Autism Advice for School Success? Try Sunglasses
Posted April 24, 2012 01:15 am
By
Stephanie Carroll Carson
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Several new studies have been released to mark April's Autism Awareness Month, focusing on prenatal exposures, diet, and prevalence of the disorder. The CDC reports one of every 88 Florida children has some form of autism, and success in school can be difficult, although an expert who's considered to be the best-known person with the disorder says it's possible.
Links of interest:
•
Temple Grandin, PHd
•
Autism Florida
Temple Grandin, Ph.d., says most students with
autism, and many with ADHD, are negatively affected by
fluorescent lights in the classroom.
"Try on different-colored sunglasses - pale pink ones,
pale light lavender ones - just experiment with that
until you find some where the print no longer jiggles on
the page. "
She also recommends printing worksheets on pastel paper
instead of white.
The autism spectrum has a wide range, but Grandin finds
there are three basic ways to connect with children who
have the disorder. The trick is to find out what type of
thinker the child is.
"There's a visual thinker like me - thinks in pictures,
absolutely can't do algebra - but there's a lot of kids
that are visual thinkers that can do geometry. Then
there's the pattern-thinker."
Grandin says pattern thinkers have an "engineering
mind," but often have difficulty with reading. The third
type is someone whose mind processes words the best.
Grandin's experience growing up was that she was labeled
"weird," and says high school was the worst for
bullying. However, she found respite from the teasing,
and encourages families to find the same for their kids.
"And the only places where there was no bullying were
the specialized interests, like model rocket club,
riding horses, electronics lab. So, I strongly recommend
getting the kids involved in activities they can do with
other kids. And I'm getting a lot of fantastic feedback
about the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts."
Florida now has a website dedicated to information on
autism and resources. It was opened this month and is
sponsored in part by the Florida State University Autism
Institute.