It was very interesting to me. Esp Elijah who is the one most like my son Josh with the Asperger. I can see some of the diferences and some of the similarties. It also makes me hopeful the decsions I am making may be the right one. Josh is only 12 but I am hoping maturity and time will help us with him and will he be more self sufficent. I wish we had more of an overview of their younger lives and how the decisons were made for the type of classes they were in. Elijah who was the highest functioning was in a small class for ASD and Jeremy who was lower functioning was in a mainstream class. Is it based on where they lived and what was availble? Same with Jonathan. Just wondering.
I saw Hayden in all 3 of them. But I think he was most like the boy who was a savant, the artist. Hayden talks like he does, has outbursts like he does, and is a genius with numbers. I cried. Its hard to think that he is still going to be autistic when he is older. I know it may sound stupid. I want him to go to parties, play baseball, have a girlfriend, basically be a normal teen/man. Who knows what will happen, but its hard to see it like that.
Well, I didn't see it but part of your post rung true for me, lol.
My Mike is "higher functioning" and has been in special day classes for years and I just signed today that next year he will be going to a non-public school for kids with special needs. My nephew who is apparently "lower functioning' of the 2 has been in mainstream since kindergarten. He was retained in 1st grade and is in 2nd but should be in 3rd grade so that is 4 years and still successful.
High functioning doesn't always have to do with verbal or cognitive abilities. Sometimes those who appear more affected are actually more able to function.
I have my DVR set and I guess out here on the East Coast it'll run Sunday for us. I look forward to it. Just last night I had my friend ask me what was Asperger's? I informed her, she is aware my son has PDD> her daughter has a little boyfriend (they are in kindergarden, sweet) and he is OCD and was told he looks to be Asperger's. I let her know all about spectrum issues.
I guess after I see the show tomarrow nite (9pm EST) I'll put in my two cents
As every situation and child is so different, I just do not feel that whether or not an ASD child is in a mainstream class vs. an ASD class has anything at all to do with how successful they are being in their schooling or development. I know a child whose autism makes social connection almost impossible, but who is able (with an aide) to manage in a mainstream room. This child is very sweet, lovely with his family but very difficult for him to actually have friends, even in quiet one-on-one setting.
My son has many friends, plays sports (with rough moments sometimes), acts, handles lots of social situations with aplomb, but may never be in a mainstream class. This is partly because he is high-functioning but then when he misses a social cue or gets confused, he can end up in real trouble. Of course, we are also now beginning to think that homeschooling may be the only way for us to go for a few more years, given the abysmal state of NYC schools and our options.
I saw the show. I was really drawn to the segments about Jonathan. We saw so much of Kyle in him even though Kyle is less language impaired. But the tantrums Jonathan was experiencing and his feelings he expressed about his autism were so similar to what Kyle is going through right now. I really wish I could track down his parents and talk to them. I'm dying to know if they found out if he was having siezures.
I just saw MTV's documentary True Life: I Have Autsim. There was one guy on there, Elijah, who has Asperger's. He is an aspiring comedian!!! He is just 16 years old, but he's so funny--and cute! I just had to share. Apparently, when he was little, he repeated back phrases and didn't really communicate...just like Anakin! I was really inspired by this since comedy is so close to my heart... Here are some clips of him. If you ever see it coming on TV again, watch it!!!
Here is a blurb from the show's producer...
"Elijah From Craig, the Producer
The best thing about following Elijah is that he's just as funny in everyday situations as he is on stage. His mom says that when he was a little kid, he couldn't converse like other kids his age, so he'd just repeat funny lines from movies that often didn't make sense to anyone but Elijah. Today, you can still see traces of the way he used to communicate, and I'm sure some people still find his jokes weird. But I think they're hilarious"
Here is my favorite clip... Here's the intro and the link...
"When Elijah worked with professional comedians at the Las Vegas Comedy Festival, he was happy to get their input, but he was very concerned about appearing like he was stealing other comedians' jokes. In his final routine, he used little bits and premises from the professionals, but the end result was all Elijah."
"Elijah gets a little help on his comedy routines from his mom and other funny people in his life. But for the most part, all the jokes are his. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to put his entire act into our show, but here's one complete routine:" http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1554700&vid=138438
"People on the autism spectrum sometimes struggle with social cues that most of us take for granted. For instance, it can sometimes be hard for a person on the spectrum to catch sarcasm or irony, so they often take what you're saying literally even if you're being facetious. You can imagine what that means for Elijah when he's around comedians. Once when we were at the Las Vegas Comedy Festival, Elijah met Debra Wilson from MADtv. Debra said hello and then went into a character, pretending she was mad at Elijah for letting me film her. It was clear to everyone but Elijah that Debra was kidding, and Elijah got scared that he'd upset someone he admired. Eventually, though, other comedians explained the joke to Elijah, and he did something really cool - instead of being embarrassed, he proudly took it as a free lesson in comedy. " http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1554694&vid=138432
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It was very interesting to me. Esp Elijah who is the one most like my son Josh with the Asperger. I can see some of the diferences and some of the similarties. It also makes me hopeful the decsions I am making may be the right one. Josh is only 12 but I am hoping maturity and time will help us with him and will he be more self sufficent. I wish we had more of an overview of their younger lives and how the decisons were made for the type of classes they were in. Elijah who was the highest functioning was in a small class for ASD and Jeremy who was lower functioning was in a mainstream class. Is it based on where they lived and what was availble? Same with Jonathan.
