1. The writing of Lucy Blackman definitely offered insight into the world of facilitated communication and how much of a struggle autism can be. Lucy battles between ideas about what she wants/needs and communicating that to others. No doubt that facilitated communication helps with this but how much should parents/teachers be relying on it? Should there also be an importance on allowing the person to use hand gestures and develop their growth of certain key words as signals? If we are relying only on the typing may the person give up on trying to communicate verbally/physically?
2. Something that struck me was the way in which Lucy's environment had such an extreme effect on her. She said that so much as the sound of an air conditioner could distress her and cause her to behave erratically under certain conditions. I was curious as to what extreme this is? As in, is this a very severe situation or would this be a regular situation for someone with autism? As autism comes on a spectrum, I would imagine the problems of a lack of "filter" does as well. Would Lucy's reactions to noise be more on the extreme side? What can be done to alleviate this? Can anything be done?
3. Something that really interested me was the idea of visual memory that Lucy brings up. She describes instances in which a her visual memory "deletes" something and she totally misses it from her line of vision. How common is this? How often can someone really know this is happening if the person with autism is not able to communicate it?
I know we touched on this in class last week, however after reading about Lucy Blackman I still continue to question the idea of facilitated communication. I know as educators and people we are told to presume confidence and that is definitely proven true now that we understand those with disabilities who cannot speak can still communicate. But my question is are those who begin to use facilitated communication taught to understand or communicate or do they just know and understand? Is it like a young child with a computer or an ipad? Or do they absorb information like a sponge? Do they assimilate understanding from their everyday life even though they cannot communicate themselves?
I found it interesting that Lucy spoke about how communication and language is not only spoken it is also through movement and unspoken. She briefly discusses body language and atitude and how she can understand and express it through type. This is a concept I do not understand especially because from other readings I understood that these social quirks were not understood by those with autism?
Lucy speaks a lot about the senses. Is this aspect stressed because of the absence of speech, although speech is not a sense. The five senses are touch, taste, hearing, smell, and taste. Sound is important and that is why I think Lucy is so effected by her surrounding enviornment. Due to her inability to speak are the sounds of others and actions magnified?
1. It was hard for me to understand a lot of the ideas Lucy Blackman was trying to convey in her writing because the way her mind works is so different from mine. It is hard for me to imagine being able to hear and understand language, but not being able to hold onto it's meaning or even your own thoughts. Is this way of interpreting language common for other people with autism?
2. Lucy Blackman made a very interesting point about her own verbal communication. Though she is not able to verbally communicate all the ideas she wants to, she is able to say a few words. These words are compulsory, but do have meaning and reason behind them. They are connected to memories and the emotions that are connected to that memory. It is amazing to realize that compulsions could have reason and emotion behind them when I had always previously thought of them as random and disconnected. Is this true for other people with compulsions? Are they present because they are connected to that person's memories?
3. AIT vastly improved Lucy Blackman's life. It helped her communicate with others and understand language and how it relates to her better. It gave her a voice. How can we make sure these life changing technologies are available to other disabled people who need them? How can we give others a voice who have none?
It is noted that Lucy differs between "autistic" and "Non autistic" questions, Now that we have facilitated speech for those with autism, do you believe we can start to achieve answers through questions geared toward autistic people, from autistic people?
Although it would be different for every individual with autism, could you imagine an autistic friendly zone? What do you think it would sound like, feel like, look like?
Do you think mixing actions with autistic therapy, such as ball throwing, as a means to help bodily control and further control of speech and obsessive behaviors and compulsion could help all affected with autism? Or, could there be specific triggers in all autistic people that help them cognitively?
Reflections on Language Three Questions & Notes: F. A. Wright
1. There are few things that I wondered about as I read listed here: • Her article makes me realize that I can’t imagine life without speech. Even with what I have read so far, I still wonder how anyone can live without the normal speech and language development we have all had for the most part. • I thought it funny that she had a different way of looking at her autism as a ‘Nature’s experiment.” I wonder why she thought of herself as just an experiment. Even though her writing communicates internal confidence, I wonder what her true-self concept is for the most part and if her confidence fluctuates with her thoughts and emotions about her condition. • As I was reading on p. 150, I wondered something way off this page. I wondered how many women like her are married and have children.
