Tag Archives: personal
First Sight
Whether a person, a pet, an object or a place, write about something or someone you connected with from the very first second
“There may be no other relationship that affects us more profoundly, and that is harder, sweeter, sadder, more filled with joy or fraught with woe than our relationship with our brothers and sisters.”
I was 10 when my life changed for the better. My sister was born. I thought to myself, ‘wow, now I have to get my act together because this little person will be looking up to me’. I suddenly had a responsibility. I suddenly became a role-model. Most of all, I suddenly have someone to love unconditionally, take care of, and mold to become better than me.
My sister’s birth coincided with the time when I finally started to mature emotionally and mentally. Although I was only 10 years old at that time, I began to seek independence in my own little ways. I also began to take on a little bit of a responsibility at home. This is probably why I felt like I have to be an even more responsible human being when my sister was born, despite having both of our parents’ love, support and guidance.
Through the years, my sister and I grew closer and closer to each other. We compete against each other- especially in academics (she’s shattering my family records at the moment, to my annoyance), we argue, laugh and cry. We stand up for each other and try our hardest to become a better person each day by following each other’s example. I am also proud to say that despite our differences and the trials that life has thrown at us, we have never fought each other. I do not recall having fallen out with her.
It is such a great feeling to know that someone is always going to be there for me, as much as I will be there for her. I have taught her a few things over the years (which include crossing the road), but she has taught me how to be responsible. She gave me my first opportunity to prove to myself and others that I can be better, and that I can teach explicitly and implicitly through my actions. This gave me the confidence to pursue my dreams and to stand up each day in front of students in the classroom.
I am grateful to my little sister for everything that she has done for me.
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Other First Sights:
The girl who thinks an awful lot
Thoughts, imaginations and words
Living with Asperger’s Syndrome: A personal Account
The great thing about having Asperger’s is…
The video below is made by a person who has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. In it, she lists the many positive aspects of having Asperger’s. It offers a real insight to what it really is like to have the condition. It is an eye-opener for ‘outsiders’, or those who do not have ASD/AS.
Enjoy:
Never EVER say these to people with Autism!!!
There have been far too many times that I have heard people say these phrases to people with Autism. Frankly, I am fed up with it.
More on Autism:
He flaps his hands and screams a lot but he doesn’t mean to annoy you
Optimum Outcomes for people with Autism
DSM 5 and its implications to ASD diagnosis
Diagnosing Autism: What you need to know
Vote for Miss Montana 2012, Alexis Wineman
Communication difficulties in Autism
Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper: Asperger’s Syndrome’s Poster Boy?
Still unsure if Sheldon has Asperger’s?
The Autistic Me: BBC Documentary
Temple Grandin: The world needs all kinds of minds
Autism in the classroom:
Guide to parents of students with ASD on coping with the first day back to school
Common signs of Autism in the classroom
First day back to school: Top tips for parents of children with Autism
Practical tips to make your classroom Autism-Friendly
Inspiring People with Autism:
Jessica-Jane Applegate (British Paralympian)
Satoshi Tajiri (Pokemon creator)
More on Savants:
The Psychology of Savants: Memory Masters
The Einstein Effect: Is there a link between having Autism and being a genius?
Communication difficulties in Autism- my personal view.
First things first. I want to wish everyone of you a happy World Autism Awareness Day!
Autism affects between 1/100 to 1/88 individuals and yet those who are affected are still often misunderstood. Indeed, students with Autism are more likely to be bullied in school compared to any other ‘groups’ of students. Perhaps a reason for the high rates of bullying stems from people’s lack of understanding of the condition. Individuals with Autism experience difficulties in Social Interactions, Communication and Imagination/Flexibiity of Thought. It is also important to note that it is a lifelong disorder- a child with Autism will become an adult with autism. Furthermore, Autism manifests in many different ways. As Francesca Happe said recently, “once you’ve met one person with Autism, you’ve met ONE person with Autism”.
An individual with Autism’s difficulties in communication (in my experience) is the one that makes day-to-day activities challenging. For instance, a student with Autism might burst out crying in the middle of a lesson in school because he/she is tired or bored. In extreme instances, individuals with Autism may physically hurt another person just because they wore a different pair of shoes which unsettlled them. in other cases, people with ASC may not speak at all (either by choice or not). I know that these are extreme, bordering on ‘stereotypical’ and I acknowledge that not every single person with Autism will behave in these ways. These are just examples.
Whilst it is important to be aware that communication difficulties is a part of Autism, to me it is important to acknowledge that we too have a difficulty. They know what they want and don’t want. They know what they want to get across. They know what they feel. What they find challenging is finding a way to let us know what those thoughts and feelings are. Whilst they have a difficulty in producing the ‘right’ ways of communication, we struggle with understanding what they want to get across. Communication is a two-way process and since it is us (“neurotypicals”) who (ideally) have more capacity to be flexible and adaptable to situations, the responsibility to communicate effectively falls into our hands.
It is of paramount importance for us to actively search for ways of understanding those who have Autism that we regularly have contact with. As I’ve mentioned earlier, people with Autism are as unique as you and I. Communicating with one will almost definitely be diferent from another. We should take time to understand the patterns of their behaviour, know what triggers distress and observe body language. Our initial guesses may be wrong, but an active pursuit will go a long way.
😉
More on Autism:
He flaps his hands and screams a lot but he doesn’t mean to annoy you
Optimum Outcomes for people with Autism
DSM 5 and its implications to ASD diagnosis
Diagnosing Autism: What you need to know
Vote for Miss Montana 2012, Alexis Wineman
Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper: Asperger’s Syndrome’s Poster Boy?
Still unsure if Sheldon has Asperger’s?
The Autistic Me: BBC Documentary
Temple Grandin: The world needs all kinds of minds
Autism in the classroom:
Guide to parents of students with ASD on coping with the first day back to school
Common signs of Autism in the classroom
First day back to school: Top tips for parents of children with Autism
Practical tips to make your classroom Autism-Friendly
Inspiring People with Autism:
Jessica-Jane Applegate (British Paralympian)
Satoshi Tajiri (Pokemon creator)
More on Savants:
The Psychology of Savants: Memory Masters
The Einstein Effect: Is there a link between having Autism and being a genius?
Trains, trams and aspirations: what’s the difference?
Every afternoon I take the tram from work to my house. This afternoon, the second tram was more than a half hour late. People were huffing and puffing at the platform complaining to each other about how tired they were and how terrible this occurance was. But yet, they waited. Our faces lit up everytime we hear the sound of a new tram coming our way. Collectively, we sighed after finding out that those trams were not what we wanted.
Some decided to take an alternative transport, while some including myself waited. This got me thinking about life.
We all have dreams and aspirations. We want to get somewhere and most of the time like me and my fellow passengers at that stop, we all have an idea how to get to where we’re going. Much like passenger who’s going to the city centre to pass some time who might decide to go back home if the tram’s cancelled or delayed, people who are uncertain about what they want may abandon a goal after a hurdle.
But what happens if we need to get home and the trams are not running? We find a way to get home, right? We take a bus, a taxi or even walk for miles just to get home. Sometimes we wait a few hours or days. Why? It’s not that we have no choice, it’s because we really want to go home.
The next time you set yourself a goal, ask yourself these: do I really want this? Am I prepared to do whatever it takes and labour how ever long it takes to get there?
Remember, when we are trying to go home, we never ask ourselves whether we can walk 15 or 20 miles. We just do it. So when you set yourself a goal, always think that you’ll achieve it, as long as you really want it!!!
😉
Understanding and Embracing Diversity 