Final Thoughts

AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER…Wow, I connected with the plight of autism, through the children and their families.  ASD is so wide with numerous levels of functionality ; however, I was very surprised how some children were able to overcome autism, if that is a correct statement.  They received intensive one-on-one therapy and interaction at an early age and were able to become functional, mainstream young learners.

 I would like to investigate autism in twins, siblings, and investigate early detections of ASD for early intervention in children as young as 4 months. ASD  consist of many levels of learning and techniques to help the young learner become functional; more so, one is required to be taught how to empower and enable the young learner and not disable him,  therefore, ASD relate directly with my future aspiration of educating teachers on the different learning styles for early learners.   

The interview I had with Ms. Hall concerning her son with autism motivated me the most as a person, mother, grandmother, and professional. This mother never gave up, she never stop believing that her son would one day be able to function independently, from the age of three years old when he was diagnosed with autism to his current age of nine and has very little signs of autism, attending a mainstream school and is doing well.  This took hours of interaction with her son, training from the agency that addressed her son’s ASD’s needs. In addition, the love and support she received from family members and the community.   

Furthermore, the  research on how one-on-one interaction might assist a child with varying abilities and resiliency gave insight to families, and  the course work on how cultures are different and one must be respectful to all cultures for the success of the child, were paramount to my learning and understanding as a scholar gave insight on society. 

Finally, the knowledge received from this course gave one a different out-look on one’s doctoral pursuit. ASD, is very board, however, how communities, schools, teachers, classmates, families, and parents of children with ASD deal with ASD can be broken down into small leaning modules so that the child and every one in his life is empowered and knowledgeable to help him succeed.  Whether this will be a main focus of the dissertation of a subtopic, it does not matter, I have connected to ASD for life.  

Course Project Summary

“If they can't learn the way we teach, we teach the way they learn” ― O. Ivar Lovaas
 
The interview process was extremely successful, there were no challenges encountered. Each interviewee took time out of her busy schedule to meet at a Chinese Buffet of her choice, allowing time to “chat and chew” at leisure to describe a typical day in her life.  

 First Interviewee
The first interviewee was a Special Instructor with an agency that targeted early intervention.   During the interview I became amazed at the level of commitment and passion she expressed for the children and families she serviced.  The interviewee answered every question in detailed with examples to support her answers.  I walked away from that interview seeing developmental delays, not as developmental delays, instead, as alternative development. The word delay was removed and replaced with alternative. The success of the meeting was the knowledge received from a passionate professional. 
 I elated, I experienced the passion that was discussed, and I felt the joy she received from every child she spoke about in her interview. Furthermore, I connected with the experience she told about how one of her male children had behavioral problems when his dad moved out; I had a child in my classroom that responded  the same way when his dad moved out the house.  She told me how she spent more time with the child overlooking some of his minor behavioral issues, In other words, she allowed him to vent due to the new family situation... That was paramount! I had used the same technique with my child, and within time, her child and mine self-regulated, allowing learning to take place.

Second Interviewee

     The second interviewee was the mother of a child diagnosed at age 36 months with autism; he is now nine years old and is mainstreamed at a Christian private school, and he excelling wonderfully, awesome!  The mother and I spoke for over three hours; we talked, cried, laughed, and prayed.  What a phenomenal young woman, she overcame many obstacles as a mother, newlywed, and military officer. Nevertheless, the true success of the meeting was how a mother who believed that God would help her child overcome a leaning disorder that doctors said not so, or he would not be completely rid of autism. The experienced that I most connected with was how her son one day just seem to understand the conversation at hand. She always spoke to him as if he would respond, sometimes he did and sometime he did not, but one day when he was 6, she was talking to him and he joined in the conversation.  She cried, screamed, and called her mother all at the same time as she stated.  Her son is now nine years old, with little indication of autism, and as she puts it, “we all have a little autism in us” so he is “normal”, we ended our interview with a hug and prayer, believing much more for her, her son, and her entire family.

  Idea
 After the interviews, it was clear that all children, especially those that might have developmental delays or autism need room to grow.  Each interviewee expressed how the children changed once they had one-on-one with the educator. In addition, the child was allowed to be themselves without restrictions.  In other words, give the child the freedom to explore and examine their environment.
The idea is to; develop a schedule that would allow the child special time with his educator, time for him to receive the passion and love from the educator, granting him the cognitive and social-emotional development tools needed to succeed.  

Any suggestions on what one might do with the child?

Summarized  

 
Finally, the Course Project (Major Assessment) article research was very insightful. However, searching Walden’s Library was exhausting; nevertheless, many great articles that addressed the Course Project’s four categories, challenge, communities, trauma, and resiliency were found. To date, the interviews, professional organizations, and except for the last five articles, all have been completed.  Concerning, the Module 8, week 16, day 3, Discussion 2, virtual Roundtables presentation I am considering Prezi or PowerPoint to upload to Kaltura media. So, one might say, it is all coming together at a very nice pace

Course Project ~ My Challenge

The challenge I selected was “Children with varying abilities” and sub topics are “Autism spectrum disorder, developmental delays (social, emotional, cognitive), and learning disabilities, because children in preschool and primary grades are falling through the educational cracks.  I believe that each subtopic overlaps the other in some form of learning.  In fact, some children might be caught in the red tape of what does or does not apply to their learning. In addition, it hurts me to see a child labeled as “bad” when in fact; there are no bad children, just children that are greatly misunderstood.  I desire to explore the different forms of learning available for children with varying abilities in fact; I want to know more to help children, teachers, and parents understand the many techniques to unlocking learning regardless of the issue at hand.  I believe all children can learn and every family has the ability to help that child.  Working with families bridging that gap of “my child has… and cannot do” to “my child can" will be a personal  and a professional accomplishment.

       

 

The subtopics are very dear to me; I have a long time friend with a grandson that displayed Autism at age two.  He is now nine years old and has overcome so many obstacles. The many forms of autism are amazing… “If you see one child with autism, you have seen one child with autism!” Each child display autism differently, in fact, autism has many levels, mild, moderate, and server.  My friend’s grandson’s autism was considered mild.   

The preliminary questions I have about working with children and families living with this challenge are:

1.      Do you believe your child can learn?

2.      Are you willing to collaborate with educators to help your child achieve and overcome obstacles?

3.      When do we start?

4.      When dealing with families, are they first in denial of their child’s developmental delay?

5.      How might one approach a parent with a young child that displays Autism, etc, in a caring manner?