2. I recorded varying notes that led to some other questions. Notes: At the end of page 150 and within page 152 and 153, I wrote identification notes ‘Me Too’, ‘Awesome thoughts on language and language implications.’ My thoughts regarding her reflections on language in general were, “Where did she get all this?” She reflects a depth of thinking that shows great level of comprehension skills that I could identify with.
3. She shows that she recognizes her growth, development, and changes. Does she just intuitively do this as we would? Does constant journaling and self-reflection help her to understand herself much better and enable her to communicate with others like us better through writings like this? Keeping good records of herself really seems to help her.
I found it interesting that it seems that Lucy feels that her disabilities have not been accommodated. She says that when she is in the library she sees that other people with disabilities such as blindness or aspersers are accommodated in a normative way. Lucy feels that her needs have not been accommodated because she it not normal. I wonder id certain people with autism think that it is too difficult to stand up for them so they do not express themselves. As we have been learning, people who have been diagnosed with autism often understand and comprehend everything around them but they have issues expressing themselves through language. How often do you think people with autism give up on communicating because they think it is too difficult?
Lucy Blackman says that autism itself is interesting because it allows for genetic shift in Homo sapiens. It takes many people who are diagnosed with any disorder to help doctors understand why and how the disorder affects certain people. How soon do you think it will be before doctors have an idea how to prevent autism? It has been said that autism happens in uteri, do you think that we will ever know exactly what causes autism and how to prevent it?
Lucy expresses frustration when it comes to communication. She says that her speech is like a balloon and the speech inside her head is a direct line to the balloon but they do not correspond. Before facilitated communication was brought into the situation, what do you think are some ways that people with autism learned to communicate? Do you think sign language is possible to help with communication?
Does her frustration with facilitated communications at the doctor’s office indicate a lack of willingness of the non-autistic world as she describes or a lack of understanding on her part?
Does the speech training ultimately help people with autism? Communication is obviously an asset but does it cause more frustration?
How does the differences in receiving information on a more detailed level affect how people with autism view the world? Does this contribute the their inability to socialize because there is too much information to process they cannot function in the same way?
1. At one point, Lucy mentions how she finds autism very fascinating. In order to think of something as fascinating, in a sense it has to be out of the ordinary, or unexpected. Would this mean that she is comparing her autistic characteristics to so called neurotypical people's? Does she able to really imagine herself as "normal", or is the autistic world she lives in the old world she will ever know? I feel as though this comment would suggest she is able to understand the way others live who are not autistic.
2. Lucy wrote, "I find it difficult to understand why other people are more interested in the process of what I produce than the content", and then goes on to say how everyone discusses wanting to be "normal", yet she does not have this desire. This made me begin to wonder how a doctor perceives and studies autism. Does she study it with the simple goal of finding a cure, or fixing the "problem"? Or, does a doctor look at it as a glance into a totally different perspective, and possibly even a new way of thinking about things?
3. Throughout the essay, Lucy mentions how she has changed throughout the years. She mentions there are things she doesn't do anymore, which shows the ability to change or lessen the characteristics of autism. Is this the case in other autistic adults situations? Does early intervention make a difference with autistic children as it does with children who have Aspergers?
1) Lucy Blackman writes a great deal about communication, but she prefers the diction, “facilitator.” What do you think she means by this? What is facilitation? How does one facilitate? When we make lesson plans, we often say we will facilitate the students with their artwork. Do you think these are applied to the same context? Is facilitation something that is contextual in it’s meaning?
2) Lucy Blackman is intrigued by autism herself. She is also intrigued by others opinions of autism. As a typical human being, are you intrigued by autism? Why or why not?
3) Lucky Blackman addresses that she needs to find certainty in life contexts. Do you really think this is possible in our world? Can certainty in life be achieved? How could you make a lesson plan that deals with the big idea of identity in relation to certainty versus uncertainty and the relative grey scale in between?
1) In the introduction talks about Lucy’s perspective “ At several points, she suggests that my questions are from a nonautistic perspective and therefore not about topics that she would herself choose to discuss; she seems to find mine annoying.”( 145) This made me wonder if Lucy is more comfortable with reading articles written by other people with autism rather than any other writer. I’m curious to what exactly she means when she says an autistic perspective? Is it something only a person with autism can communicate or could so called normal writers think from an autistic perspective to help autistic people understand and be interested in what is being said?
