Although I was unable to attend Barb Rentenbach's lecture, I enjoyed watching the following two videos: Autism Teacher Please and Here We Are World: A Conversation Among Friends. These videos gave me insight into the context of Rentenbach's struggles and successes in life as a person with Autism. While I have learned about Autism through a Special Education class and various child psychology classes, I have never considered Autism from this perspective.
A misconception I had about people with Autism is that often they have sensory issues and prefer to be left alone and have their personal space. However, Rentenbach discusses how even though she cannot always communicate does not mean she does not enjoy companionship. Specifically, she discusses how just being with someone offers a sense of equality. On the other hand, I always thought that people with Autism are socially inept and often are unable to process social cues such as sarcasm or humor. However, the video about the FC conference, shows many facets of individuals with Autism, including humor, competence, and peer relationships.
Facilitated Communication should be accepted and the students who use these will be accepted by peers. Additionally, students look to the teacher for how to react towards students with disabilities; therefore, the teacher should treat FC students with equity and respect. While watching the video about the FC conference, I learned about how amazing this tool is to relay the incredible thoughts of people who cannot speak. Even though people with Autism often have high intellectual achievement, sometimes people have misconceptions that people who have Autism are incompetent. I believe this misconception stems from the lack of ability to communicate. If a person cannot effectively communicate, others typically assume they do not have credible thoughts. Thus, being able to first type one's ideas in order to communicate is highly beneficial in breaking down this misconception.
No comments:
Post a Comment