Just wondering.
Rina
I wondered the same thing.
I saw Hayden in all 3 of them. But I think he was most like the boy who was a savant, the artist. Hayden talks like he does, has outbursts like he does, and is a genius with numbers. I cried. Its hard to think that he is still going to be autistic when he is older. I know it may sound stupid. I want him to go to parties, play baseball, have a girlfriend, basically be a normal teen/man. Who knows what will happen, but its hard to see it like that.
Chrissy
Well, I didn't see it but part of your post rung true for me, lol.
My Mike is "higher functioning" and has been in special day classes for years and I just signed today that next year he will be going to a non-public school for kids with special needs. My nephew who is apparently "lower functioning' of the 2 has been in mainstream since kindergarten. He was retained in 1st grade and is in 2nd but should be in 3rd grade so that is 4 years and still successful.
High functioning doesn't always have to do with verbal or cognitive abilities. Sometimes those who appear more affected are actually more able to function.
I am definitely interested in seeing it now.
Renee
I have my DVR set and I guess out here on the East Coast it'll run Sunday for us.
I look forward to it. Just last night I had my friend ask me what was Asperger's?
I informed her, she is aware my son has PDD> her daughter has a little boyfriend (they are in kindergarden, sweet) and he is OCD and was told he looks to be Asperger's. I let her know all about spectrum issues.
I guess after I see the show tomarrow nite (9pm EST) I'll put in my two cents
Nora
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s225/irishwildrose/pp2.jpg
As every situation and child is so different, I just do not feel that whether or not an ASD child is in a mainstream class vs. an ASD class has anything at all to do with how successful they are being in their schooling or development. I know a child whose autism makes social connection almost impossible, but who is able (with an aide) to manage in a mainstream room. This child is very sweet, lovely with his family but very difficult for him to actually have friends, even in quiet one-on-one setting.
My son has many friends, plays sports (with rough moments sometimes), acts, handles lots of social situations with aplomb, but may never be in a mainstream class. This is partly because he is high-functioning but then when he misses a social cue or gets confused, he can end up in real trouble. Of course, we are also now beginning to think that homeschooling may be the only way for us to go for a few more years, given the abysmal state of NYC schools and our options.
Sara
I saw the show. I was really drawn to the segments about Jonathan. We saw so much of Kyle in him even though Kyle is less language impaired. But the tantrums Jonathan was experiencing and his feelings he expressed about his autism were so similar to what Kyle is going through right now. I really wish I could track down his parents and talk to them. I'm dying to know if they found out if he was having siezures.
Samantha
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I just saw MTV's documentary True Life: I Have Autsim. There was one guy on there, Elijah, who has Asperger's. He is an aspiring comedian!!! He is just 16 years old, but he's so funny--and cute! I just had to share. Apparently, when he was little, he repeated back phrases and didn't really communicate...just like Anakin! I was really inspired by this since comedy is so close to my heart... Here are some clips of him. If you ever see it coming on TV again, watch it!!!
Here is a blurb from the show's producer...
"Elijah
From Craig, the Producer
The best thing about following Elijah is that he's just as funny in everyday situations as he is on stage. His mom says that when he was a little kid, he couldn't converse like other kids his age, so he'd just repeat funny lines from movies that often didn't make sense to anyone but Elijah. Today, you can still see traces of the way he used to communicate, and I'm sure some people still find his jokes weird. But I think they're hilarious"
Here is my favorite clip... Here's the intro and the link...
"When Elijah worked with professional comedians at the Las Vegas Comedy Festival, he was happy to get their input, but he was very concerned about appearing like he was stealing other comedians' jokes. In his final routine, he used little bits and premises from the professionals, but the end result was all Elijah."
http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1554705&vid=138444
Here are the other clips of him with intros from the producer "in quotes". Enjoy!
http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1554702&vid=138442
"Elijah gets a little help on his comedy routines from his mom and other funny people in his life. But for the most part, all the jokes are his. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to put his entire act into our show, but here's one complete routine:"
http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1554700&vid=138438
"People on the autism spectrum sometimes struggle with social cues that most of us take for granted. For instance, it can sometimes be hard for a person on the spectrum to catch sarcasm or irony, so they often take what you're saying literally even if you're being facetious. You can imagine what that means for Elijah when he's around comedians. Once when we were at the Las Vegas Comedy Festival, Elijah met Debra Wilson from MADtv. Debra said hello and then went into a character, pretending she was mad at Elijah for letting me film her. It was clear to everyone but Elijah that Debra was kidding, and Elijah got scared that he'd upset someone he admired. Eventually, though, other comedians explained the joke to Elijah, and he did something really cool - instead of being embarrassed, he proudly took it as a free lesson in comedy. " http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1554694&vid=138432
You can get to the other clips of the two other boys featured here: http://www.mtv.com/thinkmtv/features/true_life/autism/
http://www.unc.edu/~cacecil/Anakin
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