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Donald Baker

Assignment A

The Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism Association provides an advocacy

web site at the address of www.ahany.org. While the Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning

Autism Association (AHA) is a not for profit organization that operates in the state of New York

and only provides in-person services in New York, its web site caters to an audience including

people with Aspergers Syndrome and autism on the high functioning end of the spectrum, their

parents, families, friends, doctors, and teachers across the country and the world. The AHA is

run by a Board of Directors and an Advisory Board, as well as a staff and volunteers. The

advisory board is often utilized to submit articles to the web site. The mission of the AHA

involves increasing awareness for Aspergers and high functioning autism, providing educational

programs and training, and developing a strong network of professionals and parents who are

affected by Aspergers and high functioning autism.

This site has a few sections with resources that are more geared toward supporting people

in the New York area, but there are also sections title articles, reading list, and resources. The

articles page contains ten articles that are geared toward different groups affected by

Aspergers and autism, and they come from a variety of different sources. The reading list is full

of recommended books that the group finds useful in the diagnosis, explanation, education, and

socialization ofthese disorders and those with them. The resources section contains a wealth

of online assets including a blog, links for educators, other advocacy groups, and links to other

online resources.

I chose to look at Aspergers Syndrome and high functioning autism because I know that

these are conditions of high incidence in the typical public school, and I wanted to learn practical

information about incorporating students with them into the classroom. I was struck by the

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emphasis of the variation of severity and academic success that students with these disorders can

have in school. I have always heard about the academic intelligence of many people with

autism, but much of the information throughout this website stressed that people with Aspergers

and high functioning autism can have a wide range of both social skills and academic success(1).

I also learned from an article that was written by Dr. Lynda Geller that it is important to utilize

evidence-based techniques for improving the social skills and academics of students with these

conditions in the classroom (2). Now knowing this, I will plan to consult professionals and other

experts who have dedicated their lives to helping students with special needs for advice on

initiating programs in my classroom to help these students.

MDA.org/advocacy is the advocacy wing of the Muscular Dystrophy Associations

internet presence. The MDA is a nonprofit health agency that combats muscular dystrophy and

other nerve diseases, such as Lou Gehrigs disease. This advocacy website has several sections,

and they are title, Become an Advocate, Find Your Elected Officials, Get Involved,

Learn About Legislation that Affects the MDA Community, MDA Advocacy Publications

and Videos, MDA Fly Out, School Advocacy, and List of Resources. Most of these

sections are self-explanatory and deal with fighting for people with dystrophy through the

government. The school advocacy section is more directed toward parents than teachers, and it

gives parents links to other sites that deal with rights for students with disabilities.

I chose to research muscular dystrophy largely because of how touched I was by the film

Darius Goes West. I also have a personal connection to other degenerative nerve diseases, as

three years ago I lost my grandfather to Lou Gehrigs Disease. One of the links I followed from

the school advocacy page led me to a campus checklist for students with dystrophy. Something I

had not thought about before that it mentioned was accommodating these students with special

schedules to ease their movement throughout the school (3). Another of these links led me to

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instructional strategies from the National Center on Secondary Education. I was grateful to take

away from this page the idea of fostering independence in students with all conditions and of all

abilities (4). I can apply this principal to all students, knowing that it may be easier to hold

someones hand throughout tough times. It is more useful to them to gain independence, though.

CHADD.org is the website of the Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/

Hyperactivity Disorder. CHADD claims to be the leading advocacy organization for people with

ADHD and their families in the country, with over 200 local chapters and 16,000 active

members. They also publish a bi-magazine calledAttention. The website is broken up into

sections for understanding ADHD, resources for parents, resources for different age groups of

people with ADHD, and ways to get involved in their cause.

I chose to research ADHD because it is probably the most common learning or

behavioral disability in the average American school. I also know that it will at some point be a

challenge to properly educate one of these students. Through the sites information about

understanding ADHD, I learned that the disorder is largely hereditary (5). This was fairly

surprising to me, because I thought that neurological disorders such as ADHD were largely

random. Knowing this, I think that it would be fruitful to persuade a student with ADHD to seek

out a similarly afflicted family member. By talking to someone who has experience, the child

can hopefully learn strategies for coping with the disorder in the classroom. This process will

also hopefully feel more comfortable with the situation that they are in. A section about treating

ADHD also stressed the importance of consistent positive behavior reinforcement (6). I was not

at all surprised by this information, as we have discussed this in class already. This will require a

definite commitment in the classroom. I know that in the future that I will become frustrated by

students with ADHD, but it will be important to focus on positive reinforcement no matter what.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism Association. (2005). AHA. Retrievedfrom http://www.ahany.org/index.htm

2.

Geller, L. What does a student with Asperger Syndrome need in a school program?http://www.ahany.org/Whatdoesastudent.pdf.

3. Campus Accessibility Considerations. (n.d.). Retrieved from Muscular DystrophyAssociation website:

http://mda.org/sites/default/files/College_Campus_Accessibility_Questionnaire.pdf

4. Instructional Strategies. Retrieved from National Center on Secondary Education andTransition Institute on Community Integration website:

http://www.ncset.org/topics/instructional/default.asp?topic=14

5.

Understanding ADHD.http://www.chadd.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Causes&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=21716

6. Understanding ADHD: How is it Treated?http://www.chadd.org/Content/CHADD/Understanding/Treatment/default.htm