Monthly Archives: October 2009
A Sibling’s Take on Autism
Adam and Dean Aviram are best friends – more than that, they’re brothers. At 9 and 10 years old respectively, Adam and Dean brag that they’re building a time machine together. Though he’s the younger of the two, Adam looks out for Dean and enjoys spending as much time playing with him as possible. They work as a team many times, especially because Dean has a wonderful memory so Adam loves that he doesn’t have to remember things.
Though alike in the traditional last name and DNA departments, Adam and Dean’s differences are many. Adam prefers to play soccer and Wii. Dean has a fascination with history and loves to have intelligent conversations about world leaders with anyone who is interested. Though you might not be able to tell by simply looking at them, Adam and Dean’s biggest difference is that Dean has Asperger’s Syndrome and Adam does not.
If I were to pose the question “What is Austism?”, I can only assume that you would head right to Google or WebMD and find the most technical and informative definition. Though it would be certainly accurate, your definition may differ from that of an Autistic child’s parent or even more, an autistic child’s brother or sister. The siblings of autistic children are undoubtedly intelligent and some of the best people to ask about the disease to get an honest, accurate description of what Autism looks like and means to them.
When Adam was asked what Asperger’s was, he answered, “Asperger’s is a type of autism and it’s hard for people to have a good conversation with other people.” His answer was not filled with technical words, however it was very accurate. He was also asked if his friends could notice that something was different about his brother, Dean. Adam answers…
Know The Risks – Save Your Life
Melissa hardly ever got sick. Even when she did, she’d take some over-the-counter medication, head into work and tough through it. When you’re a mom, you learn to deal with minor aches, pains and colds because there’s no such thing as a”sick day”. Minor bumps and bruises are something you also expect to get when you’re taking care of children. When Melissa accidentally slammed her hand in a door, she simply went to the emergency room to be safe. Little did she know one precautionary visit to the emergency room would change her life forever.
Drama Therapy Opens Up New Alternatives to Autism Therapies
Drama Therapy is generally defined as the use of drama and theater processes to
achieve therapeutic goals. The technique is often used in schools, hospitals, correctional facilities and the mental health field to achieve behavior change, personal growth and improved emotional stability. Though this not a new method of therapy, it has more recently been used to help those with Autism.
Many people with Autism are in fact verbal, however they are unable to successfully communicate socially. Incorporating theater processes enables the participants practice social skills, learn improvisation and memorize lines to recite with increased emotional awareness. In addition and even more importantly, it gives the participators the opportunity to become an actor, preform a show and get applause for their efforts and in turn get a feeling of social acceptance and achievement.
Cindy Schneider is the author of the book Acting Antics: A Theatrical Approach to Teaching Social Understanding to Kids and Teens with Asperger Syndrome. In the book, Schneider discusses in depth the benefits of using Drama Therapy for those with Autism. She offers classes to both adults and children with a variety of diagnoses including Asperger’s Syndrome, high-functioning Autism and non-verbal Autism. According to her findings, participants may gain:
- self-confidence not only in performing, but in interactions
- improved self-esteem; pride in their accomplishments
- improved recognition of emotions in others
- improved identification and labeling of own emotions
- new leisure time activity in a group where they can be successful
- new awareness of volume levels and beginning modulation of level
- new skills for functioning as part of a group
- new skills for following directions
- improved ability to interact with peers
- increased self-confidence through success
The organizers of a Drama Therapy Company are usually educated in the Psychology field as well as in Theater…
Facilitated Communication – A Controversy
A few weeks ago, we took a look at Carly, a young girl who has Autism. She is 
non-verbal however she independently communicates via keyboard to her family, friends, Twitter Followers and Facebook Friends. She often fields questions from followers and she answers them herself. Once in a while her father has been known to send out a message just making a general request. Recently, for example, Carly’s father sent a message out kindly asking that people use Twitter to communicate with Carly as opposed ro Facebook. This was simply because Carly prefers Twitter over Facebook. Other than these once-in-a-while instances, Carly communicates everything herself with near no assistance.
As common as individual communication methods have become, there are still some non-verbal people who are unable to successfully use a keyboard. Hand-eye coordination is required to be able to utilize the keyboard method and many people lack this skill, especially if they have Autism. There are alternative methods of communication that have opened the doors of possibility for those who are non-verbal and lack the hand-eye coordination to successfully use a keyboard. One method in particular is known as Facilitated Communication or FC. In this method, specifically targeted to those who cannot type, there are two people involved; the communicator, (whom is often autistic, deaf, mute, etc) and the Facilitator. The facilitator is responsible for conveying the message of the communicator by assisting them in finding the right key, easing their hand to the desired letter, or pressing they key down that the communicator indicates.
Despite the numerous success stories that have come from this method, it is still under much controversy and has been for years. In 1977, Rosemary Crossley claimed to have successfully used facilitated communication with a group…
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