PLEASE ANSWER QUESTIONS! Presentation for College

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Hello, I'd appericate it if anyone of you would answer these questions, so I can use them for my speech on how Schools should have more Autism awareness. Please, try to give descriptive answers! !! I desperately need answers!! !! Or else I'm gonna fail this...

1. When you went to school (grade-high school) did you feel that it would be easier if your classmates known about Autism?

2. If your school did have more awareness about Autism, how do you think it helped you?

3. What are ways you can think of presenting Autism in a more fun way? This is important for children's learning.

4. Did children bully you based on your Autism? Example: I was always made fun of because of my childlike behavior.

5. Did you ever wish that people in your class understood what it's like to be in your shoes?

6. Have you ever wanted to tell your classmates but were afraid to?

7. Did anyone in your class ever make an uneducated remark about Autism? Example: This girl in my senior year thought all people with Autism were geniuses.

8. Do you have a/any relative(s) that have Autism?

9. If so, is their experience any easier than your's was? Was it worse? The same? If any different. How?

10. Would you ever try to teach your classmates about Autism? Even if it's only a speech/presentation for a class.

Thank you to those who did answer these questions :]

1. Well, in the last years of grade school and then high school the others knew I had autism. And I was pretty upset at that invasion of my privacy, that no one had bloody consulted me on whether this information should be shared. In grade school, the situation remained just as bad it as it was before, because the kids there were stupid. They were the most horrible, soulless people and they were so unproductive. Thank god I only spent two years with them, because I had moved in. Before that, school was okay.

In high school, I suppose things are alright. I'm not sure if it's due to my peers knowing. The bad apples (and they're not hard to spot) are just as bad as ever, but because in this country's school system you get divided into several streams of education (e.g. one where you have much more things like woodshop than language or history), the worst ones were mostly filtered out. I think the people in my class now are simply better people, for the most part.

2. I think it did help. I've had some...conflicts with teachers regarding their behavior and teaching methods, as well as their opinion on my learning style. They have the view that they somehow have an authority over others, which I disagree with. I think they were more willing to talk because they knew.

3. I can't be of much help on this one. I was never one that liked the "fun" ways of learning.

4. I don't think specifically because of that, no. I receive various negative comments regarding my hair and facial hair (Including from a friend's mother... I hope she's not like that to all her guests), but I'm good at ignoring things. In the last two years of grade school, it was more of an open war than it was bullying for any particular reason. Before that, I was not bullied.

5. Nah, not really. I don't really care whether or not they know it how it is, I think any reasonable person should accept other's differences even without knowing the finer details. I don't ask blind people what it's like to be blind.

6. No, never ever ever would I do that, though I wasn't given a choice in the matter. I do not think it is helpful, in all likelihood in the less developed it will do nothing but create a negative stereotype.

7. I've never heard them make any remark regarding autism, really.

8. Due to moving a lot I've never really known my family very well, but I know of none.

9. Not applicable.

10. No. I think the key is accepting others for who they are, it is not necessary to provide the "why". You don't have to understand to accept, when it comes to people. Furthermore, school is an institute for learning and this would unnecesarily take time away from myself and other students.

You might want to mention that many people lived their whole lives with out knowing they were autistic. After Kanner, people in the States were aware of low functioning autism, but it was in the middle nineties when Lorna Wing made Asperger's research known to the world in general. There are many people on WP that learned they were autistic in their forties and fifties and even later in life. I mention this because of the history of it, and because they never knew why people rejected them, nor how to fit in. You might suggest how much better people with autism have it these days, if only just knowing and having other people to help.

First of all, I hope you do not neglect classical autism in your presentation, as that is quite different from what we call "Asperger's Syndrome"

For the sake of answering your questions, I will assume you are asking about "Asperger's Syndrome" and not "autism".

1. When you went to school (grade-high school) did you feel that it would be easier if your classmates known about Autism?

No. It was irrelevant. I did not socialize with the other children and they did not socialize with me.


2. If your school did have more awareness about Autism, how do you think it helped you?
See above.

3. What are ways you can think of presenting Autism in a more fun way? This is important for children's learning.

I think rather than teaching them about autism or Asperger's Syndrome specifically, it would be more conductive to teach them that different people think and see the world in different ways.

4. Did children bully you based on your Autism? Example: I was always made fun of because of my childlike behavior.

No. I interacted little with other children and those I interacted with did not have issues with me.

