In My Language...

Having two Autistic students who are new to public school this year, I've been literally trying to absorb as much knowledge about Autism as I can in order to understand them and meet their needs. I've come across this amazing You Tube Video on several blogs (beginning with Chris Brogan) across the net and it's completely floored me. Amanda presents with multiple self-stimulatory behaviors that I see on a daily basis in my classroom. As I watched and got to the second half, my jaw dropped. Watch all the way through and you'll see why.





I don't think I'll ever look at my boys in the same way again. Granted, not all non-verbal Autistic people are capable of such eloquent language and cognition varies from child to child, but I'll not take anything for granted. Obviously, Amanda Baggs has an extensive vocabulary and supreme intellect and she is not representative of all non-verbal Autistic people, but had she not gotten her hands on a keyboard, we might never know.

I've just discovered this remarkable woman and have yet to read anything else yet, but have subscribed to and will read her blog Ballastexistenz.

I've also been a subscriber to Autismpodcast since it's inception and find it very helpful and enjoyable. It's a nice blend of personal experience (Michael Boll has an autistic son), expert advice and roundtable discussions. As a member of The Autism Project of RI, I'll be attending various trainings over the next few months and reading everything I can on the Autism Spectrum... man... going to need that 25th hour!

Link to all of Amanda's videos.

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