2) I was very interested in how Lucy has key words she speaks to represent an emotion. She talks about the words she utters when in distress on pages 147,148 and also 156,157. She will sometimes say “Ronald McDonald” and also “Bertie” which was her childhood dog that passed away. Sometimes these words are signs of distress and other times they simply stand for a dog or place. I was wondering do most people with autism have these key words that signal distress?
3) Lucy talks about how she knows when her mother is agitated or angered; she is very perceptive and picks up on these social cues. Don’t most people with autism have trouble with this? Lucy also talks about how she has had to learn how to react to certain situations for instance like tragedy. Is this a part of her education program? Do teachers try and help people with autism know when they should react in a sympathetic way?
4) A quote from Lucy’s Story explains the way in which Lucy becomes frustrated. “My speech just bulges out of my mouth like a balloon, and the real thoughts in my head just keep on a direct line. The direct line and the balloon are related, but they do not correspond, and the more the balloon bulges, the less sense it makes, until it bursts, leaving all my thoughts scattered, and me wild with anger and shame.”(Blackman 156)
My question to this is how do we help prevent people with autism from getting frustrated like this? Do we redirect their attention to something else? If not preventable how do we comfort their feelings of frustration so that they don’t feel anger and shame?
1. Lucy talks about the possibility of their being a genetic shift in Homo Sapiens toward more of an autistic way of thinking. I find that so interesting. So I wonder what might the world be like if this were to happen? How will the disability transform over time and how would it change our way of living and thinking?
2.I would like to also understand more about the role of the facilitator Lucy keeps talking about. Why does she seem to be able to communicate better with their presence? In what ways do their presence effect their focus?
3. Lucy mentions Auditory Integration Training (AIT.) She explained that it helped her understand the differences between autistic understanding and a more typical understanding. I wonder what is involved in giving autistic this particular understanding? What processes do they use to communicate this understanding?
1. The writing of Lucy Blackman definitely offered insight into the world of facilitated communication and how much of a struggle autism can be. Lucy battles between ideas about what she wants/needs and communicating that to others. No doubt that facilitated communication helps with this but how much should parents/teachers be relying on it? Should there also be an importance on allowing the person to use hand gestures and develop their growth of certain key words as signals? If we are relying only on the typing may the person give up on trying to communicate verbally/physically?
ReplyDelete2. Something that struck me was the way in which Lucy's environment had such an extreme effect on her. She said that so much as the sound of an air conditioner could distress her and cause her to behave erratically under certain conditions. I was curious as to what extreme this is? As in, is this a very severe situation or would this be a regular situation for someone with autism? As autism comes on a spectrum, I would imagine the problems of a lack of "filter" does as well. Would Lucy's reactions to noise be more on the extreme side? What can be done to alleviate this? Can anything be done?
3. Something that really interested me was the idea of visual memory that Lucy brings up. She describes instances in which a her visual memory "deletes" something and she totally misses it from her line of vision. How common is this? How often can someone really know this is happening if the person with autism is not able to communicate it?
I know we touched on this in class last week, however after reading about Lucy Blackman I still continue to question the idea of facilitated communication. I know as educators and people we are told to presume confidence and that is definitely proven true now that we understand those with disabilities who cannot speak can still communicate. But my question is are those who begin to use facilitated communication taught to understand or communicate or do they just know and understand? Is it like a young child with a computer or an ipad? Or do they absorb information like a sponge? Do they assimilate understanding from their everyday life even though they cannot communicate themselves?
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that Lucy spoke about how communication and language is not only spoken it is also through movement and unspoken. She briefly discusses body language and atitude and how she can understand and express it through type. This is a concept I do not understand especially because from other readings I understood that these social quirks were not understood by those with autism?
Lucy speaks a lot about the senses. Is this aspect stressed because of the absence of speech, although speech is not a sense. The five senses are touch, taste, hearing, smell, and taste. Sound is important and that is why I think Lucy is so effected by her surrounding enviornment. Due to her inability to speak are the sounds of others and actions magnified?
