In this, my first semester back in college, I have finally reached the Autism chapter of my Abnormal Child Psychology class. I was really disappointed in how the text book started the chapter with an insinuation that autistic children are subhuman, by saying many of the traits that make us human are the ones that are deficient in people on the spectrum. Yes, there are deficiencies in social skills and even in communication, but is that all that really makes us human? And what are we measuring this by? Many non-verbals can communicate, just not in the way society is demanding of them. If you don't think so, research Carly Fleischmann's story. And what are we saying about deaf people then? I understand the point that was being made, but I think in this day and age, with so many being diagnosed worldwide, we have a responsibility to be more careful about how we address people on the spectrum. They are not deaf and they are not mentally retarded. They are fully able to comprehend things that are said and have extraordinary recall. They just cannot use expressive language as freely as others, and even may take a little longer to express themselves when/if they do. It doesn't mean they don't understand what is being said about them.
In my class last night, as we were breezing straight through the topic, there were so many times I wanted to comment, to add to the lecture my own personal experiences and argue some things being taught, but the professor is against us sharing anything too personal and I could tell she wanted to get through it quickly so we could leave early. We are watching the movie Temple Grandin, which I think is a phenomenal thing to show and I applaud her wisdom in that decision.
But when the chapter is done, that is all we have for Autism. In this great University of Wisconsin system, which has been reguarded so highly for it's academic excellence, I feel like there is a huge lack of classes in autism. With 1 in 88 folks on the spectrum already, courses should be available at every college in the country, we shouldn't have to rearrange our whole lives to find a college that offers courses in it. I know that it takes time to implement such programs, and that it will happen in time. We certainly want someone teaching the course that has worked extensively with autistic children, and not just occassionally encountered an autistic child in the course of treating the masses of depressed people. Not that I'm knocking anyone, every kind of therapy is vital, but for me, I want to see more courses offered in autism, and eventually, I'd like to see a degree in autism treatment being offered. Yes it is a branch of psychology, yes it is a branch of human development, and even social work, occupational therapy and speech therapy if we want to get technical. But within those broad courses, there is very little that applies to autism, and to those who want to chose a career in helping spectrum people. So there is one area I hope comes along in my lifetime. In the meantime, I will take my overgeneralized psychology courses on marriage issues, drugs, aging, etc that have very little to do with a problem that is quickly outgrowing many others combined, and not just in our country, but worldwide. That 1 in 88 is the American statistic, but it is 1 in 150 worldwide. And knowing that it's going to be a fair while before we get answers as to the how and why's, we had better have a competent fleet of people equipped to help these people, as they become a part of the meshwork that makes up our global demographic. I may rant, but I also have hope. I started this to be part of the change of things that I can see lacking, and I'm far from done.
No comments:
Post a Comment