Wednesday, April 4th, several BMS students embraced the motto, “Autism Speaks – Light it up Blue – To help make people aware,” and wore blue t-shirts to school in support of Autism Awareness Month.
Jane Savell, a Life Skills teacher at Brownwood Middle School, works with autistic children in her classroom and helped with the effort to communicate the issue of autism to students.
“Nadine Christian, who is one of the organizers of the Autism Support Group at the Family Services Center, contacted me and asked if we could help the middle school kids become aware of autism,” said Savell. “When I started teaching back in 1976, very few people even knew what Autism was.”
Some specific statistics and details concerning autism were among the morning announcements made throughout the school during the week. Students learned Monday that The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported that 1 in 88 children in the US are being diagnosed with autism, nearly doubling the prevalence since the CDC began tracking it. Another announcement, made Tuesday, defined autism as, “a complex developmental disability which primarily affects a person’s ability in social interaction and communication. Autism is known as a spectrum disorder, because it affects each individual in different ways and to varying degrees.”
“So many autistic people in the community are victims because people don’t have an understanding that they have this difficulty,” Savell said, adding that people diagnosed with autism generally have a very hard time dealing with change. “They have to know what’s going to happen next. They have to know if there is going to be a change.” Savell’s class began preparing for Wednesday’s photo a week in advance, giving the children time to understand and accept the change in schedule.
Even with the many challenges autism creates, with advances in technology and guidance from educated and caring individuals, some people diagnosed with autism have overcome their difficulties and moved on to become quite successful. Savell noted that Satoshi Tajiri, creator of Pokémon, is autistic.
Savell’s classroom also utilizes an iPad, an Apple device that has recently gained a lot of attention in the area of Special Education because autistic children are able to understand and interact with the intuitive touch-screen driven tablet.
“The technology is going to open the door for many of our kids,” said Savell, noting that it helps to give autistic children a voice and a way to communicate. “They receive input and stimuli differently and so a lot of times the response comes differently. They amaze us with what they are able to do,” Savell said. “It’s always been a fascinating group of kids to work with.”
Students at BMS were exposed to some valuable information regarding autism, and a message that behind the issue of autism there are real families and real individuals struggling each and every day and that the disorder ultimately affects each and every one of us.
Pictured at top: Brownwood Middle School Students Recognize Autism Awareness Month
