Jennifer Byde Myers jennyalice.com Jack doesn’t fit the mold. Not the mold for a typical kid, not the one for cerebral palsy, not autism, not ADHD. Whenever we try to “box him up”, another piece of him pops out, unexplainable by a typical convention. I like it that way. I know I didn’t fit into the parameters that were set up for me as a kid, and I do my best to keep growing and changing so I can steer clear of the typical; “what I am supposed to do.” The problem with being outside of the norms is that other people don’t always know how to handle you, or help you, or befriend you, or teach you, or be your doctor, or your therapist. People sometimes become exasperated, or assume less of you, or ignore you. And some of that might happen out in the big bad world, but…
Tag: nonverbal
Carol Greenburg, Shannon Des Roches Rosa, and Jennifer Byde Myers www.ThinkingAutismGuide.com Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism editors Carol, Shannon, and Jennifer recently attended an event celebrating the work of Kate Winslet. Kate has a new autism awareness and fundraising book coming out next month called The Golden Hat: Talking Back to Autism. We were told the book is meant to shine “a light on a world very few people understand […] about people with profound autism and the challenges they and their families face every day, as well as all the ‘beautiful potential’ of people with autism.” The event was hosted by Ladies’ Home Journal, and featured Margret Ericsdottir, whose son Keli is the inspiration for The Golden Hat Foundation. (Kate is currently on the cover of LHJ, talking about how she was inspired to create The Golden Hat book and foundation with Margret; Margret is the foundation’s President and…
This session was introduced by Geri Dawson, and included a number of presenters, whose work I am only summarizing briefly. Again, any omissions or errors are my doing. -SR Chair: Geri Dawson, Chief Science Officer for Autism Speaks Why a specific focus on nonverbal kids with autism? Because they’re often not included in research — such kids can be difficult to test, especially when so many evaluation paradigms include verbal testing. As a result, little is known about why some kids with autism don’t develop spoken language, or even what best approaches are. Biggest challenge: Evaluating cognitive abilities! Lots of kids who appear to have intellectual disability do not, at least not to degree perceived. In 2008, Autism Speaks launched a special initiative focused on nonverbal autism, and in April 2010, NIH sponsored a workshop to address what we do know, and gaps in knowledge. We need understand that nonverbal…