5. Did you ever wish that people in your class understood what it's like to be in your shoes?

No. We had little interaction. Their world was their world. My world was my world.

6. Have you ever wanted to tell your classmates but were afraid to?

There was nothing to tell.

7. Did anyone in your class ever make an uneducated remark about Autism? Example: This girl in my senior year thought all people with Autism were geniuses.

No.

8. Do you have a/any relative(s) that have Autism?

Distant cousins possibly.

9. If so, is their experience any easier than your's was? Was it worse? The same? If any different. How?

Not applicable.

10. Would you ever try to teach your classmates about Autism? Even if it's only a speech/presentation for a class.

Possibly.

1. When you went to school (grade-high school) did you feel that it would be easier if your classmates known about Autism?

Yes. It also would have been helpful if my actual school had more autism awareness. I wasn't diagnosed until last November, so everyone just saw me as a lemon. However, because of not being diagnosed until after the worst of school was over, I feel like I have learned to deal a lot easier than maybe some of those who were diagnosed at an earlier age.

2. If your school did have more awareness about Autism, how do you think it helped you?

I think it would have kept me from having to take the lowest classes and being picked on at almost every turn. I don't think they could have helped me much with "behavioral skills" just because I have a really great mother who only expected the best from my brother and I, and so we expected ourselves to be able to do anything and to be able to cope with any situation by learning from our own experiences.

3. What are ways you can think of presenting Autism in a more fun way? This is important for children's learning.

Oh, well, I was going to say "drunk" before I read "children." I think it would be interesting to have autistic children do a presentation on autism to their class (assuming it does not make them uncomfortable). I sort of wish I could go back in time and do that in fourth or fifth grade, but oh well, too late for me.

4. Did children bully you based on your Autism? Example: I was always made fun of because of my childlike behavior.

No one knew I was autistic but classmates definitely picked on me for being weird, or "crazy" or acting in an immature manner. It also didn't help that I was a 200 lb fourteen-year-old in a school full of thin blonde rich kids. It seemed like any time I opened my mouth to speak (although I didn't realize at the time that what I was saying was completely irrelevant to the subject at hand and also dragged on forever) I would get a verbal punch in the face.

5. Did you ever wish that people in your class understood what it's like to be in your shoes?

Yes? I'm not really sure how to make this more descriptive.

6. Have you ever wanted to tell your classmates but were afraid to?

Not applicable for K-12, because I didn't know, but I don't think I would have been afraid to tell them if I had. I probably would have used it as a "I'm untouchable" device. Now I say it proudly because, well, I'm awesome, and having AS is just something that contributes to me being awesome.

7. Did anyone in your class ever make an uneducated remark about Autism? Example: This girl in my senior year thought all people with Autism were geniuses.

Can't remember, or it was never discussed in school (just like anything else of importance). I really never learned about autism until I started researching it on my own in high school, and I don't think students or faculty really knew about it, either, otherwise I'm sure I would have been diagnosed much sooner, seeing as I had been going to a shrink since I was 12.

8. Do you have a/any relative(s) that have Autism?

My older brother as AS, and was diagnosed only a few months before me. My late uncle, who we can't be sure of, but we think he had higher functioning classic autism. Unfortunately, he was also brain damaged when he was born due to lack of oxygen, and I had only ever known him when he was on many, many drugs, which make him twitch and do weird things to his face. He was verbal, and very kind, and had memorized every make of car ever built by he time he was 15. We can't know for sure, but after my diagnosis, I thought about this, and brought it up to my mother who said "that is very possible, but no one knew about autism back then." My father also probably has AS or NVLD, and my mom is probably hyperlexic due to the fact she taught herself to read at the age of two, and also because she's about as social as I am, and prefers animals over people.

9. If so, is their experience any easier than your's was? Was it worse? The same? If any different. How?

My uncle's was obviously much more difficult, but he also had two siblings who loved him very much and always stood up for him. My brother and I had about the same experience, I think. I may have been a little more outlandish with my behaviors so I was picked on more. He was quieter in school, but everyone thought he was going to snap one day, so they just stayed away from him around the time high school kicked in.

10. Would you ever try to teach your classmates about Autism? Even if it's only a speech/presentation for a class.

Yes, I'd actually really like to do that, but I only have two more weeks of school left in my life, so it's a little late, now!

