I read in a classmate's blog post that they thought that Barb was going to start her presentation by saying, "dear utk, autism is my prison." However she said it was her prism not her prison. This statement is where my perception was changed the most. I by no means expected that Barb was not intelligent as I have had experiences with children and adults who have autism. I did however expect that Barb would feel trapped inside her autism and feel as though it hindered her personality and intelligence from coming out. She felt the exact opposite. Barb explained through her writing that she believed that autism was a benefit to her. This sentiment blew me away. Barb is not dealing with a condition she is working through her position, and that is a powerful message.
One thing that spoke to me directly was when Barb's "SS" was talking about medicating away creativity and entrepreneurship and said that as teachers, if a student needs to be mobile or stimulated to learn, we should let them be that. Because I agree with this statement, when I begin to teach my goal will be to have "my space" be a place where students feel comfortable and can learn in whatever way works best for them. If a student in my class needs to move to learn, I cannot fathom why anyone would stop that.
I enjoyed this presentation and I think it really opened eyes about the capabilities of those we so often say are incapable.
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