enthusiasm for mentoring others to good use. Gateway Learning Group helps children with Autism and other special needs reach their full potential to acquire social, learning and behavioral skills. Working for Gateway Learning Group will allow me to utilize my passion for building relationships with children and their families to ensure they getting the support they need. The characteristics and values that Gateway Learning Group exhibits are what I highly value in a workplace environment.

Autism Speaks enhances lives today and is accelerating a spectrum of solutions for tomorrow.” Based on research, Autism Speaks does a great job to help those with Autism. They also help others understand what Autism is by providing useful information to uninformed parents and family members. The organization is built to bring people to understand what autism is and how an individual can help and support a child with autism. The mission statement is relevant to their goal as an NPO and no changes should be made to their mission statement.

The first child I was fortunate to meet with Autism, was the son of a previous coworker. I walked into his home and he immediately came up and independently hugged and initiated a conversation with me. I did not know it at the time but for a child with autism, that was a big deal. Working with children has always been a strong desire and passion of mine, I knew teaching was not my number one option but I was definitely not opposed to it. At the time, I thought I wanted to go into child protective services which is why I decided to pursue my degree in criminal justice. It was not until I declared a minor in Human Services that I realized what I really wanted to do, which was be in the field of helping and counseling.

Curious about the kind of support available to 64 million Americans living with disabilities, I decided to explore this cause and community. I applied and was accepted as an AFK program mentor. Soon, I was working with Michael, a 13-year-old, who was nothing like my preconception of someone with autism. Over the next two years, we met nearly every week, played

Autism is on the rise. Many researchers feel the reasons isn’t because there are more kids being afflicted with it, but the increased public awareness has allowed this disorder to be more easily recognized and diagnosed at a earlier age.

Autism is a complex disability, as the way it manifests in each child differs in severity across numerous characteristics. Children diagnosed with autism qualify to receive special services and a “free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment” under the federal legislation, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Hunt & Marshall, 2012, p. 15). Autism was added to IDEA in 1990 as a new disability category. The legislation defines autism as “a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age 3 that adversely affects a child’s educational performance” (Hunt & Marshall, 2012, p. 301). The “Rules for the Provision of Special Education” from the State Superintendent of Public Instruction of Washington state also outlines eligibility and individualized education programs for children diagnosed with autism (Rules for the Provision of Special Education, p. 11 & 46). Furthermore, the DSM diagnoses autism when a child shows “qualitative impairments” in social interaction, communication, and “restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities” (Hunt & Marshall, 2012, p. 302).