Are Autism and Asperger's the Same?

Are Autism and Asperger's Syndrome really the same? There is now a lot of debate about that with the more we learn about both disorders. They both have different characteristics and different treatments. There are even different class rooms for the children with these disabilities, yet somehow they are still the same disorder to some researchers. To me that would be the same as saying this grape is the same as this blueberry because they are close enough to the same. That makes no sense and neither does classifying Asperger’s as almost the same or the same as Autism.

Both Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome have similar traits. Most of the characteristics of both diseases are mainly social skill issues. They also have less ability to learn and less fine motor skills, and basic life skills. They differ in a lot of the traits they share though.

If this is found out this would help doctors and kids getting treatment for the diseases. They should be able to have an answer by now, but a lot of doctors still don't know.

Many of the traits stated above are common to both, but people with Asperger’s Syndrome have it to a much lesser extent than those with Autism. They can function in a work environment much more easily than someone with Autism, they have less trouble in general with fine motor skills and they have a little better developed set of social skills than someone with Autism would. The two disorders can be confused easily because they have so much in common, but if you are around them enough it is easy to tell which is which.

The social skills issue that someone with Autism would have would range from little to non-verbal, where the social skills issue of someone with Asperger’s is more saying inappropriate things at inappropriate times. There are nit picky things about the disorders that make them very different to me. I wish researchers would pay attention to the differences and come up with two different spectrums for the disorders. It shouldn't be that difficult to do and would help parents a lot more with the on finding a some things that help the disorders.

How do I Find a Good Group Home?

A good group home can be found very easily. There are many different ways that they can select a group home. I know a lot of group home workers in Iowa and they told me that parents can interview the workers in the home. Interviews can be helpful because you can get to know who you work with. You can also get to know what your child will be doing there and get a feel for how they will be treated.

Parents always hear those scary stories about how people get mistreated in group homes and how they are all run horribly. That is not true there are good ones out there, but there are some bad ones. That is why there are interviews done. They can help make the process a lot smoother and better.

Kids can also visit the group home before they actually live there every day. This is a nice thing for them to do to make the transition from the old home to the new one. You might even find out that the home is not what you thought and not have them go there anymore. This is a great safety net and way to check everything out.

There are a lot of bad stories, but parents need to get over the fear and know they will find a good group home. There are great ones all over run by compassionate caring people. The kids will get better care at the home than they would with their parents. Sometimes it is some give and take and also some heartache, before you find the right situation. Sometimes it is also trial and error. You might think a home is good until you realize it was not the best fit. You cannot get discouraged though, you will find the right one.

Parents of other kids who have intellectual and developmental disabilities are other good resources to ask. They know the homes and know who is good and bad.  They might also show their kids group home to you and show you how great it is. If you don’t like that one they are always good at telling you what kind of questions to ask.

If you try there are a lot of different group homes you can get into that actually have a good reputation and will be good and helpful for your child. This can be a very good thing if you ask the right questions and meet the right home. It might take a while, but it will be worth the wait.

Are CI's Helpful?

Do cochlear implants actually help? A lot of parents who have deaf kids or people who are deaf wonder this. Parents of deaf kids want the best for their kids and want them to "fit in". The cochlear implant can be thought of as helpful, but also not as helpful, because nothing can really replace hearing.

They are a great invention, but are they really helping people hear? People who are deaf wonder this. The answer is actually no. They send electrical signals to your brain, mimicking hearing, but not actually allowing the person to hear.

The cochlear implants also do not actually help with tone because the voice a person “hears” is a robotic voice without much tone. Deaf people will not be able to hear and talk exactly how hearing people do, even with the latest cochlear implants.

Older generations also think the cochlear implant is ruining their culture. They feel that the cochlear implants is making it so that the people who are getting them will not learn the ASL language. They feel that brings them together as a community and connects them.

They can be helpful in a sense, but I am not sure that everyone would agree. This would be very helpful to anyone who is deaf and thinking about getting a cochlear implant because they obviously want to know if it will help them or not.

On MTV’s show Made it showed that most people that get cochlear implants later in life end up taking them out all the time because a lot of the noise they were hearing was making them go crazy, what we think of as background noise they hear and pay attention to, so it is very annoying to them. That I would think would be very annoying, especially if I was used to complete silence.  The brain hears things and will see if it is threatening, if we hear it all the time, and it brings no danger to us, the brain does not hear it anymore. Deaf people who get cochlear implants do not have that luxury at first, their brain is bombarded with new sounds and signals which sends them into overload. This is why I am not sure if they are helpful or not.

What type of doctor should I see?

There are different types of doctors a person with a disability can see in the end it comes down to which a person thinks is best. There are doctors who specialize in the disabilities and caring for the people who have them. Some people choose to go see doctors who are not in that specialty though. 

If this question is answered then there will be less of a stressful decision for parents to make. Some parents find making all of these decisions very stressful and do not want to deal with all of that stress of choosing everything.  This could potentially be one less thing for them to choose. It would help make life a little less stressful. 

