Autistic People Research Paper
Autistic People are Valuable to Society
While I was sitting down at my desk thinking about what I wanted to write about for my research paper, I received a phone call from my cousin, Ian, who is twenty years old and has suffered from severe autism since he was born. Hearing how happy he was about his schooling, the activities he participates in, his excitement for me to come home and more made me realize that just because he suffers from this unfortunate disease does not mean he is any different from myself, my friends, or anyone in society for that matter. That sparked an idea for my research paper for this course, which is “How do children and young adults with autism cope with societal life today?”
Ian is one of the happiest human beings …show more content…
I have ever met in my life. He walks around day in and day out with the biggest smile on his face and is constantly asking about all of the family members’ well being and how they have been recently. If we respond with anything negative, he wants to know why and that leads to him giving us suggestions on how to make things better for ourselves. He calls my grandparents, my other aunt and uncle on my mom’s side of the family, and my parents at least once a week to tell us about what he has done so far in the week and what he has planned, through his school that specialized in teaching and tending to children with special needs, Kennedy Krieger Institute, for the rest of the week.
The school not only teaches children ages 5-21 but it also takes those who are seniors in high school and older out into society once a week to teach them how to be active members in society by having them do numerous fun, interactive, and educational tasks. In “Off to Work for Individuals with Autism: A Supported Employment Approach”, by Paul Wehman, PH.D., Pamela Targett, M.ED. and Cynthia Young, M.S., C.R.C, these authors stress that supported employment is the best way to get these young adults with autism the ability to get a job, or at least get out into society and interact with people in the working world (Wehman, 54). Supported employment is identifying and facilitating, or designing and implementing, job supports specifically geared toward assisting people with the most severe disabilities gain and maintain employment. Generally, Wehman states, these services entail having a job coach or employment specialist assist the jobseeker with numerous things such as identifying or clarifying his vocation, meet with area business personnel to locate or create a paid work opportunity, provide any necessary on-the-job support, and monitoring job performance to ensure the worker is meeting established employer standards and providing additional support if needed (Wehman, 54-55). Notably, Garcia-Villamisar, Wehman and Navarro found that supported employment resulted in greater quality of life for people with autism across a four-year period than employment in sheltered environments.
In an initial two year pilot study, Mawhood and Howlin (1999) reported higher rates of employment for participants in a supported group than the control group who received generic disability services (West, 161). More recently, another case study (Wehman, Target, & Young, 2007) illustrated how a young man with severe autism was able to gain work using the individualized approach to supported employment. Ideally, when a person with autism takes this route to hopefully obtain a job they will be employed when he or she leaves school and, the transition involves a handoff from one set of support providers to another. My cousin is going through this transition into supported employment now, where he used to do activities such as deliver meals with “Meals on Wheels”, feed the fish and clean the tanks at the Baltimore Aquarium, and more. This transition for him, along with many others with autism, was a difficult one because he is going from being in a school system setting every day to occasionally going out into society and dealing with the challenge of meeting and working with new people. As said by the Autism Society on their website, “While entitlement to public education ends at age twenty one, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that transition planning begin at age sixteen and become a formal part of the student 's Individualized Education Plan (IEP).” Ian was going through this process one step at a time beginning at the age of sixteen with the activities such as going to the Baltimore Zoo, Baltimore Aquarium, helping out with Meals on Wheels, etc. Ian is fortunate in that he has the ability to talk, walk, eat and dress himself. Many people who are autistic cannot do these simple tasks that we take for granted.
Cathy Pratt, is the Director of the Indiana Resource Center for Autism at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community located at Indiana University, applauds the efforts of partner businesses, also known as supported employment. “Corporations have people who are doing a fabulous job finding real work for people in real settings,” she says, citing the example of an autistic adult working for a large hotel chain. Pratt quoted the employer at this hotel chain saying, “I would like to have a hundred of him. He doesn’t get into social chitchat, he learns tasks easily and takes natural cues [regarding] taking breaks and lunch when scheduled, and he is probably more productive than his peers.” Pratt adds, “It is wonderful to see that corporations understand that hiring folks with autism may bring them a really good employee.” She also stresses that if the supporter who is helping the autistic person find a job does their job correctly and finds them a job they enjoy and have a lot of interest in, then it will make the autistic person that much more productive to the corporation (Abbot, 1). Ian is now learning to be an “intern” at Home Depot. The lady he has been working with, Ms. Lisa, as his assistant saw his love and desire for construction and power tools throughout the years with working with him so that is what makes this internship at Home Depot perfect for him. In an interview I did through e-mail with a Ms. Erika Wodka at Kennedy Krieger Institute, a coordinator for supported employment, she said this about Ms. Lisa, “She did her job exactly as she needed to and it’s now helping Ian possibly get a job at a place he loves going to every day. She found out the hobbies and interests that made him the happiest to make sure she placed him in the right area of employment.” (Wodka, E-mail). I’m glad that Ms. Lisa was able to help my cousin find something that he truly does love doing. He talks to me about his times out in the working world every time he calls my cell phone or meet up for family reunions and occasions.