1. It was hard for me to understand a lot of the ideas Lucy Blackman was trying to convey in her writing because the way her mind works is so different from mine. It is hard for me to imagine being able to hear and understand language, but not being able to hold onto it's meaning or even your own thoughts. Is this way of interpreting language common for other people with autism?
ReplyDelete2. Lucy Blackman made a very interesting point about her own verbal communication. Though she is not able to verbally communicate all the ideas she wants to, she is able to say a few words. These words are compulsory, but do have meaning and reason behind them. They are connected to memories and the emotions that are connected to that memory. It is amazing to realize that compulsions could have reason and emotion behind them when I had always previously thought of them as random and disconnected. Is this true for other people with compulsions? Are they present because they are connected to that person's memories?
3. AIT vastly improved Lucy Blackman's life. It helped her communicate with others and understand language and how it relates to her better. It gave her a voice. How can we make sure these life changing technologies are available to other disabled people who need them? How can we give others a voice who have none?
It is noted that Lucy differs between "autistic" and "Non autistic" questions, Now that we have facilitated speech for those with autism, do you believe we can start to achieve answers through questions geared toward autistic people, from autistic people?
ReplyDeleteAlthough it would be different for every individual with autism, could you imagine an autistic friendly zone? What do you think it would sound like, feel like, look like?
Do you think mixing actions with autistic therapy, such as ball throwing, as a means to help bodily control and further control of speech and obsessive behaviors and compulsion could help all affected with autism? Or, could there be specific triggers in all autistic people that help them cognitively?
Reflections on Language Three Questions & Notes: F. A. Wright
ReplyDelete1. There are few things that I wondered about as I read listed here:
• Her article makes me realize that I can’t imagine life without speech. Even with what I have read so far, I still wonder how anyone can live without the normal speech and language development we have all had for the most part.
• I thought it funny that she had a different way of looking at her autism as a ‘Nature’s experiment.” I wonder why she thought of herself as just an experiment. Even though her writing communicates internal confidence, I wonder what her true-self concept is for the most part and if her confidence fluctuates with her thoughts and emotions about her condition.
• As I was reading on p. 150, I wondered something way off this page. I wondered how many women like her are married and have children.
2. I recorded varying notes that led to some other questions. Notes: At the end of page 150 and within page 152 and 153, I wrote identification notes ‘Me Too’, ‘Awesome thoughts on language and language implications.’ My thoughts regarding her reflections on language in general were, “Where did she get all this?” She reflects a depth of thinking that shows great level of comprehension skills that I could identify with.
3. She shows that she recognizes her growth, development, and changes. Does she just intuitively do this as we would? Does constant journaling and self-reflection help her to understand herself much better and enable her to communicate with others like us better through writings like this? Keeping good records of herself really seems to help her.
I found it interesting that it seems that Lucy feels that her disabilities have not been accommodated. She says that when she is in the library she sees that other people with disabilities such as blindness or aspersers are accommodated in a normative way. Lucy feels that her needs have not been accommodated because she it not normal. I wonder id certain people with autism think that it is too difficult to stand up for them so they do not express themselves. As we have been learning, people who have been diagnosed with autism often understand and comprehend everything around them but they have issues expressing themselves through language. How often do you think people with autism give up on communicating because they think it is too difficult?
ReplyDeleteLucy Blackman says that autism itself is interesting because it allows for genetic shift in Homo sapiens. It takes many people who are diagnosed with any disorder to help doctors understand why and how the disorder affects certain people. How soon do you think it will be before doctors have an idea how to prevent autism? It has been said that autism happens in uteri, do you think that we will ever know exactly what causes autism and how to prevent it?
Lucy expresses frustration when it comes to communication. She says that her speech is like a balloon and the speech inside her head is a direct line to the balloon but they do not correspond. Before facilitated communication was brought into the situation, what do you think are some ways that people with autism learned to communicate? Do you think sign language is possible to help with communication?
Does her frustration with facilitated communications at the doctor’s office indicate a lack of willingness of the non-autistic world as she describes or a lack of understanding on her part?
ReplyDeleteDoes the speech training ultimately help people with autism? Communication is obviously an asset but does it cause more frustration?
How does the differences in receiving information on a more detailed level affect how people with autism view the world? Does this contribute the their inability to socialize because there is too much information to process they cannot function in the same way?
