What's good for a student with autism is good for.... a teacher with migraines?

In my undergraduate research on autism spectrum disorders (ASD's) I have heard the phrase "What's good for a student with autism is good for all students." Children with autism often have sensory preferences and have negative reactions to certain stimuli. Simply put, something like bright lights, abrupt sounds, sounds of a certain frequency, smells, and even some fabrics could really upset a child with autism. Often this can be very obvious- a child may rock their bodies, flap their hands, or even make loud noises. These reactions are called "self-stimulating behaviors."

I feel that my future classrooms will be a comforting place for students with autism, simply because I suffer from migraines. When I have a migraine, bright lights make me cower and search for dim lighting. This weekend I was was with my family watching sports. When we would change the channel from baseball to hockey, I had to leave the room. The baseball game was comforting, but the hockey game hurt me because of the bright white ice on the television.

Imagine the implications of this in a classroom- computer screens must be dimmed, projectors can't be used without some modification, and fluorescent lights can make the day unbearable.

Sounds can become a problem too- scraping of chairs can hurt. I even understand some of the self-stimulating behaviors. They mask the problem. I once had a boyfriend that drove a truck with a loud engine that shook the truck. The low frequency of the sounds and the movement of the truck seemed to make my headache go away until the engine turned off. This reminds me of the rocking movement and making noises.

So solutions that help manage both migraines and the aversive stimuli of students with autism:

1. Lamps instead of fluorescent lighting OR covering lights to dim the room with plastic table cloths or fabric
2. Tennis balls to cover the legs of chairs to prevent the loud scraping noise
3. Carpeting on the floors to minimize echoing of sounds
4. Good classroom management- When can we be loud? When do we need to keep our voices down?
5. The white noise of fans
6. Covering white walls with soothing colors
7. Adjusting the brightness of computer screens
8. Adjusting the contrast of projectors to the rest of the room- The room should not be too dark around a projector
9. Sign language- create a sign for students that discretely tells you when things are too bright or too loud
   

So all of this makes me wonder: Do people with ASD's get migraines?

Classroom Management from NPR

I often listen to NPR Talk of the Nation as I work at my internship. Listening to this show helps me stay awake as I type an endless stream of numbers. Today I was pleased to find teachers talking about classroom management. Although I don't agree with everything in the podcast, this is a keeper for me:

Good Teaching is About Hard Work, Not a Halo

Moosestache

On March 10th, my cooperating teacher asked me to read with a girl and make sure it is a book that she has read before. My CT's goal for the girl is to build fluency. My CT's goal for me was to learn how to ask higher level questions that assess comprehension.

The girl read Moosestache by Margie Palatini. She seemed excited about the book which is at her independent reading level- a Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading level L. After hearing the story, I think that the book was leveled incorrectly. The words in this book are very difficult. It uses difficult words like "soufflé," and "unwrapped." It is interesting to me because a week later I read the same book with a different child at the same independent level. They both thought it would be a funny book but they really struggled. The boy that read it stopped and said, "this book is too hard for me. My teacher would tell me to put it back and find another book to read for now." I think that since this book draws such great interest from the students, I should keep it in my notes as something to read aloud to students and have them work with it after I read it.

As I read Moosestache with the girl, I found it very difficult to think of higher level questions to ask her. I used "how do you think he is feeling? What in the book shows you how he is feeling?" That was the only question that I felt was any good. Most of my questions were low-level, in the-text-type questions which were direct recall. I did notice that even the explicit questions were difficult for her because she was so focused on decoding the words.

Apple Fun

In my biology methods class we are learning about the 5E lesson plan. In looking for lesson ideas, I found a great way to engage students on a lesson about plant life, seeds, fruit, and all of that good stuff. I would begin by showing each student an apple in a bottle. I would ask students to discuss in groups how the apple got into the bottle. They would get to hold the bottle and explore for a short period of time on their own. I would then reveal that the apple was grown inside of the bottle. Then I could hand out halves of an apple as a snack and let them explore the seeds.

Creating Healthy Attitudes

I just want to share how vitally important it is to teach children to have a positive relationship with food. It constantly frustrates me to see young women who hate their bodies and go to great lengths to slim down. I know that boys and men also have body woes, but they hide it so incredibly well that even if they are having active struggles with their diet, they keep it a secret. Boys generally tend to hide their emotions so well that young women become the face (and body) of eating disorders.

In contrast, I have pretty darn good self-esteem when it comes to my body. I am a lucky one. I was blessed with not only a speedy metabolism, but also with a family that frequently compliments me. They also seem to be psychic. Their emotional intellegence amazes me! I was a very private child and adolescent, and although I have never really allowed them the opportunity to talk in great lengths about my emotions or relationships, they notice and support me. That makes all the difference in the world!

So I have a phenomenal professor that models how to model things to students, and it got me thinking. I LOVE food. I enjoy eating so very much. It would be simple for me to show students how to make smart food choices and change habits. I am attempting to take all the MSG out of my diet to reduce my headaches. I could show them during one of our first weeks together how to look at the ingredients on the food label and how I know what MSG stands for, so I don't buy those items. I could take that opportunity to talk about food allergies. Most importantly I would show them the order of ingredients on the food label & how that relates to quantity.

There are lots of things that I could do to model a healthy lifestyle- like showing how delicious healthy foods can be or how much fun it is to exercise. Demonstrating these attitudes as a teacher is powerful. I read all over the place that the most important thing is to not just show them what to do to stay healthy, but rather show confidence in yourself. I have a great advantage as a role model because I love my body. As soon as I stop eating all these unhealthy foods I will also be able to be genuine about the joy of healthy habits.


A couple links for teachers/parents/coaches:
"It's My Life" Discussion Guide from PBS
"Prevention of Eating Disorders" from Toronto's National Eating Disorder Information Centre
Healthy Within for Teachers ********This one is FABULOUS********

"You can be the reason some kid gets up and comes to school when his life is tough. You can be the reason some student 'keeps on keeping on' even though her parents are telling her she can't succeed. You can inspire your at risk students." -Bell (2003)

On an unrelated note, successful blogs need a theme, as well as a title that reflects that theme. I'm not sure if I am interested in being a successful blogger, but I know that I would like to create my own little network of people who care about working with youth through education, coaching, volunteering, and all that jazz. I will probably be posting a fair amount of reactions and links to articles/media regarding:

• coaching & teaching methods
• swimming
• education

I may also use this as a place to talk about my experiences as I go through the teacher prep program, and as I teach swim lessons at the YMCA.

Does anyone have suggestions for a more descriptive title?

Fostering a Love for Language

I am not what you would normally classify as a writer. I am generally on the opposite side of the scale, enjoying the structure of mathematics and science. Despite my tendency to avoid writing I have decided to start a blog as my own little nook in the internet. My focus here will be on the world of education, as I am working towards teaching in the elementary classroom. I hope that I will develop a fondness of writing if I make it a habit, but let's see what happens.

My first entry in this simple little blog is a praise of Dave Eggers. I never thought I would say that as I previously despised the man. I read two thirds of his book A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius before I dismissed him as self-aggrandizing.

It turns out that Mr. Eggers is incredibly selfless. He is a co-founder of 826 Valencia, which is an amazing literacy project that you can hear about in the video I am posting from TED. He is addressing literacy problems directly, and fostering a love and enthusiasm for writing. I now have a deep admiration for a man that I once loathed. He is making writing exciting, giving kids help that they need to be successful, surrounding children with role models, and making writing meaningful by providing publishing opportunities. Lets bring this to Detroit, kay?