July 5th, 2010

It was an interesting first class today, and I particularly enjoyed the video of Susie Rubin. Watching the video forced me to evaluate my own assumptions related to individuals diagnosed with autism, particularly those who are non-verbal. I would like to be able to say that I don't presume anything in relation to an individual's competencies, however, as I watched Susie's video today, I realized that in the past this has not always been the case. In particular, I thought about my time as a university student working in a small group home that was affiliated with the IWK. I worked with three children ranging in age from 7 - 18, one of whom was autistic. "Katie" was similar to Susie, in that she was non-verbal, was at times violent toward herself and others, and exhibited behaviours that many would consider "strange". Katie also had a soothing outlet, similar to the effect that water had on Susie, which was to watch "Barney" episodes.

I always enjoyed working with Katie, and though she couldn't verbalize her needs, she certainly had many other ways of communicating her needs with family, friends, and staff. However, if I'm being honest, the idea of Katie communicating with words never once crossed my mind. At that time, I would have shaken my head in disbelief if someone were to suggest that Katie may be able to use a text to speech device. "Spelling? Writing? Typing? For Katie?" are the thoughts that would have gone through my own mind. I am now shaking my head at my own ignorance at that time in my life, and so thankful that my educational path has introduced me to the world of Assistive Technology.

Tyler was also an inspirational story, especially because this is all happening in Nova Scotia! One of the main things that struck home with me is the dedication of all of the individuals working to support Tyler, in addition to the dedication of Tyler himself. The list of AT devices that he is currently using (both low and high tech) is impressive, and it highlights that fact that if people are willing to work for what's important, it can be done. All too often, I've heard people say, "It's just one kid." I often wonder if they were in the position of a student with a disability, wouldn't they want people to be doing everything they could to help them access curriculum and learning? I can't imagine that they would want the educational system to give up on them.

This was definitely a class that allowed for great reflection on my own biases and current practices in the workplace, and left me feeling inspired to work harder for students like Tyler and Susie. We cannot presume anything about other's competencies!!