Personal Narrative: Talk About Curing Autism

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.

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

Autism, a developmental disorder is becoming widely diagnosed here in the U.S. and throughout the world affecting children in all different types of backgrounds. From children living in rural or urban, rich or poor. Currently there are many speculations and superstitions as to the causes for developing autism but science has no clear evidence as to why autism affects certain people and not others, autism can greatly affect the families and its patients for their entire lives. Most of you do not know that I have twin younger brothers with Autism. Before this speech, I had no clue what autism really was. Through my research I am now able to relay this information to you. Today I want to talk about Autism. The three things I will be speaking about is what is Autism? How does autism affect the family and how does autism affect people who have it?

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.

I was diagnosed with Autism when I was 2 years old and it has affected my entire life more than anything else I have experienced. It has impacted the way I socialize and communicate with people, the way I think and understand the world,and it also affected my speech and development when I was younger. Autism also affects the way other people see me and I’m often misunderstood. I don’t remember everything about my life at that time, but I do know that I struggled a lot to get to where I am today. I’m also aware that it will impact my future and force me to work harder than my peers. Even though I have Autism, I will always know that it doesn’t define who I am and that I will improve no matter what.

Before doing the research on autism spectrum disorder I thought it was a disease, but not I know it’s a disorder. Autism has actually become a very common disorder and has also became well known. After my speech I hope to have given you guys a better understanding about this disorder so when you guys see the puzzled ribbon you have a clue of what it is.

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

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

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

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

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

Autistic infants often show little or no interest in other people and lack typical social behaviors. For example, they may not smile at their mother's voice or make eye contact with caregivers. Autistic children fail to develop normal relationships with their parents, brothers or sisters, and other children. Often they seem unaware of the needs and feelings of other people, and may not respond if another person is hurt or in distress. They also fail to make friends.

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.