I am dismayed to report that I have not yet heard from the coordinator from the Autism Parent Workshop. I did send her another email after the workshop took place today, so since the hullaballoo is over and done with, hopefully we will be getting a response soon.
For the meat and potatoes:
As I posted later last week, Dr. Wakefield's theories on a vaccine/autism link have proven to be unfounded.
My first thought -- despite my childless status -- was "is there going to be an influx of students next fall?".
"Why?" do you ask?
From what I have gathered by talking with various naturalists and/or anti-vaccination parents, the whole reason that they shun vaccines in the first place IS because of Dr. Wakefield's theory. (Not all, though -- some parents believe in a governmental conspiracy theory or fear some other health complication) Now that the theory has been tossed out, will more parents be willing to vaccinate their children, allowing them to enter the realm of public schooling?
On that note, what exactly IS the teacher's role in facilitating habilitation and assimilation to the public setting in regard to autistic children?
Should the school-age child population increase within the ever-burgeoning walls in the public education system next year, will teachers be properly equipped to handle the many different personality and (possibly) disordered types bound to be lumped into any particular classroom?
I am fortunate enough to have many friends studying to become teachers, and some that are already hard at work shaping the lives of our future generations. However, when I began asking questions regarding their training with special needs children, no matter how incapacitated/capable, the answers I received were less-than-inspiring.
Honestly? In the state of Texas, there really isn't any kind of training needed to work with special needs children, unless that particular educator is going to work full-time in special education. Apparently it's protocol to rely on in-classroom aides to work with the children that need individualized attention.
... and what happens with the children whose aides call in one day? Or perhaps the aide is new, him/herself, or perhaps even old-school and no longer adequate/relevant?
Let's face it: the education system is not always properly funded. These things can, and do, happen.
In the educators' defense: it's nearly impossible to accommodate every students' learning style. That's one of the reasons that the human race is so fascinating; no two people are exactly alike! In order to remedy said dilemma somewhat, educators are required to learn how to cater to a number of different learning styles, such as: tactile, auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Many educators even plan their lessons to present the required information in each realm.
However -- the fact remains that there is no psychology integrated into the curriculum, nor is there any directed guidance toward these young educators as to how to properly accommodate these valid, sometimes brilliant minds.
In my humble opinion, anyone who is directly influencing the lives of others needs to have some sort of psychological training. No, not everyone is going to be a psychologist, but even understanding the basics of human interaction can vastly improve interaction between any such person and his/her cohorts. Can you see where I'm coming from, though? Children have such very fragile psyches, and any kind of negative interaction between a student and teacher can really have devastating effects on that child for years and years to come.
For your consideration: Erik Erikson's Stages of Development
Now, I would definitely love to see an actual conversation develop over this topic! What are your views on this topic? Any educators/aides/psychology majors out there who care to comment?
I'm looking forward to gleaning your ideas!
Blessings,
Tasha
