My old friend Stan Jaskiewicz writes to a college mailing list,
Since so many of members of our class of 1982 are in academia, I thought I would make you aware of a new, free resource to assist you in working with students with Asperger Syndrome, a form of high functioning autism (and the type that my son has) that is particularly common among those skilled in math and science.
The brief video (available at the website or on DVD) explains the social and educational challenges these students face in the college, and how accommodations to the learning environment can help such students to benefit from college classes. The website also has a link to download a free publication, “Understanding Asperger Syndrome: A Professor's Guide.”
Please feel free to circulate this information to your professional colleagues who may have students with Asperger's in their classes.
The text of his attachment is below. Or skip straight to the free download. Stan is a hero.
OAR Releases Asperger DVD for College Professors
Arlington, VA, April 18— The Organization for Autism Research (OAR) released Understanding Asperger Syndrome: A Professor's Guide, a 12-minute video for use by college students with Asperger Syndrome as a tool to educate their professors, teaching assistants, and others about the disorder. OAR produced the DVD in cooperation with the Global Regional Asperger Syndrome Project (GRASP) and Pace University in New York thanks to a grant from the Schwallie Family Foundation. The video is available now for viewing and download at no cost on OAR's Web page, www.researchautism.org/resources/AspergerDVDSeries.asp.
“The idea behind this series,” said Peter Gerhardt, Ed.D., OAR's president, “is to have adults with Asperger Syndrome in effect teach what it means to be an adult with the disorder.”
To that end, the video features two people with Asperger Syndrome, Michael John Carley from GRASP and Kiriana Cownesage, a doctoral student at NYU. Dr. Gerhardt also appears providing information on “reasonable accommodations” in the college classroom. In addition to being posted on OAR's Web site, OAR will post it on YouTube.com and produce DVDs to be available upon request via the Web site by early June.
Not really on topic, but has anybody else related just how annoying this “snap” popup is? I just start reading one of your posts, my mouse drifts over something or other, and BANG! there’s this popup in front of what I’m reading.
Really, if I’m that interested in a link, I’ll follow it. This “snap” thing is so stupid.
And, yes, I’m aware I can register with them to not have it bother me. I refuse to give them the opportunity to track my websurfing just to avoid being annoyed at a handful of webpages. I think I’ll just avoid those webpages, instead.
The background music in the video makes me Craaaaazzy! (giggle!)
By the time the DSM V comes out there will be a syndrome (and a pill) for EVERYONE!
I’m sorry, the more I hear about Asbergers, the more these people seem relatively normal in a totally dysfunctional society. Could it be an…. Industrial Disease?
As in ‘Western Industrialized Society’?
Just in from Adbusters magazine, the journal of the mental environment:
“As people fall further into their personal gadgets, scientists and psychologists are now beginning to classify technology dependency as a major health problem, putting it in the same categories as alcoholism, gambling and drug addiction. The stress it creates is causing arthritis, migraines and ulcers. These physical attachments are causing weight gain, back problems and bad skin. But most troubling, it is having a powerful impact on our personal development. It seems the more ‘connected’ we are, the more detached we become.
“Humans are being trapped in a high-tech cycle that is freezing their minds away from living in the moment, looking at life and taking in whatýs (sic) around them,” writes Celente. “While technology has radically altered the externals of life, it has done nothing demonstrable to enhance the internals: moral, emotional, philosophical and spiritual values.”
In Full
It’s great to see resources like this DVD being made available for educators to better understand and support students with Asperger’s syndrome. Education and awareness are key to creating an inclusive environment. Thanks for sharing this valuable information!