Our Beliefs Regarding Autism Spectrum Disorders

 

There is a lot of information available about autism and people with autism.  Some of it is enlightening, some of it is outdated and some of it is downright harmful. We commit ourselves to staying on top of research and practices in educating children with autism so that we can speak to best practices and explain the theories and research behind them. We have found the following statements to hold true for all people with autism.  Any coaching we do or presentations we give will be grounded in the following beliefs:

I. Strengths mask challenges.
All people with autism have strengths. Sometimes those strengths are so obvious and well-developed that they lead others to overlook or disregard the very real challenges experienced by the person with autism. This is particularly true for people with good verbal skills. The ability to converse, combined with advanced vocabulary, may give the overall impression of a person without developmental challenges. This impression, created by the individual’s strengths, masks the challenges and makes others less likely to recognize the challenges as a part of a disability. For instance, it can be difficult to understand how someone cannot control inappropriate social reactions to feelings of frustration when he is capable of defining the word “frustration,” using it appropriately in sentences and even tracing its etymology. However, this discrepancy in an individual’s skills and abilities is a hallmark characteristic of autism spectrum disorders. While it is important to acknowledge an individual’s strengths, it is equally important to recognize areas of deficit that require intervention and support.    

II. Challenges mask strengths.
All people with autism experience significant developmental challenges. Sometimes those challenges are so obvious and affect so many skill areas that others may overlook or disregard the very real strengths and talents possessed by the person with autism. This is particularly true for people who are non-verbal or non-conversant. The inability to express ideas through language, combined with sensory or motor differences, may give the overall impression of a person who is not able to think or learn. This impression, created by overt behaviors, masks cognitive strengths and abilities and may lead others to adopt low expectations or be unwilling to ascribe intent or intelligence to actions performed by the person with autism. For instance, it can be difficult to see the meaning and intentionality behind words and actions which appear disjointed, uncoordinated and developmentally out-of-sync, especially if they are delivered in a manner outside of usual social norms. However, assumptions regarding a link between autism and cognitive deficits are slowly being recognized as outdated and ill-informed. They are, in effect, a prejudice perpetrated by the speaking world on those who have not had a voice with which to respond. While it is important for the purposes of intervention planning to understand the challenges faced by a person with autism, it is even more important to operate from a mindset in which we presume competence and honor intentionality.

III. All behavior is communication.
Spoken language is merely one form of communication. All people, with or without autism, communicate in a variety of ways. It is generally accepted that body posture, tone of voice and emotional reactions convey information about an individual regardless of whether or not the individual is intentionally trying to communicate that information. The idea of behavior as communication goes beyond that. It is the fundamental belief that all actions correspond to an internal belief state or underlying need within the agent. Because people with ASD experience challenges with communication and self-awareness and may express themselves in atypical ways, it is incumbent upon caregivers and educators to analyze overt behavior for the need(s) or belief(s) it represents. Determining the function (purpose, meaning) of an individual's behavior (action, response, attitude) is known as functional behavioral analysis or FBA. Formal FBAs are typically reserved for puzzling or troubling behaviors, but experienced caregivers and educators run informal FBAs in their heads all the time because that is the key to understanding why a person with autism does the things he does and that is what allows us, as caregivers or educators, to respond to their needs and to plan appropriate and meaningful learning experiences.

IV. No single method, strategy or intervention is right for every child.
(Including: memory differences, learning styles, movement differences)

V. Self-determination is the ultimate goal
When our children are very young, many of us focus our efforts on trying to close the gap between our children's skills and those of typical peers. Basing our goals on what other children can do may be useful in the short term, but it's not an effective long term strategy. However, that doesn't mean that we parents of children on the spectrum can't share in the same dreams that parents of typically-developing children have. We want our children to have choices in life, to enjoy the freedom to express themselves and their creativity, to find meaning in life and to develop those deep friendships and close relationships which bind them to their communities. In short, we want the same things for our kids that all parents want. We can make that happen for our children but it requires a lot more awareness on our part about what have choices they with be the same goal that all parents have for their children

(Including: There is no age at which development ends.)

 

While we continue to develop our beliefs about living with autism we encourage you to do the same. It is important to be able to articulate and defend your core beliefs in your own words, but we all need a little help sometimes. Here are some great resources regarding facts, myths and perspectives of life with autism:

Step by Step Myth Dismantling

 

© 2008 Mac 'n' Cheese