Asperger's Conversations

College Curriculum, NVLD, Asperger's

In a previous post I recorded Steve Bigaj talking about the principles of Universal Design and Instruction at a professional development conference at Keene State College.  Sheryl Burgsthaler of U. of Washington describes UDI in the following way:

How can educators design instruction to maximize the learning of all students? The field of universal design can provide a starting point for developing a model for instruction. You can apply this body of knowledge to create courses where lectures, discussions, visual aids, videotapes, printed materials, labs, and fieldwork are accessible to all students.

In today's podcast I explore the application of UDI at the college level.  I spoke with Steve Bigaj in the School of Education at Keene State College and a student name Amy who has received services in support of her non-verbal learning disability. 

Click on the MP3 link below to hear today's podcast:

Download pr17_complete.mp3 (12mins, 04secs; 4.14mb)

Pod-Fishing for Friends?

I took the A train (subway) downtown after the conference today and stopped to listen to a street musician playing some interesting acoustic guitar music in the West 4th St. subway station.  I pulled out my laptop and asked him if I could record a song...He consented quickly and was intrigued with the free downloadable audio software I was using and lack of microphone (I used the crappy built-in mic that comes with all laptops).

What a site...a young African American guy with a guitar and me, a middle-aged white guy with a laptop crouched together on the subway platform.  We chatted a bit and I discovered that this young talented guy, James Keyes, is the son of a jazz musician and is making a shift from playing the bass in jazz bands to playing his own stuff on guitar.  My big point in terms of Asperger's:  The geeky stuff (laptops, blogging, podcasting) is a great entree to social interaction.  Go with what you love to make contacts with people.

Click on the MP3 link below to hear James's riff on the guitar today beneath the streets of NYC:

Download KeyesNYC.mp3 (one min: 14secs; 438KB)

Start Blogging: Live from an RSS conference

I'm in NYC today for an RSS/blogging conference.  As a "non-techie" I'm taken by how these meetings are filled with "techie" types talking about what Bradley Horowitz, Director of Media and Desktop Search at Yahoo is calling "the democratization of media."  It is clear that more non-techies should be particpating in these conversations.  I'm recording bits and pieces of today's meetings for podcasting, but want to focus on two comments from this morning's session entitled Voices from Within: Harnessing the Power of the Individual...

Jon Udell (InfoWorld): "My weblog has become my lab notebook."

Tim Bray (Sun Microsystems): "Those of us who are loud mouths and like to shout at the world will be the ones who can make it in the new world."

My big point:  Individuals with Asperger's, their families, and professionals working with these folks should get on board with weblogging and podcasting.  Here is a chance to "be social" in a non-aversive way.  Express your opinions, report on important news, and make your views known to the world.  Playing on Jon Udell's comment, the world can be your lab and your blog can become your lab notebook and your voice to both a tribe of people interested in Asperger's, and the world at large. 

Let's get rolling.

Residential Programs for Asperger's

In today's podcast I examine the question of whether or not to consider a residential school for a child with Asperger's Syndrome.  Taking such a leap means forsaking all the benefits of inclusion and mainstreaming and deciding that an "environment-ectomy" is what is needed to protect the child and allow him/her to find a place to thrive.  I spoke with Kenneth Roulx, Ed.D., clinical consultant to the Glenholme school in Washington, Connecticut (a Devereux school).  Of course all Asperger kids are not alike, and the decision to mainstream or go residential depends entirely on the needs of a particular child.

Click on the MP3 link below to hear today's podcast:

Download pr15_complete.mp3 (6mins42secs; 2.3MB)

Universal Design and Instruction (UDI)

I am sitting in a professional development meeting at Keene State College with about 20 faculty and staff interested in designing classroom interventions and curriculum changes that help accomodate students with different learning styles or students with various disabilities.  Steve Bigaj, Prof. of Education, has a collaborative grant with the University Of Connecticut's Universal Design and Instruction (UDI).  Steve and his co-investigators, Mary Ellen Fortini and Ellen Nuffer, talked about the basic principles of UDI which include:

equitable use

flexibility in use

simple and intuitive

tolerance for error

low physical effort

size and space for approach and use

a community of learners

instructional climate

Steve, Mary Ellen, and Ellen have coralled about 10 of us faculty and staff in to a "learning community" that consists of a diverse group of folks (a math prof, two psych profs, several education profs, the director of our disabilities office, and so on) whose main task has been to design novel classroom methods that help all students thrive.

For example, Steve Bigaj talked about his design of an "Internship Action Plan" which is a tool that helps a student, his or her mentor, and college supervisor explore the student's strengths and weaknesses and to design an internship program that addresses these core skills and needs.

Steve Clark, from the Psychology department, said that he had derived a lot of benefits from learning different teaching methods from his fellow faculty, but expressed concern that the U. of Connecticut's scheme to have these plans "published" exclusively on their UDI website smacked of self-serving publication needs of college profs.  He argued to keep things local and to put less emphasis on "publishing" theses ideas on the web.

Ockle Johnson (Math Dept.) talked about the importance of faculty getting together to talk about pedagogy and to discuss principles that would create ideal teaching practices.  He praised the local UDI on campus group for that.

I have recorded some of Steve Bigaj's comments but am having trouble uploading them at this time.  I will podcast them (hopefully) later today.

Download pr16_SteveBigaj.mp3

Community Connection: Where on Earth for my Kid?

In Bowling Alone Robert Putnam speaks of the disconnection of individuals from their community and makes a compelling argument for the importance of reconnecting and investing social capital in one's local environment.  In today's podcast the founder of the New Hampshire based "Access" program, John Vance, and his colleague, Lance Fortner, talk about the importance of finding the right place for individuals with all types of disabilities, including Asperger's Syndrome and autism.  Click on the MP3 download below to hear this interview:

Download pr14_complete.mp3 (4.07 MB; 11mins, 52secs)