Autism vs. Education: Blog #3

Welcome back! It has been a long year, but the time has come for my final Blog. My name is Daouda Njie and I am a freshman in Science Leadership Academy. Thank you for those who have read my other two blogs Blog #1 and Blog #2. For those who have just started to read my blogs I am exploring Autism for my You and the World Project, and whether the School District of Philadelphia is giving the best educational experience for a child with Autism.

For my first blog I talked about what Autism is and problems that the kids with Autism face. I have discovered that Autism is a disorder that causes problems with social interactions, repetitive behaviors, and verbal or nonverbal communications. Autism happens because of brain mutations in early stages of brain development. Autism affects how your brain processes information. These problem make school for children with Autism challenging. I have witnessed many children with Autism struggling in schools because of lack of assistance schools offer. Although there are special plans that children with Autism can take. They are called ILP which stands for Individualized learning plan. These plans all differ and are made to fit each child's needs differently.

For my second blog I decided to interview one of my fellow classmates that has Autism. Asking him if he thought the school district is doing everything to help him and what are problems he faces. He said that sometimes he does have trouble socializing in school but his family helps him and provides support for him. He also take studies skill which is provided for kids with disabilities. This allows him to stay focused and get his work done. I also interviewed a Special ed professor who works with people with Autism. She stated that children with Autism have trouble understanding what people say, if there are greetings such as “what's up.” If a child with autism hears this they might respond with “the sky.” This can make it difficult in a school environment because school is full of social interactions.

                                         V__5E74.jpg

                                                       

                       this is me also presenting in my advisory


For my agent of change I decided to inform my advisory on what they can do to help a child with Autism adjust to school more and not have challenges. I believe that I could have done more for my agent of change. I originally wanted to volunteer at Autism speaks but due to lack  of communication I was not able to. But by at least educating other people I believe that I have helped my cause.

I really enjoyed this assignment and it made me feel like I was doing something to actually help someone else. I also enjoyed this assignment because unlike most assignments I was able to freely choose what I wanted to work on. Finding a problem that is interesting to me and going out and doing something about it. I believe that people should become more self aware of children with autism because everyone deserves the best education. I would like to thank Ms.Dunn for allowing me to have a chance to make a change and my advisory for listening to my presentation. I would also like to thank everyone who has read my blogs thank you and goodbye.



Comments