It’s Not All Academic
The November 19th New York Times quotes autism mother Evelyn Ain, mother of Matthew and founder of Autism United:
Ms. Ain said school districts need to go beyond academics to help autistic children. “My child needs to learn how to turn on the water to make sure it’s not too hot before he washes his hands,” she said. He can search the Internet and print out pictures of toys, but “he needs to learn how to cross the street in a safe fashion.”
“He needs to learn things that other kids don’t need to learn.”
Indeed: Reading (with Edmark and other curricula) and math skills (Charlie can now add two-digit numbers on a calculator) are on Charlie’s IEP, along with a program for “crossing the street” (Charlie does this on the sidewalk to circular driveway in front of his school; he is working on stopping at the curb and looking to the left). I do always get a little concerned with the term “functional” gets raised in discussions about Charlie’s education: He does need to learn self-care and life skills, but learning to read is a very big part of this: There are STOP signs and signs for MEN vs. WOMEN, to read. On the other hand, I’m not worried whether or not Charlie will ever read well enough to read novels and poetry; being able to read to help him manage in the world would be great and good enough.
Charlie has been showing much more interest in books than he has in a long, long time: When he was a baby and until he was a toddler, he used to spend hours looking through two shelves of board and picture books that we called his “library.” This seeming interest faded away and Charlie only sits for a page or two when I read to him. He has started to look through the bookshelves again and has taken out two books—The Littlest Angel and Pat the Bunny—and set them among his favorite things (his “blue case” with his iPod and photo schedule, his backpack, his photos). He has only looked a bit at the books’ pages and I suspect the blue cover, meant to be heaven, of The Littlest Angel reminds him of the ocean; no matter. Judging books by their covers has its merits.
5 opinions for It’s Not All Academic
TheASMan
Nov 19, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Ain is a well known supporter for a cure. She is also a supporter of ABA. Of course, she says it is a kinder gentler ABA- they dont use cow prods to shock like lovaas did. They are very considerate.
Still the logical argument that ABA based on a disproved theories is unconvincing for them. It reminds me if they remodeled buchenwald into a free health clinic with the sign “under new management” swinging in the wind. I’ll pass.
Ain was writing a column for the long island press. I wrote and called the editor about her pro cure views were not upheld by the majority of adults.
She was dropped. I dont remember now whether I mentioned possible protests.
As aside Ain is eye in hebrew usually Ayn. Look that up what that means vis a vis in the Tarot and Qabala. The card is the devil where a man and women is tied by loose fitting chains. They can break those chains if they really wanted to but they are conditioned to believe they are bound. She represents in my opinion the old way of thinking that bounds and limits autistics if they only choose to allow.
Bonnie Ventura
Nov 19, 2007 at 1:03 pm
My son also needed to be taught how to make sure the water was not too hot before he washed his hands. Sometimes he would wash in water that was too hot and wouldn’t notice, apparently because he couldn’t feel the difference, and ended up with dry rough skin on his hands. I had to explain that the knob on the faucet should be set in the middle.
If teachers and parents are made more aware of these issues, that would be a good thing. But they need to understand that sensory differences are often the cause of such problems; they should never assume that the children lack intelligence or capability.
Regan
Nov 19, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Interesting.
Recently on a grouplist with many long-time parents of older kids the discussion turned on balancing those “functional” self-help skills and the academics. I think there the concern was that the emphasis on academics at the expense of the social and functional.
As a point of comparison, I don’t think that enough students in general are taught practical skills unless they are in a focussed remedial program. I know alot of typical high schoolers right now who are singularly unfamiliar with basic cooking, cleaning and budget management (who takes home ec anymore?), and how to fix or build things. In some schools art, music and PE are being dispensed with because of costs, resulting in a rather narrow curriculum.
So it’s an issue of balance and recognizing that for some students, and maybe all, that being able to maneuver on many fronts of life is a useful and needed thing. Just FYI: we work on the gaps at home.
KimJ
Nov 19, 2007 at 3:21 pm
Regan, I agree with your point about “practical skills” aka social skills. I went to elementary school in the 70’s and early 80’s, when they taught telephone skills (we had live, closed circuit phone lines) and dance etiquette. We also had to show proficiency in shoelace-typing and be able to recite and spell our name and phone number in kindergarten.
In the school district in which my son attends, the principles are given a lot of power to decide what “extras” to budget for. They can omit special ed altogether, one school has a progressive reading program and PE but no music. My son’s current school has a music program (that’s apparently very expensive) but no PE and the teachers had to “fight” for recess. The teachers themselves direct a type of PE period during recess and one day a week.
Another school has a landmark program for addressing ADHD from an educational angle. It’s just very different these days and the priorities vary greatly.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Nov 19, 2007 at 8:29 pm
I also think there’s a tendency to forget that “daily living skills” and “vocational skills” don’t have to be devoid of cognitive substance—-plenty of thinking and problem-solving can be involved.
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