About slapping autistic people!

Could it be that apparent repetitive, radom and seemingly choatic movements of hands, face and body exhibited by autistic persons actually contain encoded informion.

Just maybe, what we are observing is a rudimentary effort by autistic persons to rebuild their communication skills.  Quite possibly, their motor activity is a complimentary componet of brain activity both intended to mirror surroundings and establish a meaningful relationship.

If motor activity is actually part of a process designed to communicate, we ought to be careful how we respond to and or manipulate the actions of autistic persons.

From a theraputic view,  therapist might consider given the autistic person an extra measure of empathy before initiating a suppresive stratgey designed to terminate what is widely believed to be meaningless body movements.

Figuratively, slapping a person trying to talk with you is wrong.

Autism and social skills

Can you imagine being manipulated or forced to socially interact with another person?

Sure anyone can fake it, but for true and lasting productivity to occur their must exist genuine reciprocal trust, free choice and respect.

Let me submit that ABA practioners do not in any way encourge free choice, respect or trust between therapist and patient.  Their main issue is getting the autistice person to validate the therapist through mimicery and physical coersion.

Any and all, so called gains in social communication skills are nothing more that faint gestures of an autistic person trapped and forced by someome more powerful then themselves to act out meaningless antics.

Please note my ABA friends, given half a chance powerless autistic children would escape your well intentioned grip without hesitation.  Autistic persons can smell a phoney a mile away.

Why not instead approach an autistic person with empathy, be patient and wait for an invitation to interact.  Then, begin a dialog.  Fair and honest dialog no matter how faint always has a future and is based on quality not time.

Might I suggest that sucessful therapy is not about getting an autistic person to pay attention to us but rather the therapist first signaling that he/she understands the autistic persons plight.

A word about those seemingly erratic body movements...could it be that the autistic person is trying to formulate a message.  Clearly, we need to take the time to decode the messenger rather than dismiss or worse yet suppress him/her.

Hey, wait a minute...!

Around three, give a month or two, reality took a turn for me.
At the least, curiosity was not an option anymore.
Curiosity, pecularity and obscurity took hold of my soul.

How can one live life fully without being grounded in meaning?
Seems unreasonable to me that I should not take time out from routine and
know the truth of it all.

"Off with their heads!"  I'll never forget those harsh words impacting my ears.
What could she mean?  Why do such a terrible thing?
I resolved to spend as much time as needed to answer that question.

At last, it become apparent that three year old capacity was no match for advanced political banter.
However, a deep yearning persisted and demanded some level of resolve.
Years latter, the framwork of my early yearing was by chance discovered.  It goes like this.

"If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am for myself alone, what am I?
If not now, when?"

 By:  Rabbi Heil

By:  Bert J. Wainwright

Education Free Fall

So, since the beginning of the first school
all appeared so, so hopeful.  However, like it or not,
education continues a steady and relentless free fall.

You ask, "Why, how come, it's news to me".
The allure of education is for the individual a chance for perfection. 
Bewhare the sad truth.  Without question, you must exchange perfection for mediocrity

Indeed, very near the beginning, individual asperation and worth are exchanged quietly for the collective  good.  The quiet vail of mediocrity begins to choke the unknowing soul.  Of course, an every present caveat assures everyone that good for all must surely be good for the individual.

Find a place at the table of many.  Rather, how about a seat under the table in the dark.  Please wait for a light through the cracks to make your day.  Light shines through a crack in the table.  Grasp a  tear drop and wet your appetite for lost perfection.

You question, how could this be.  Well, think back, reminisce, have you achieved the perfection desired beginning with day one?  Are you doing what you really want to do?  Do you know your true talent, much less put it to practice for self and others?

Some say, yes, completly, well almost.  Others say a little, it's yet to come.  You out there that have achieved perfection, I ask you, can you truely distinguish your self  from others?  Is your integrity whole or merely hand maden to others?  Are you settled with what you have become?

Let us begin anew as if day one.  Regain your self, integrity and power.  Then, freely give it over to another, your friend, lover and neighbor. Have a truly happy and prosperious life.

By:  Bert J. Wainwright, M.ED

The Price of Sanity

In the end truth reigns high.

This is a journey through time beginning with the truth and ending the same.

• You accept a lie to be accepted.
• A lie spares one the agony of seeing yourself or others as they really are.
• Lies often hide the shame of truth.
• Lies reveal where we want to go but lack sufficient courage.
• Happiness not yet achieved begs for lies to go away.
• A dead conscience rises from lies.
• Lies tell the story of good intentions never realized.
• Lies are just plain cheap and easier to do than truth.
• Friends feel better when you lie, especially about them.
• Short term gain seems easier to achieve with lies.
• Truth brings happiness because it is freedom.
• Lies cannot exist along side truth and freedom.
• Lies hide fear and eventually causes an end to life.

By: Bert J. Wainwright, M.ED

Heard A Story Yesterday

Just call him Billy. A staff person in same building where Billy was kept described him as aggressive, loud and trying to break out away from his caring caregivers. While not saying so, she implied that he was dangerous and unpredicable. After all, he tries to butt his caregiven when forced to stay somewhere/anywhere he does not wish to stay. Oh, beware when he is forced to stare you right in the eyeballs for more than fifteen seconds.

Now, look at this picture. What would you do if faced with the same or similar situation? Please review the following realities...

• You are forced to leave a place-like-home and go somewhere else.
• Your thoughts and concerns about change are ignored or at best trivialized.
• If you try to return to your confort zone your efforts are described as if you were a criminal trying to breakout of prison. Well, at least they got that right.
• You are forced to say what you want, when really they want you to say what they want you to say you want.
• You are not asked to identify what hurts or pleases you. Who cares anyway, as long as you are good.
• Imagine a fly in your eye or any thing else, and if you swat it away you are labled aggressive and violent.
• Consider, your choice of friends, teachers and lovers is never considered or respected.
• What about people who try to help you that never enlist your active, conscious acceptance and support in learning so called life skills.
• What about a minimum of forty hours a week dealing with caregivers that intentionally try to fool and manipulate you?
• And when you desperatly try to push, shove, and use your body to bang away at unwanted stimulus imposed on you from well wishers you are called violent, a mortal danger to yourself and others and need to be institualized.
• Finally, prison seems a better place to be.

Any autistic persons reading this blog post are invited to add their own thoughts...

By: Bert J. Wainwright, M.Ed

Sense And Nonsense Of Education

Sense: Education is for all.
Nonsense: If you can afford it.

Sense: The educated are independent learners.
Nonsense: Lessons are essentially teacher directed.

Sense: Problem solving is an important objective
Nonsense: That is politically acceptable solutions.

Sense: Good behavior is desirable
Nonsense: Constant failure creates angry students.

Sense: Individualization is good.
Nonsense: Is ignored by many teachers.

Sense: Creativity is good.
Nonsense: Much of teaching/learning involves known outcomes.

Sense: Readers are invited to contribute their own ideas
Nonsense: Same...