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Showing posts from June, 2014

Update -- Hard Work Pays Off

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So I'm two weeks into my six week class over the summer, and I'm really liking what I see in the students and the class. I had to reach down deep to find my happy place in the course after some changes we made to the curriculum, but now that I'm in it, I really like what I'm seeing and how everything is coming together. One of the things I'm happiest about, honestly, is how far my teaching has come. I've found out that I'm likely to co-teach a class I've taught before in a previous semester. It was one of my first teaching experiences where I took on a lot of the responsibility, and although there were areas in which I was very happy with how things went, there were a number of things I could have done better. One of the things I realized today, though, is that in thinking about that upcoming course assignment... I know what to do to fix it. I've already got plans. I've learned so much since my first time through and I know how to address t

Autism, or "why are you even asking?"

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That was the question the psychiatrist had for me. "Why are you asking for a diagnosis? What does this mean to you?" I told him what it meant to me. It means having something in my chart in case I grow old and can't communicate, or don't have loved ones to intercede for me. It means that if I interact oddly with medication, we can take the condition into account. It means one more reason not to have more kids on top of all the reasons I already have. It means that my son would have someone he could look to and know I understand him. It means being visible as someone who is autistic but still pretty successful in life, all things considered. It means choosing not to pass. He wasn't wrong to ask that question. He was wrong to keep asking it after he told me that even being aware of it to ask for an evaluation meant I didn't have it. He was wrong to insinuate that I was fishing for a diagnosis. He was wrong to backpedal and suggest that if I was thinking of