Pedagogy of the Depressed: experiences as a special ed student in the 1990s.

[n2doc]

by Anonymous at 6:00 am Sat, Jan 5

In May 2013, "Asperger's Syndrome" will be removed as a diagnosis from the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), leaving "high functioning autism" in its place. I agree with this change. Given the importance of the manual, however, it's caused a lot of consternation and caused me to reflect upon my experiences.

I was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome in 1998. Expelled from two schools in quick succession—first a private Catholic school in the third grade, then a the local public school in the fourth—I was placed in Northwoods, an approved private school for students with emotional disturbances or autism. Northwoods served the entire county; each district sent a shortbus with a few kids.

I never felt like I had symptoms severe enough to warrant a diagnosis of Asperger's. I have some issues with anxiety and depression, but I can trace these back to my "treatment" at Northwoods.

People with Asperger's are supposed to be "mindblind" - unable to process emotions or sarcasm. They are loners. None of this describes me—I'm a gregarious PhD student with a wide circle of friends who has scored severals jobs and internships through schmoozing at conferences.

But in the mid 90s, I was not a successful doctoral candidate. I was told that I was "a danger to myself and others" and consigned to a "partial hospitalization program" which catered specifically to boys like me. (Northwoods was ostensibly co-ed, but the male to female ratio was about 20:1)

more

http://boingboing.net/2013/01/05/pedagogyofthedepressed.html

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. The problem with these types of stories

Last edited Sat Jan 5, 2013, 03:52 PM - Edit history (1)

is they reflect the personal experiences of the student and usually fail to take into account the impact these children have on the rest of their classmates in the general ed setting.

I've taught quite a few kids with Aspergers and some have done very well - mainstreaming worked. But there have been a few others who were so disruptive the entire class was affected. And it's very hard to do what's best for children as individual learners while considering their impact on the climate in their classroom.

There are truly no easy solutions. Schools like the one described in the article are obviously not good learning environments. And we don't have enough adults with the training necessary to work with kids who have Aspergers.

Sadly while the focus nationally is on Common Core and destroying teachers unions, our most needy kids will get left behind. That's the only certainty at this time.

[duffyduff]

3. +1 n/t

[LWolf]

2. My very first Aspie

got in touch with me last spring as he prepared for high school graduation. I met him in kindergarten, when I was part of the SST looking at his unusual behaviors. I'd never heard of Asperger's.

We met to talk about him a couple of times a year. When he got to my classroom in 2nd grade, he had a reputation.

I noticed patterns in his behaviors that hadn't been brought up at SSTs. I started researching. I found Asperger's.

I went to our district psychologist, who I'd known in a variety of roles for many years, and asked him if I was completely off base. He asked me a bunch of questions, came and observed, and appeared at the next SST. By the end of the year, he was diagnosed and we had some information about how to best serve him. I worked in looping classrooms; I ended up working closely with him through 5th grade, and then I moved out of state.

He found me. He was on his way to college, wanted to let me know that he'd survived high school and was going to study law.

He asked if I remembered him, lol. I told him that I not only remembered him, but that I still carried him in my heart, and that I am still thankful for everything he taught me when I was privileged to be his teacher.

I've had others in the years since, including this year. None of them are "loners." Most DID have a hard time reading social cues, and finding a comfortable place in the social structure, since peers sometimes considered them "weird." Some adapted better than others, but none were "dangerous."

What will be the effect of changing the diagnosis?

[duffyduff]

4. Well, many experts DON'T agree with what the APA is doing

The psychologist who diagnosed my brother for SSI appeals said that this was wrong because AS and autism are NOT the same thing. AS, he said, involves the right hemisphere of the brain, while autism involves the left hemisphere. They are two completely different disorders.

The characteristics of AS also overlap with many other disabilities and disorders and can be misdiagnosed. It is always a mistake for people to self-diagnose, which many people who claim to be AS do. AS is less common than SPD (schizotypal personality disorder), for example, which has many of the same characteristics as AS.

My brother was diagnosed by the above-mentioned psychologist as SPD on Axis II, with generalized anxiety disorder and ADHD on Axis I. The psychologist for SS diagnosed him as having AS.

What will happen with AS being included with autism is it will be far harder for people to get SSI.

[MichiganVote]

5. The changes that are being made to the DSM

will not result in failure to be eligible for SSI--unless--its shown that the individual is unable to be self sufficient with common community support. And I will add, that since we all know that community supports are scant-the likelihood of that happening are also pretty scant.

Each state has a rehabilitation office that HS students should tap into before HS graduation. Progamming post HS usually comes thru local community mental health and other state agencies. No one is ever granted SSI solely on the basis of a diagnosis. As with any "eligibility" based programming, a diagnosis is only one part of the puzzle to supply corroboration of the need for area providers.

For the sake of readers, the Northwood's school that is cited in this article seems to have utilized some behavior modification strategies that are common. A reinforcement program that employs the use of points is not unheard of in this type of self contained special education programming. Usually students who are certified with ASD respond well to this kind of structure. Unless they lack the cognitive ability to understand the point/token program. Kids with an emotional disturbance, tend to like it, then to rebel against it and then to begin to use it again. As stated, the restraint outcomes in this article are troublesome. Training today simply states that if a student is a danger to themselves or others-restraint may be needed to curtail aggressive behavior. Restraints should not be used for any other purpose.

Mixing kids with emotional disturbance and those with ASD is seldom productive. But it was done more often in the past largely because very few people in education knew what the hell to do with kids on the spectrum who needed sped services. All kids with an emotional disturbance will have some maladjustment problems which can result in bullying others. As such, kids with ASD can be sitting ducks. Much has changed since the 90's but with the range of budget cuts the situation is precarious.

At this time, more males that females are Dx with ASD or with the various emotional disturbances listed in the DSM. Sadly, not enough clinicians and certainly not physicians, spend enough time on a differential diagnosis process. The result is that we have many misdiagnosed children and adults.