1. At one point, Lucy mentions how she finds autism very fascinating. In order to think of something as fascinating, in a sense it has to be out of the ordinary, or unexpected. Would this mean that she is comparing her autistic characteristics to so called neurotypical people's? Does she able to really imagine herself as "normal", or is the autistic world she lives in the old world she will ever know? I feel as though this comment would suggest she is able to understand the way others live who are not autistic.
ReplyDelete2. Lucy wrote, "I find it difficult to understand why other people are more interested in the process of what I produce than the content", and then goes on to say how everyone discusses wanting to be "normal", yet she does not have this desire. This made me begin to wonder how a doctor perceives and studies autism. Does she study it with the simple goal of finding a cure, or fixing the "problem"? Or, does a doctor look at it as a glance into a totally different perspective, and possibly even a new way of thinking about things?
3. Throughout the essay, Lucy mentions how she has changed throughout the years. She mentions there are things she doesn't do anymore, which shows the ability to change or lessen the characteristics of autism. Is this the case in other autistic adults situations? Does early intervention make a difference with autistic children as it does with children who have Aspergers?
1) Lucy Blackman writes a great deal about communication, but she prefers the diction, “facilitator.” What do you think she means by this? What is facilitation? How does one facilitate? When we make lesson plans, we often say we will facilitate the students with their artwork. Do you think these are applied to the same context? Is facilitation something that is contextual in it’s meaning?
ReplyDelete2) Lucy Blackman is intrigued by autism herself. She is also intrigued by others opinions of autism. As a typical human being, are you intrigued by autism? Why or why not?
3) Lucky Blackman addresses that she needs to find certainty in life contexts. Do you really think this is possible in our world? Can certainty in life be achieved? How could you make a lesson plan that deals with the big idea of identity in relation to certainty versus uncertainty and the relative grey scale in between?
1) In the introduction talks about Lucy’s perspective “ At several points, she suggests that my questions are from a nonautistic perspective and therefore not about topics that she would herself choose to discuss; she seems to find mine annoying.”( 145) This made me wonder if Lucy is more comfortable with reading articles written by other people with autism rather than any other writer. I’m curious to what exactly she means when she says an autistic perspective? Is it something only a person with autism can communicate or could so called normal writers think from an autistic perspective to help autistic people understand and be interested in what is being said?
ReplyDelete2) I was very interested in how Lucy has key words she speaks to represent an emotion. She talks about the words she utters when in distress on pages 147,148 and also 156,157. She will sometimes say “Ronald McDonald” and also “Bertie” which was her childhood dog that passed away. Sometimes these words are signs of distress and other times they simply stand for a dog or place. I was wondering do most people with autism have these key words that signal distress?
3) Lucy talks about how she knows when her mother is agitated or angered; she is very perceptive and picks up on these social cues. Don’t most people with autism have trouble with this? Lucy also talks about how she has had to learn how to react to certain situations for instance like tragedy. Is this a part of her education program? Do teachers try and help people with autism know when they should react in a sympathetic way?
4) A quote from Lucy’s Story explains the way in which Lucy becomes frustrated.
“My speech just bulges out of my mouth like a balloon, and the real thoughts in my head just keep on a direct line. The direct line and the balloon are related, but they do not correspond, and the more the balloon bulges, the less sense it makes, until it bursts, leaving all my thoughts scattered, and me wild with anger and shame.”(Blackman 156)
My question to this is how do we help prevent people with autism from getting frustrated like this? Do we redirect their attention to something else? If not preventable how do we comfort their feelings of frustration so that they don’t feel anger and shame?
1. Lucy talks about the possibility of their being a genetic shift in Homo Sapiens toward more of an autistic way of thinking. I find that so interesting. So I wonder what might the world be like if this were to happen? How will the disability transform over time and how would it change our way of living and thinking?
ReplyDelete2.I would like to also understand more about the role of the facilitator Lucy keeps talking about. Why does she seem to be able to communicate better with their presence? In what ways do their presence effect their focus?
3. Lucy mentions Auditory Integration Training (AIT.) She explained that it helped her understand the differences between autistic understanding and a more typical understanding. I wonder what is involved in giving autistic this particular understanding? What processes do they use to communicate this understanding?