My Vision
People often negate what they do not understand. There is danger in that for these complex individuals. My suggestions revolve around staff education, collaboration between disciplinarians and parents, change of criteria and delivery models, and development of supportive environments. My suggestions are for school districts to ensure a maximum use of resources.
The objectives of my vision would be based on an Autism Bill of Rights.
• Each child has a right to a safe and nurturing environment.
• Each child’s discomfort and pain needs to be alleviated to the best of our ability.
• Each child deserves respect.
• Each child should be gently coaxed to be all he wishes to be.
• Each child deserves to find pleasure in his physical existence.
• Each child will be given a helping hand to his next step of accomplishment.
• Each child will learn to trust his environment and the people in it.
• Each child will recognize open hearts willing to join him on his journey.
• Each child will be assisted in adapting to the rhythm and flow of life.
• Each child will feel loved!
I would like to see experts in the fields of speech, occupational, physical, and vision therapy work with teachers to create a program specific for autism. Speech is dependent on sensory input and motor planning. Attempts to use augmentative communication devices, signs, or gestures are also complicated by movement, rhythm and sensory issues. These difficulties are often still being confused with cognitive or social dysfunction by staffers who lack appropriate training.
Selected personnel, appropriately licensed and motivated, should be sent to alternative healing training sessions. For example, speech therapists and occupational therapists should train in therapeutic listening, Tomatis, auditory integration training, interactive metronomes, binaural beats or other rhythmic entrainment programs. Occupational therapists should be trained in sensory integration. Alternative therapies should be brought to the schools, such as sacral cranial work, massage, aromatherapy, watsu water therapy, Feldenkrais, yoga, Brain Gym, acupressure, reflexology, reiki and possibly even hypnotherapy.
These therapists could then travel from site to site, training staffers and parents on how to implement these strategies on a regular basis. This would provide low-income children in urban districts with the same level of service provided by knowledgeable parents who have the resources, insurance, and fortitude to open all options for their kids.
Districts should enlist someone from the ASA to serve as an information source for parents concerning diet, enzymes, supplements, chelating procedures, and other myriad other options out there.
Environmental changes need to occur. Programs should be placed at sites that can best meet the children’s sensory and motor needs. Schools ideally should have:
• Quiet classrooms with natural light and adequate space for sensory equipment.
• Pools and playground equipment that provided for vestibular input
• Proximity to a variety of parks and nature walks
• Close access to community facilities allowing for cost-effective and flexible
community based programs.
Administrators and supervisors from the different disciplines need to come together and transform failing programs into a dynamic yet viable paragons.
Administrators need to arrange time for teachers and assistants to consult with the team and implement and refine strategies for continued optimum growth of each student. Parents should be encouraged to attend these meetings so they can provide follow-up at home. As teams develop, roles would overlap; sensory problems, movement difficulties, communication, behavioral concerns, and rhythm issues would be addressed in all areas of the curriculum throughout the day.
Teachers, assistants and parents would be more confident in their ability to deal with ongoing complex neurological and central nervous system dysfunction if they continued to consult and collaborate with experts in specific disciplines. Turbulence and stress in students would decrease as they took refuge in the support of a highly trained and confident staff.
A paradigm shift of this magnitude demands that little shifts continue to occur. As information about current practices is disseminated, collaboration increases and team building occurs. Current programs would be modified by innovations that improve overall function. During initial revamping, there will be periods of stress and challenge where teachers and therapists will have to eradicate many of their current beliefs in order to have the confidence, courage and knowledge to keep the agenda moving forward.
Committees made up of representatives from various disciplines should oversee and evaluate what is currently happening and decide what changes need to be made. Responsibilities would include making sure that employees are receiving adequate training and that teams are continuing to collaborate on a regular basis. Teachers and therapists with strengths in methodology, passion — and intuitive understanding of how to meet the complex needs of these very complex children — would provide support to teachers, therapists, and teaching assistants in increasing effectiveness.
When supporting individuals with autism, it is important to refuse to be certain of anything. All assumptions have to be rigorously examined. What works for one child may have disastrous affects on another, or it may work now and cease to be effective later. The more I have learned, the more I realize I don’t know. I would encourage everyone to let go of self-interest, refuse to be complacent, remain flexible, be open to new ideas, take risks, and provide mutual support so that objectives and procedures continue to create a flow of progress. If we are motivated by openness and a willing to transform ourselves, the children will transform with us.
I have served as a teacher of individuals with autism for 18 years. What they have taught me was to be sure of nothing, and open myself to the extraordinary. It has been and continues to be a remarkable ride.
Mary Ann Harrington
http://web.mac.com/maharrington
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