23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Chance to Belong, December 17, 2004
This review is from: You're Going to Love This Kid!: Teaching Children with Autism in the Inclusive Classroom (Paperback)
Ms. Kluth's stellar work on including students with autism is a gem no educator should be without. I like the way she breaks down behaviors; describes possible triggers and offers reasonable, practical approaches to responding to socially unacceptable behaviors.
This is an extraordinary work that deserves a place of honor among professionals. I like the way she discusses other conditions and ways to provide accessibility.
The only thing I admit I didn't like was the word perseverate. That is a highly charged and extremely damaging/judgmental word that many people find offensive. While many professionals and other "neurotypical" people use it as a short hand or descriptor, it is still a very negative, stigmatizing word.
One thing that is so readily apparent about autism is that it is chiefly a sensory condition. Autism is a neurobiological condition that affects sensory processing and in some cases sensory integration; in very rare instances "linked" senses or synesthesia, i.e. "seeing music," "tasting words" and "hearing colors." Since autism is so plainly rooted in the senses and expressed in sensory terms, it is patently ridiculous to wonder if people with autism feel things. I like the way Ms. Kluth debunks a lot of misperceptions about autism and recognizes the fact that autism is a spectrum condition that varies among individuals.
I give this book an A+!
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very good book if you want inclusion, September 11, 2005
This review is from: You're Going to Love This Kid!: Teaching Children with Autism in the Inclusive Classroom (Paperback)
My son is in preschool and has autism. This book is extremely helpful in giving you an overview of inclusion. It covers the law quickly but thoroughly in the beginning so you know what your rights are as a parent. It also talks a great deal about the benefits of inclusion not just to your special needs child but also to the other students. It gives you ideas on how to think "outside of the box" in teaching your child.
My only reason for giving it 4 stars rather than 5 is that in some cases, your child can get a better education by not doing inclusion and this is really not covered in the book. I think that my current situation is a good example of this. I am currently living in an OK school district but their is an autism teacher who is OUTSTANDING! I would be foolish not to take advantage of this teacher. My son still has some inclusion but not over 50%. Most importantly, the amount of inclusion is constantly discussed between the teacher and myself. This book proves to me that by law, I could fight and win to get more inclusion for my son. However, that doesn't mean that it is best for him.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Manual for Teachers in the Inclusion Environment, December 14, 2003
This review is from: You're Going to Love This Kid!: Teaching Children with Autism in the Inclusive Classroom (Paperback)
Reviewed book given to me by a neighbor and parent of a child with autism. He had heard Ms. Kluth's lecture and purchased many copies to give to teaching professionals.
This book could be called a working manual for teachers who must discover how to reach a child with autism. There is more than one map to the process, and Ms. Kluth has cheerfully and whole-heartedly charted them out! In opening chapters, definitions of what it means to have autism, inclusion schooling explanations and required assessments are described, but quotes from people with autism are sprinkled around-giving the disability the human face it needs. My favorite paragraph, pulled from a web site created by folks with Asperger's:
Neurotypical syndrome is a neurobiological disorder characterized by preoccupation with social concerns, delusions of superiority, and obsession with conformity. Neurotypical individuals often assume that their experience of the world is either the only one, or the only correct one. NTs find it difficult to be alone. NTs are often intolerant of seemingly minor differences in others. When in groups NTs are socially and behaviorally rigid and frequently insist on the performance of dysfunctional, destructive, and even impossible rituals as a way of maintaining group identity. NTs find it difficult to communicate with persons on the autistic spectrum. NT is believed to be genetic in origin. Autopsies have shown the brain of the Neurotypical is typically smaller than that of an autistic individual and may have overdeveloped areas related to social behavior.
Even though I am "neurotypical" I understand this point of view! Ms. Kluth encourages teachers to see. "Not seeing is not a positive response to difference. Recognizing, however, and doing our best to understand how differences affect students' lives and educational experiences, helps us to better know and serve each individual student." She emphasizes a strength-based perspective to not only instruct students, but to preserve their dignity, scrutinize plans that do not help the student's needs, and to connect with families and incorporate them to the student's advantage. In fact, shared responsibility for solution-building can come from home, and families appreciate it. "Brainstorming together is an energizing process," writes one parent. "It can make assessment and planning look more like a celebration and less like a funeral. The focus of the discussion becomes giving families normal life opportunities rather than creating `near normal' children." Ms. Kluth interprets `local understanding' that families have of their child, meaning "a radically deep, intimate knowledge of another human being." Parents can help with behavior and likes/dislikes because of their knowledge.
Plans for classrooms that work with students with autism are suggested. Types of the disorder can influence the behavior of each individual; there is no `typical' autistic, and the author illustrates the benefit of taking the effort to find likes/dislikes of each person. For example, the chapter `Friendships, Social Relationships, and Belonging' breaks the myth that autism is a lonely affliction. Peer support is vital, dialoguing is important (especially for the individual who has been rewarded for compliance and quietness all of their lives), and opportunities for both in the school community is essential. Quotes from this chapter are filled with relief upon being accepted with the unique and different traits of autism.
The author encourages teachers by giving them power to assume: "The rule should always be, when in doubt, assume that students can learn and want to communicate. We have no other choice." I think this is an important process to teaching, to have faith in the student's abilities, whether actuated or not, by default (and not just with autism).
"Teacher as talent scout" is the tone found throughout the book. Often articles and books treat autism with such a clinical, aloof approach that humanity is divorced from the process of instruction. The author encourages teachers to try, attempt, and try again, and may success stories are illustrated.
There is also a matter-of-fact sensibility to some of the situations a teacher will face."Many students with autism (and many without) have items they carry with them for comfort." An instructor, realizing that this is important to the student and not just an eccentric behavior classroom disturbance, can move on from there. Ms. Kluth reiterates this point-that the motive of a child is not to disturb the environment with repetitive words or gestures or preferences, but that they are oftentimes triggered by something to act this way. Is the routine disrupted? Is there a noise/smell/sensation that is painful to the child? Are they distressed in some way and unable to communicate this?
How we label people can contribute to how we view them:
We like things. They fixate on objects.
We try to make friends. They display attention-seeking behavior.
We take breaks. They display off-task behavior.
We stand up for ourselves. They are non-compliant.
We have hobbies. They self-stim.
We choose our friends wisely. They display poor peer socialization.
We persevere. They perseverate.
We like people. They have dependencies on people.
We go for a walk. They run away.
We insist. They tantrum.
We change our minds. They are disoriented and have short attention spans.
We have talents. They have splinter skills.
We are human. They are ??
Autism is a difficult thing to comprehend. I wish this book could be on the reading list of future teachers so that their understanding of this disability is more complete. I wish that more books about children with special education needs could be written in the same positive, refreshing and useful style. My wish for my nephews, all autistic, would be to have educators that have the same attitude as Ms. Kluth's.
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