CAVEAT -- Nobody knew of AS when I was a kid and little to nothing was said about autism in general (for perspective on my answers).

1. When you went to school (grade-high school) did you feel that it would be easier if your classmates known about Autism?

No. Kids were viciously cruel. "ret*d" was a common joke and kids with real disabilities were joked about and teased for being disabled (especially the "ret*ds").

2. If your school did have more awareness about Autism, how do you think it helped you?

Without discipline to teach kids it was wrong to tease and ridicule those who were different, it would have just fueled the existing fires to ridicule those who didn't fit in.

3. What are ways you can think of presenting Autism in a more fun way? This is important for children's learning.

FUN? WTF? What kind of tree-hugging idea is that? There is nothing "fun" about having Autism. It's a life-long sentence that you will never quite fit in with "normal" society no matter how much you try. At most, we hope to be accepted for how we can contribute in our own unique way, but I sure ask heck don't want kids seeing it as something that's "fun" or to be pitied.

4. Did children bully you based on your Autism? Example: I was always made fun of because of my childlike behavior.

Uncertain. AS wasn't known about back then. I was bullied for being "different." I suppose you could say that my AS is why it happened, but they didn't know I had AS. Nobody knew about AS.

5. Did you ever wish that people in your class understood what it's like to be in your shoes?

All the time. Then again, perhaps I was stuck in a school full of psychopaths.

6. Have you ever wanted to tell your classmates but were afraid to?

Again, nobody knew about AS back then, but I know I was afraid to show any form of weakness or vulnerability to the other kids. They fed on it like shark on chum.

7. Did anyone in your class ever make an uneducated remark about Autism? Example: This girl in my senior year thought all people with Autism were geniuses.

Not relevant. Nobody really knew about it. If anything "ret*ds" were teased. "Freaks" were ostracized for not fitting in.

8. Do you have a/any relative(s) that have Autism?

I see potential AS/autism traits in my mom, one uncle, and sometimes my sister and her son, but none are obvious or diagnosed.

9. If so, is their experience any easier than your's was? Was it worse? The same? If any different. How?

Not applicable.

10. Would you ever try to teach your classmates about Autism? Even if it's only a speech/presentation for a class.

In this day and age? Maybe.

I had gone through Grade School, with other Children 'Poking Fun' at me, calling me 'Tarzan' or Jungle Girl, for My never ending interest in Nature and Trees.Instead of 'playing Catch' with the others I was always 'Examining' a leaf, or bug, and if not that, up in a Tree, quite literilly laying in Its branches. The teachers had thout this was 'odd' especially for a Girl, and tried to have My Mother look into this,She had told them I was a 'Tom boy'. Ihad good grades in every thing but language, and Math, so no one at school had inititive to chek me out for this in school.Same went for 'High School', I was seen as the earth- loving oddball, this did nit bother me as I never had interest in the frivilous talk of dating, hair, or nails.No one mentioned autism or any thing of the sortduring this time either. It has only in the past couple of monthes that I have heard of it, and this from my two Freinds, and a Collage Professor who thinks I have IT. So i will say concerning School, I Beleive that Students who are Old enough to Understand the basics, and on aught to be Aware of this, and also Made Aware that they aught Not 'Tease' or Bully Students who have this.

I was just entering high school when people were starting to become aware of autism in general. It wasn't until I was well into adulthood that anyone suspected I might have AS, including me.



Again, no one knew anything about it. If my school had known, it's possible that I would have had an easier time in the social arena. My grades were high, so it is unlikely I would have received academic assistance.



The best way is probably by introducing them to some visually intuitive aspects of autism, for instance, the tendency for some people with AS to become hyper-specialized in their interests. Another option is through interactive roleplay, where students act out the characteristics associated with AS and autism.



Certainly, although they weren't aware of the autism. I was, for instance, incapable of understanding that jumping up and down in my chair to answer a question might be seen as annoying by my peers.



I mostly wanted to understand why such a large gulf appeared to exist between me and everyone else for no apparent reason.



My peers now are considerably older and more mature. More to the point, they can see the link between my own behavioral patterns and the characteristics of AS.



I've never seen this as a major problem, but then, they didn't know about autism to make fun of it.



Possibly, though no one is diagnosed.



N/A



That's hard to say. It would probably be most helpful to find a video wherein the experiences of people with autism are detailed.