Final Blog

Brittney's Reflection:

After doing this blog I learned a lot about how government is changing the spectrum of autism. I have done some research before on what autism is and how people who are diagnosed act in society but I learned so much more after this further research. The redefinition of autism is going to change so many people's live in an almost negative way since they will be losing so much from it. Mostly people currently on the spectrum that may be iffy in the first place, but obviously if they are on the spectrum at all they need help. By changing the definition of autism and who is considered under the umbrella these people who may need that little extra help could lose it all and may struggle in life. Just the little extra things help for these people which could make a huge loss and life changing experience for them. As I have said before I have a cousin who is teetering on the spectrum which is actually good because it is providing her with the help she needs to succeed in life. She has a mild form of autism and a lot of it affects her social life because she is extremely shy, but by receiving the help she has been getting her social skills are vastly improving. It is nice to see a success story so close to me because she is a young vibrant little girl who is finally coming around with herself and you can see that the help she has received being on the spectrum has actually helped. So what if they change the definition and people like my cousin are not considered under the umbrella anymore? These people may struggle through and never get to learn the social skills to be able to hold a conversation with someone or even have the strength to want to be in a social setting. In my opinion I think that this redefining is going in the negative direction. People should not be taken off of the spectrum because they believe they do not need the help, obviously if they are considered enough to be on it, they definitely need the help. 



Kim’s Reflection:

When we first started talking about service learning projects I had no idea what it was. I am really happy to have been introduced to service learning. It makes me feel that I am a part of something that is helping to improve society. Especially the topic of autism and learning about the wonderful campaign of "Spread the word to end the word". Autism is going to be one of those topics that I think will always be in the public eye with either finding new discovers on how autism is caused or redefining the individual pieces of the spectrum or possibly adding new pieces to the spectrum. In regards to how the legislature is helping with this disorder I feel as if it’s being done in a positive way. We all know autism is being redefined but many of our states are on board to support these children with any disability they may have regardless if they happen to get bumped off the autism spectrum. I personally think that redefining autism is an awesome opportunity to standardize the entire spectrum to properly diagnose a person with this disorder. By redefining autism it will put more people on the same page and maybe in the future it won’t be such a questionable diagnosis. Although people may be bumped off the spectrum, the majority of the insurance companies are still supporting mental illnesses or other disorders. Trying to tie the topic of redefining autism would be a little difficult concept for children to understand but I think the “spread the word to end the word” is an awesome way to introduce children to not use derogatory terms and that everyone should be treated with respect regardless of their disabilities. Teaching about treating others with respect and learning that even though we are all the same, people have different learning abilities or different physical appearances, among other things such as race and ethnicity. This is where social justice in the classroom would take a huge role. So even though you are not discussing the topic of redefining autism but you are bringing in a component that helps support children with autism in regards to being treated equally. As a teacher I could take this information that the government is looking to redefine autism and some children may be diagnosed with another disorder I should still differentiated with the child still to meet his/her needs in a unit plan and more specifically for each lesson. I chose to put a picture of adult figures and children figures around the picture of the world because its not just adults that can make a difference, children have very powerful voices as well and they should be heard and involved.  

Michelle's Reflection:

I have learned a lot from this blog assignment.  As future teachers we are always going to have students with special needs in our classrooms and likely to teach at least on child with autism at one point or another.  It was interesting to read about our current event of the new autism definition.  There is a debate centered around this topic, will it be beneficial for those under the spectrum or will it be detrimental.  Through research I have learned the pros and cons of each side of this debate.  I personally think that the new autism definition would be beneficial because it will include more people under the spectrum and this would allow them to better access to services they need.  I loved developing our service learning project together as a group.  I think because it is something I am very passionate about.  I am always doing research and promoting spread the word to end the word on my own.  I think it will be awesome to work together as a group and spread the word to end the word on a bigger scale here on campus.  It is so important and I am more than happy to help educate people about it.  I think that the r-word is being used now more than ever and many people  do not realize the severely harmful effects that is has on the special needs community.  I also think that the topic of spread the word to end the word could be used as part of classroom curriculum.  I think it would fall under the category of citizenship.  Part of being a good citizen involves being respectful and kind to one another.  By teaching children to not use harmful words and treats others kindly and with respect, it is promoting good citizenship and classroom community.

I chose this image because I think it really reflects special needs children as a whole.  They are fragile and unique just like a butterfly.  With caring, compashion and education the can blossom just like a butterfly when changing from a simple caterpillar.  I chose the second image because it really reflects what Spread the Word to End the Word stands for and it is a symbol they use in their campaigns.  I have a t shirt that has this one it as well as the words Spread the Word to End the Word and I feel a sense of pride every time i wear it.

Our group did not perform our service learning project yet but we will be setting up a table on March 22, 2012 in the North Common Dining Area to “Spread the word to end the word”. As a group we are really excited to inform people of this campaign and get as many people as we can to come together and join the pledge to remove the word retard from their vocabulary. Even the smallest change, such as removing the “r word” from ones vocabulary, leads to bigger and greater improvement.  

As a group we decided to go along with the theme of Spread the word to end the word but give it a twist for elementary children. As a classroom we would support spread the word to promote a new word… RESPECT!!! As a classroom we will make a list of how to treat our classmates and people in our community. By doing this campaign with the children we want to eliminate the bullying and mistreatment of children with disabilities in the classroom as well as in the community. Students will make a pledge to Spread the word to promote a new word, Respect. They will promise to respect one another in every action they do in the classroom as well as in the community. This campaign would tie in with teaching about social justice in the classroom. As teachers we would connect spread the word to promote a new word into learning about citizenship and being a fantastic citizen!