The kids deserve the best treatment possible so if someone with a specialty in their disability will help them if they see them then it would be useful to know. A lot of parents do not even know people have offices where the do specialize in those disabilities and you can go to them. They are a bit harder to find, but it might not be if they are found out to be more helpful. 

It could also be helpful to doctors who are looking for a specialty. If they do not know this specialty exists they would not go into it also they might not know if it would be useful or beneficial. If this is proven to be true that they help more people might get more degrees in helping people with disabilities. This could potentially help a lot of people.

They also might be able to come up with a cure to the disease or something to help them live normal lives. This would be a great advancement. I think they should test this theory out to see whether the doctor makes a difference. I think it might, but I'm not sure.

How do I Help the Deaf Communicate?

How do I Help the Deaf Communicate? This is a question a lot of people who have no experience with deaf people have, especially after their first encounter. A lot of the time if a deaf person does not have a cochlear implant, they cannot communicate well with people in situations. They will struggle to get their point across and end up getting frustrated.

There is the old school pen and paper method. this seems to be the thing most deaf people rely on, but it is not always the  most effective if you can believe that. From my experience handwriting can be very difficult  to read. A lot of people have sloppy handwriting, especially in emergency situations. They feel rushed and their handwriting shows it. One thing you can do in this situation is make sure to stay calm and try to write neatly and as clearly as possible. This will help break down the communication barrier.

Another thing you can do is simply pull out a cell phone. Almost everyone has a cell phone now. The deaf person will be able to communicate well with you on that. They can see the screen, read the letters, because it is not someone’s handwriting, which can look like chicken scratch sometimes. There are also some speak to text apps on your phone you can get so you can hear what they type so you can respond to them more quickly, but any response is better than none.

One not so popular option is learn sign language. I will not say you have to learn the whole entire language and that all of their communication depends on it, but learn some basic signs. There is baby sign language, and if a baby can learn it, trust me it you can too. There are simple signs like paper, interpreter and help that would be useful, if you ever come in contact with a deaf person. They will feel more comfortable talking to someone that can sign obviously, but if you can help in any way they would appreciate it.

Does Homeschooling Help More Than Public Schools?

If homeschooling is better than public schooling someone with an intellectual or developmental disability then there can be changed made to the public schools. This can help individual schools and school districts as well to see how they perform in comparison to the other schools around them. They can get help from other schools in their area to improve the programs at their schools.

Kids with disabilities would have a greater chance of getting a better education. There are different things people with disabilities need when getting an education and it needs to be addressed. A lot of schools can not get the tools they need to ensure a better education for them, so they need to be evaluated.

Parents also want to know which they should do a lot of the time, especially if they are a first time parents. Answering this question would have a good impact on parents. Parents would be able to see what choice is best for their kids. They also might want to know which schools in the area are good around them. These questions would help answer that. They can ask other parents to see what they thought.

There would also be an impact on the teachers at public schools. They might be able to get a better education to help them educate the kids better if the students weren’t learning as well as they could at home. They might also get better equipment at schools to help the teachers out.

On the other hand, if it was found that it is better that kids with special needs or any disabilities go to public schools, parents might let them go to the public schools. The people who homeschool their kids with disabilities often do not trust that they will be treated well in public schools, so they have them at home and teach them there.

This question should get asked. I hope it does here, because a lot of teachers need to be asked whether their teaching style helps the students learn or not. I hope that there will be some interest in this soon, so people with disabilities can get the best education possible.

Spread the Word

Does spread the word to end the word actually help people stop using the R-word? This would be a great question for the people at Best Buddies International to ask themselves. I know here it has an impact, but does it at other schools or is our school community just better about accepting the special needs students and respecting them? The Spread the Word was a great idea, but a lot of the execution can be done better.

There can be some other activities during that week that might make more of a difference than the ones they do. They have a whole week dedicated to the program, but a designated day for people who do not want to use the entire week to do it. There are some better things that they can do like showing videos of inspirational people during this week, or even having people at the school say why they do not like the R-word.

If spread the word to end the word helps end use of the R-word then it should be promoted all over the country in all schools. The program makes a difference at our school. I know we are very in tune with the students at school and try our best to make the school community a better place for everyone. This is not the case for all schools though, some have more of an issue of it than others. They have widespread disrespect for the students in the special education classrooms. This needs to change in a lot of schools. They need to make sure that they do something to change this. If programs like this can make a difference, then they should be implemented everywhere.

If spread the word to end the word does not help end use of the R-word then they should try to do something to improve the program to make it work. There are new activities they could try, there are also different speakers they could have come talk to the schools. Some schools will not change, but others can and will with proper programs and incentives.

To find out if Spread the Word works an interview can be taken of kids at schools that participate in it. The interview can include whether they used the R-word before the program came to the school or after it did. Based on the answers of the students the program can be either altered or not.

Surveys could also be given instead to ensure that students have privacy so they will answer truthfully about the word, without fear of punishment. There are many different things that can be done to ensure all students are treated fairly this is one of them. I hope more schools will try this.