Daily Archives: March 30, 2012

World Autism Awareness Month

Posted on by
Reply

April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Month.

Teaching children with special needs is a very rewarding profession, as is teaching all children. I have been fortunate in my career to work with a number of children who were (and still are) on the autism spectrum.

The rate of autism in children continues to grow – according to a recent CBS news release, 1 out of every 88 children has an autism spectrum disorder. The rate is higher among boys (1 out of every 54) and varies from location to location. The CBS report is based on a study by the CDC.

Teaching today involves working with a variety of learning styles and needs. Our learners are more complex than ever, and children with autism spectrum disorder provide unique challenges for families, teachers, support staff and schools. I firmly believe that children with autism provide great benefits to a school.

One of my favourite things in public education is that we are open to all children, and have passionate people who are dedicated to optimizing learning experiences for children with special needs. I have been witness to children we were told were non-verbal reading the alphabet out loud – I still have a video of a little girl reading her letters and rearranging them into the proper order. I have been witness to a child learning to use an iPad to communicate with staff. I have been witness to positive social activities involving children with autism and their classroom peers. I have been witness to staff and parents being amazed at what children with autism can accomplish.

On Monday, I will take time from my day to reflect on the many children with autism I have had the privilege to have come in contact with over my 20+ years of teaching. I will think about all the challenges that they face in their daily lives, as well as the challenges that their families face. I will also smile as I remember the many successes that these children have accomplished.

One success story from the United States that I think people should hear is an interview with Dr. Temple Grandin, an associate professor of animal science at Colorado State University. Click here to hear an interview with Dr. Grandin about her experiences with autism. Thanks to Gowa Kong for tweeting this link.

Learn More about Autism

Autism Speaks is a very good source of information on autism and would be a good place to visit if you want to learn. Their page, What is Autism?, provides an excellent overview of autism spectrum disorder.

 

Take care.

Thoughts on Math Anxiety

Posted on by
Reply

I have found a blog site that I have added to my must read list. I found it through Twitter, and now I try to visit their site at least a couple of times per week.

The site is Mind Shift, and today, they posted an article about math; How to Deal With Kids’ Math Anxiety.

Anxiety will be a topic of discussion for teachers, parents, principals and vice-principals for years to come. More and more people are talking about anxiety in children of all ages, and we all need to make the effort to learn more about anxiety and how we can help one another handle it.

The above article focuses on a study at the Stanford University School of Medicine. They report some interesting findings:

“Brain scans of these children also show that when they’re in the grip of math anxiety, activity is reduced in the information-processing and reasoning areas of their brains—exactly the regions that should be working hard to figure out the problems in front of them. “

“The scientists’ analysis of neural networks revealed that the two activity levels were connected: The buzz in the brain’s fear center was interfering with the ability of its problem-solving regions to do their job.”

The final line of the article I think bears repeating: By deliberately shifting their frame of mind, students can make that creepy-crawly feeling of anxiety go away.

Many resources on anxiety talk about making use of replacement thoughts, and to try and focus on positive, confident feelings. Some thoughts could be:

  • “It’s hard, but I can do it.”
  • “Everyone makes mistakes.”
  • “I am going to be brave and try it on my own.”

Stress and anxious moments are part of school. Adults can play an active and positive role in modeling positive thinking for children, and encourage them to practice positive thoughts. Role playing, regular reminders (“I can do some breathing to relax.”), and proper nutrition, sleep and exercise can all assist someone who is feeling anxious.

If the level of anxiety continues to grow, or if it is something that a parent is concerned about, I recommend consulting your family doctor. Intervening early is important when dealing with anxiety, and asking for help from a doctor is a good problem solving strategy.

If you have an anxious child, work with your child’s teacher(s) to develop ways to help lesson the anxiety at school. Keep the home/school communication channels open, and visit school regularly.

I am sure we can all help one another to help lesson the anxiety about school.

Take care.