Hello. My name is Susan (M) and I am a graduate student in the Autistic Spectrum Disorders Certificate Program at Antioch New England. I work as a school counselor at a large middle school in southern NH and have become fascinated by kids on the spectrum as a result of a few different but converging things. First, I have had the exciting pleasure of working with a couple of boys during the past two years that have taught me more than a million hours of book learning ever could. They are bright, quirky, somewhat marginalized kids who pique my curiosity and make me laugh, all in the same breath! Next, we have been fortunate to hire two very talented people who know a lot about social pragmatics and autism. My collaboration with them, one a speech path and the other a spec ed teacher, has resulted in my being absolutely convinced that we can and should do more for our AS kids. My goal in participating in this program is to be able to be more effective in teacher education, parent collaboration, and in improving my clinical skills so that I can be useful to our students not just "in the moment," but long term, as well.
This past weekend, in our Intro to Counseling class, we discussed the idea of students mentoring other students in acquiring social skills AND practicing these skills in natural social settings. I am REALLY excited about this concept and wondering about whether or not I can use this at the middle school level to alleviate some of the trouble spots like the cafeteria and playground. As a Special Olympics coordinator, I have seen the powerful effect of mingling spectrum kids with neurotypical peers. What I need to consider is how to present this option to the NT peers, how to get spectrum kids to buy in; I will need to try to anticipate problematic situations that may arise; i.e., what to do when the NT kids get teased, how to avoid "burn out" of the mentor kids, what kind of social opportunities can be successfully left up to the kids to navigate independently, how to approach families, what the importance of AS kids actually knowing their diagnoses might be, and so forth. In all cases, it is a very exciting idea.
The parameters of conversation, the discussion about the soft neurological signs associated with AS, the concept of behavior "chaining" and breaking the chain at the earliest opportunity and weakest link have all presented as ideas that can effectively and affectively alter the course of the day for an AS child. I think the most obvious impact of Sunday's discusssion for me centers around sensitizing me to the actual experience of being an AS kid. As a counselor, it is important to me to be able to be in the same space as the child. Not easy when considering an altered neurological state. Unconditional acceptance tempered by the need for explicit instruction can be a departure from the norm or one's own comfort zone when undertaking counseling in which insight is a gift, not an expectation. I have a lot to think about and a lot to learn.