It’s awesome that there are other people out there who have the time, energy, and patience to work with those who have this ill-fated disease.
Ian and his friends are some of the happiest people I know and just need a little time and attention to get used to. He has definitely taught me a lot about myself and about others then he has probably learned from me and that is what I appreciate the most about him and his condition. He has shown me that no matter what little issue or problem I have going on in my life that I should be able to get up out of bed every morning and do everything I need to do such as attend classes, do what is asked of me on that given day for the baseball team, complete my homework, readings, essays, etc., and not complain about it because he has it a lot harder than I do and not a single complaint comes out of his mouth about going to work for the day. Ian lives a happy, simple, easy-going life that he enjoys. He does not know the concept of money, power, war, or even the internet. He only wants everyone to be happy, healthy and love each other. One of Ian’s treats is drinking soda. And when we ask him what he wants for his birthday or for Christmas, he says, “A Dr. Pepper.” We can all learn from that and see that there are definitely finer things in
life. Works Cited
Abbott, Amy M. “Sustaining Long-Term Employment for Autistic Adults.” Autism After 16. 28 Aug. 2012. Web. 18 Sept. 2013
Improving the Lives of All Affected by Autism. Autism Society. Web. 13 Sept. 2013.
Michael West, et al. "Supported Employment For Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Preliminary Data." Research & Practice For Persons With Severe Disabilities 37.3 (2012): 160-169. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.
Wehman, Paul, Pamela Targett and Cynthia Young. “Off to Work for Individuals with
Autism a Supported Employment Approach.” Autism Advocate First Edition. 2007: 54-57. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.
Wodka, Erika. “Re: Supported Employment with Ian.” Message to Robert Jones. 19 Sept. 2013. E-mail.
While I was sitting down at my desk thinking about what I wanted to write about for my research paper, I received a phone call from my cousin, Ian, who is twenty years old and has suffered from severe autism since he was born. Hearing how happy he was about his schooling, the activities he participates in, his excitement for me to come home and more made me realize that just because he suffers from this unfortunate disease does not mean he is any different from myself, my friends, or anyone in society for that matter. That sparked an idea for my research paper for this course, which is “How do children and young adults with autism cope with societal life today?”
Ian is one of the happiest human beings …show more content…
I have ever met in my life. He walks around day in and day out with the biggest smile on his face and is constantly asking about all of the family members’ well being and how they have been recently. If we respond with anything negative, he wants to know why and that leads to him giving us suggestions on how to make things better for ourselves. He calls my grandparents, my other aunt and uncle on my mom’s side of the family, and my parents at least once a week to tell us about what he has done so far in the week and what he has planned, through his school that specialized in teaching and tending to children with special needs, Kennedy Krieger Institute, for the rest of the week.
The school not only teaches children ages 5-21 but it also takes those who are seniors in high school and older out into society once a week to teach them how to be active members in society by having them do numerous fun, interactive, and educational tasks. In “Off to Work for Individuals with Autism: A Supported Employment Approach”, by Paul Wehman, PH.D., Pamela Targett, M.ED. and Cynthia Young, M.S., C.R.C, these authors stress that supported employment is the best way to get these young adults with autism the ability to get a job, or at least get out into society and interact with people in the working world (Wehman, 54). Supported employment is identifying and facilitating, or designing and implementing, job supports specifically geared toward assisting people with the most severe disabilities gain and maintain employment. Generally, Wehman states, these services entail having a job coach or employment specialist assist the jobseeker with numerous things such as identifying or clarifying his vocation, meet with area business personnel to locate or create a paid work opportunity, provide any necessary on-the-job support, and monitoring job performance to ensure the worker is meeting established employer standards and providing additional support if needed (Wehman, 54-55). Notably, Garcia-Villamisar, Wehman and Navarro found that supported employment resulted in greater quality of life for people with autism across a four-year period than employment in sheltered environments.
