Neurotypicals

Yesterday, I watched a TV show on PBS - Neurotypicals. It's about the people on the autism who shared their experiences being different. How beautifully they tell us how they think differently and behave differently. I had a big thought when they say - Why we can't be different? Why do you want me to cure? Why can't we live in our own ways? Why do you want to fix us? Why can't you accept us as we are?

Yes, I also agree in some ways. Every person is different. Even two persons living together think and behave differently. They have their own views, own thoughts, own interests, likes and dislikes etc. Sometimes, they are also not able to understand other's point of view and they have conflict between them. So, why do we want to control them and fix them?

Every person is very much different. What is natural to you, doesn't mean that it's natural to others too. One is good in maths, but others may have difficult time to solve simple math problem. One is very good in sports, but other can be good in computers. One can be talkative and think loudly, other can be less talkative and think quietly. One likes to be with people and being social, but others can like to be alone and stay away from the crowd. That's OK being different.

Everyone knows that I am an introverted person. I was very reserved when I was a kid. I didn't have much friends - only one or two. I wasn't much talkative, still not. Few things didn't come natural to me. I was good in studies and always got good grades. But I was never social kid. I worked for 7-8 years in software industry, but it was very hard for me to take initiatives. I had to learn things hard way, when they were not natural to me. Still it takes time for me to learn anything new. Sometimes I suffer with information overload and feel frustration & irritated. I am also different.

Yes, my son is different and I have no issues about his difference. It doesn't mean I won't teach him anything. I want to teach him basic life skills. I want to teach him to communicate his feelings, his thoughts and his experiences about his inner world. I want to understand him and his sensory world. I want to help him and give him comfort. I want him to get exposure to various things, explore this world and give various options. Then I want him to decide what he wants to choose in his life. I don't want to control his life.

These are my thoughts. If you think different from me, you are welcome to share your thoughts. :)

Temple Grandin

Equally noted for her work on autism and animal husbandry, Dr. Temple Grandin is a visionary in more than the traditional sense. Diagnosed with autism in 1950 at the age of 2, Grandin has utilized the “wiring in her brain” to see things the way that animals do. Over the past 25 years her insights have literally revolutionized animal husbandry in the cattle industry.

She also works as an Autism activist. Based on her own experience, she advocates for early intervention and ABA therapy. She also thinks that every child with autism needs a mentor who can use child's fixations for teaching skills. She talks about autism and its treatments in TV shows, conferences and seminars, and also give interviews. Following is a her video on TED talk -

"Autism activist Temple Grandin talks about how her mind works -- sharing her ability to "think in pictures," which helps her solve problems that neurotypical brains might miss. She makes the case that the world needs people on the autism spectrum: visual thinkers, pattern thinkers, verbal thinkers, and all kinds of smart geeky kids."

Auburn Smith

This post is adapted from the news at Easter Seals site. I like to read and write about the people who have  some disabilities but they accepted their challenges and have become successful in their life. 

Auburn playing tennis

Auburn Smith

High school sophomore Auburn Smith is a nationally ranked tennis player and aspiring musician who enjoys riding her adapted bicycle and loves to travel. She doesn't let a disability get in her way.

There was a time when her doctors couldn't imagine Auburn doing even half of what she does today. Born with spina bifida and clubfoot, she was just a day old when she had her first surgery. Her parents were told that she would likely never walk – something no one in the Smith family accepted.

At seven months, Linda and Jim Smith enrolled Auburn at Easter Seals for inclusive childcare and therapy. With both parents working full time, Easter Seals was the one place where Auburn could have her physical therapy during the day at childcare. Linda, a respiratory therapist, says she recognized immediately that they were in the hands of top-notch professionals. “There was such a calmness about them,” she says. “As a new parent of a child with special needs, it was wonderful to have that steady guidance. We knew we had come to the right place.” At 18 months, Auburn had surgery to realign her feet and the Smiths were amazed by the optimism of Easter Seals’ early intervention team. “They told us they would have Auburn walking by age 2,” says Linda, “and they did. I can’t describe in words what that was like. After that,” she says, “everything else seemed much more attainable.”

Auburn transitioned from Easter Seals childcare to her local school when she was three. But as she’s grown and faced new mobility challenges, Easter Seals has been there to improve her gait and balance or get her fitted for new leg braces.

These days, Auburn is on the honor roll and busy at school. Her teachers say she projects a calm confidence and that she is wise beyond her years. Her ceramics teacher says she’s a rock star and “a one of a kind kid.”

Now, when she comes to Easter Seals, it’s for fun. Tennis Everyone, a partnership between Easter Seals and the United States Tennis Association (USTA), introduces kids with mobility challenges to tennis. Auburn’s coach Nancy Olson is a two-time Paralympic silver medalist in wheelchair tennis. Auburn works with her longtime physical therapist at Easter Seals to strengthen her back and side muscles so she can better maneuver her sports wheelchair on the court. A natural at the game, Auburn says the rewards of tennis go way beyond winning: “I love the competition and meeting new people and how it keeps me healthy.”

Her dad, Jim Smith, is a trauma nurse who works nights so he can be home during the day for Auburn and her sister, Kellie, 13. Auburn also has an older sister — Ashley, 22. Her companion dog, Alpine, makes the family complete. At home, Auburn has chores, homework, and other responsibilities, like any teen. “This is our normal,” Jim says, noting that it was at Easter Seals the family learned to take things in stride. “Easter Seals has been a godsend to us.”

Adapted from Easter Seals

i am intelligent

I recently read a book "i am intelligent" written by Peyton Goddard and Dianne Goddard. "This is the story of a child who, although unable to express herself, lives fully aware of her limiting circumstances."

Peyton was having multiple disorders and also non-verbal. Her mother Dianne did everything, what she could do to help her daughter. She went to several doctors to treat her physical symptoms and behaviors. She made every effort to make her daughter learn new skills, to attend school, not to institutionalize her and also to make new friends.

As Peyton was unable to express, Dianne had to guess everything about her daughter. She herself didn't know, what are her daughter's thoughts. She wasn't aware, what Peyton suffered in her absence and she was abused by her own relatives who were supposed to babysit her.

As Dianne was eager to do anything to help Peyton, she heard about Facilitated Communication (FC) when Peyton was 22 years old. Through FC, Peyton started to type with the support of facilitator. On that day, whole life was changed for her and her family. She was able to communicate now. She told everything to her mother, what are her feelings, likes, dislikes, desires, expectations etc. and also she told about what she suffered in her earlier life.

With the new technology of FC, she was able to study in the college and also passed the exams. She was able to make new friends, to meet people, to teach other children and was involved in various activities. She is now writer, poet, advocate for inclusion and also she has her own website http://peytongoddard.com/. Her wisdom is now sought by eductaors, parents, doctors and community groups. 

I like her saying "mute in speaking is not necessarily sign of mute in ideas".