Aug 07 2008
Sacrificing anonymity for the opportunity to teach about autism.
As summer school ends, I have the responsibility of giving feedback to my professors. For most students this feedback is given under the veil of anonymity; however, for me it is impossible to give relevant feedback pertinent to those with disabilities without revealing my identity.
It is my goal to pave the way for others with learning disabilities and autism within the upper educational system. It is within these systems that we will face our biggest challenges. Often times, we will not have parents to battle for us and now must face the challenges not only of our disabilities, but the challenges encountered with different professors with different ideals about teaching.
There are programs in place, and the people employed there do their best to help us. However, they cannot change the views of professors. They compose written emails and letters in professional manners and do their best to juggle our needs with the personal beliefs of the professor. This idea of avoidance often times has left me on the out skirts wondering what the program is really for and whom it is truly helping.
As I argued a resent discrepancy with the head of the disability resource center at my community college, one topic kept coming to the top. As I read emails sent to me from my professor to her, she was telling me that he had changed the class already to suit me and to be fair, had made the standard the same for all students. How is that fair? For me to be able to achieve the same success and be on the same level as the other students in the class I need the double testing time, a note taker, the ability to record lectures, books on tape, and a quiet testing room. So if he gives the class the extra testing time on an open book test and they do not have to use an audio book along with that open book, does it not further disadvantage me?
It is just one more incident in my college experience that brings relevance to my plight. Therefore, as I comment on my classes and give feedback that is 30 words or less I have to reveal my identity. In doing so they have the for instance example and I can hopefully make a good argument for future students as to what is really fair and what is necessary.
By the way, I have yet to reveal to a professor at the beginning of a class that I am on the spectrum. I have to tell them that I have a learning disability and I tell them what those are so they understand the need. Then at the end of the class, after I have received my grade, I reveal that I am indeed on the spectrum. It is my way of ensuring that my successes are ones that I earned from my hard work and not a sympathy grade. It is also another way that I ensure that I am not discriminated against. I hope that the understanding of autism someday with span across all educational systems so that I no longer have to hide the fact that I have autism from anybody.
Here is to a new year in college and to spreading the word of autism: one class and one professor at a time.
Thank you for your continued support. Your interest in learning more about autism makes my daily struggles worth it. A day will come when I will only struggle with the symptoms of autism and not the ignorance and stereotypes associated with it.
