Watching certain movies has really helped me understand some of the challenges that students with disabilities and their families face.
On the average, one out of every 110 students may have an autism spectrum diagnosis. If your school (or school district) has 650 students per grade level, the likelihood is that will be 6 students on the autism spectrum per grade level.
There are many movies about people with disabilities. Here I have included 3 with a short description and links.
Temple Grandin’s inspirational movie uses the visual analogy of life as a series of doors, each of which she must go through to reach the next level of success. She proves to be so determined to get through those doors. It is one of the images that helps her overcome her fear of new things. The young Temple continuously wows teachers and students with her many gifts. The movie sneaks in details such as her ability to focus on a task, like writing an entire Master’s Thesis in less than a week. She works hard, in spite of the opposition, to change to world, and demonstrates that, because of autism (which often inhibits the ability to – consciously or subconsciously – ignore ‘background’ sensory input, such as cows’ constant mooing), she can perceive things other people simply don’t see or hear. February 6th at 8:00 pm on HBO. See her webpage: http://www.grandin.com/
I found the movie Adam to be very encouraging. Adam in an autistic man whose father and sole caregiver dies. Before his death, Adam worked for his father’s company designing toys, but soon finds himself jobless. As a hard-working and focused individual, he applied for 82 jobs in one day. He practiced and practiced in order to be able to perform job interviews. If he can do it, I can do it. http://www.foxsearchlight.com/adam/
“I Am Sam” is about a man with disabilities who lives in an assisted living situation and has nights out with the guys. After his girlfriend has a baby, she abandons him with a child. He loves the child so much and is determined to be a good father to her in spite of his own learning challenges. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0277027/
Least Restrictive Environment
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 officially requires that by law students with disabilities be placed in the least restrictive environment possible. Studies show that integrating students actually raises test scores for all students. Advanced students learn more by teaching other students. Lower students learn from being with advanced students.
People with disabilities are like all people in that we have strengths and weaknesses. Some strengths and weaknesses can be extraordinary on both counts. As educators, we have to remember to see the strengths.