In an initial two year pilot study, Mawhood and Howlin (1999) reported higher rates of employment for participants in a supported group than the control group who received generic disability services (West, 161). More recently, another case study (Wehman, Target, & Young, 2007) illustrated how a young man with severe autism was able to gain work using the individualized approach to supported employment. Ideally, when a person with autism takes this route to hopefully obtain a job they will be employed when he or she leaves school and, the transition involves a handoff from one set of support providers to another. My cousin is going through this transition into supported employment now, where he used to do activities such as deliver meals with “Meals on Wheels”, feed the fish and clean the tanks at the Baltimore Aquarium, and more. This transition for him, along with many others with autism, was a difficult one because he is going from being in a school system setting every day to occasionally going out into society and dealing with the challenge of meeting and working with new people. As said by the Autism Society on their website, “While entitlement to public education ends at age twenty one, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that transition planning begin at age sixteen and become a formal part of the student 's Individualized Education Plan (IEP).” Ian was going through this process one step at a time beginning at the age of sixteen with the activities such as going to the Baltimore Zoo, Baltimore Aquarium, helping out with Meals on Wheels, etc. Ian is fortunate in that he has the ability to talk, walk, eat and dress himself. Many people who are autistic cannot do these simple tasks that we take for granted.
Cathy Pratt, is the Director of the Indiana Resource Center for Autism at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community located at Indiana University, applauds the efforts of partner businesses, also known as supported employment. “Corporations have people who are doing a fabulous job finding real work for people in real settings,” she says, citing the example of an autistic adult working for a large hotel chain. Pratt quoted the employer at this hotel chain saying, “I would like to have a hundred of him. He doesn’t get into social chitchat, he learns tasks easily and takes natural cues [regarding] taking breaks and lunch when scheduled, and he is probably more productive than his peers.” Pratt adds, “It is wonderful to see that corporations understand that hiring folks with autism may bring them a really good employee.” She also stresses that if the supporter who is helping the autistic person find a job does their job correctly and finds them a job they enjoy and have a lot of interest in, then it will make the autistic person that much more productive to the corporation (Abbot, 1). Ian is now learning to be an “intern” at Home Depot. The lady he has been working with, Ms. Lisa, as his assistant saw his love and desire for construction and power tools throughout the years with working with him so that is what makes this internship at Home Depot perfect for him. In an interview I did through e-mail with a Ms. Erika Wodka at Kennedy Krieger Institute, a coordinator for supported employment, she said this about Ms. Lisa, “She did her job exactly as she needed to and it’s now helping Ian possibly get a job at a place he loves going to every day. She found out the hobbies and interests that made him the happiest to make sure she placed him in the right area of employment.” (Wodka, E-mail). I’m glad that Ms. Lisa was able to help my cousin find something that he truly does love doing. He talks to me about his times out in the working world every time he calls my cell phone or meet up for family reunions and occasions.
It’s awesome that there are other people out there who have the time, energy, and patience to work with those who have this ill-fated disease.
Ian and his friends are some of the happiest people I know and just need a little time and attention to get used to. He has definitely taught me a lot about myself and about others then he has probably learned from me and that is what I appreciate the most about him and his condition. He has shown me that no matter what little issue or problem I have going on in my life that I should be able to get up out of bed every morning and do everything I need to do such as attend classes, do what is asked of me on that given day for the baseball team, complete my homework, readings, essays, etc., and not complain about it because he has it a lot harder than I do and not a single complaint comes out of his mouth about going to work for the day. Ian lives a happy, simple, easy-going life that he enjoys. He does not know the concept of money, power, war, or even the internet. He only wants everyone to be happy, healthy and love each other. One of Ian’s treats is drinking soda. And when we ask him what he wants for his birthday or for Christmas, he says, “A Dr. Pepper.” We can all learn from that and see that there are definitely finer things in
life. Works Cited
Abbott, Amy M. “Sustaining Long-Term Employment for Autistic Adults.” Autism After 16. 28 Aug. 2012. Web. 18 Sept. 2013
Improving the Lives of All Affected by Autism. Autism Society. Web. 13 Sept. 2013.
Michael West, et al. "Supported Employment For Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Preliminary Data." Research & Practice For Persons With Severe Disabilities 37.3 (2012): 160-169. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.
Wehman, Paul, Pamela Targett and Cynthia Young. “Off to Work for Individuals with
Autism a Supported Employment Approach.” Autism Advocate First Edition. 2007: 54-57. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.
Wodka, Erika. “Re: Supported Employment with Ian.” Message to Robert Jones. 19 Sept. 2013. E-mail.