Hi everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful week!
Although I’ve been at SEEDs for only a week, I have witnessed so many different things and observed a plethora of different interactions. I’ve sat in the weaving, ceramics, jewelry, and sewing classes and saw how each of these students take in new information and apply their knowledge.
Yesterday was the most interesting day so far. Like any other person, the students all seemed to have an off-day. No one seemed focused and everyone seemed a bit on edge and easily irritated. It was only today that I realised last night was a full moon… Regardless of the conspiracy about full moons and weird behavior, the day proceeded forward with just a few drawbacks. The instructors had to constantly remind everyone to concentrate and stay focused.
As I sat in the sewing department, I watched three students more closely. The female student showed high-functioning skills and quick communication skills, so she took directions well. On the other hand, the two male students lacked these skills. One displayed communicating abilities, but also showed great insecurity in his work, therefore easily frustrated. The other lacked communicating skills and displayed loud repetitive behavior. Most of his vocabulary was actually in Spanish, so the instructor had a hard time understanding the student.
Although this student may be seen as “low-functioning,” he surprisingly learned how to use a sewing machine in only one day. As the instructor showed the female student how to use one, I quickly became very confused.
Then I realized I began to see an indirect relationship with focus and functioning level. We all believe high-functioning students are quite verbal and can have a steady conversation; however, these students show a lack of concentration for a long period of time. They also, ironically, talk a little too much and don’t listen to instructions thoroughly. While the low-functioning students are seen as the non-verbal, they show great level of intelligence and display very strong concentration for a long period of time. They listen to instructions very well and absorb any information you tell them, displaying a much faster learning curve. Therefore, this notion of categorizing “high-functioning” and “low-functioning” students isn’t quite accurate. Each student is a different case and has different goals. Like I’ve said in my first post, we cannot simply label each person with autism. They are just as unique as any other person in our society.
Thanks for stopping by! Talk to you guys soon!
Grace
Sounds as if yesterday was quite active for you. It seems as if these labels only create additional barriers with furthering communication, by adding bias to the people around them. Given the observations you mentioned, do you think that removing labels such as "high-functioning" and "low-functioning" can be beneficial towards improving interaction with these students? Do you think there can be a more effective alternative to these labels?
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't think removing the labels will be beneficial because the labels actually help specify therapy for each individual, but I think people need to just keep in mind every individual is unique.
DeleteFascinating post Grace! Do you think the level of concentration changes for each student depending on the activity? For example if a high-functioning student is engaging in an activity they really enjoy, would you expect to find them more focused? Or if a low-functioning student was engaging in an activity they don't enjoy, would you expect to find them less focused?
ReplyDeleteI'm not exactly sure, but I have noticed that the higher functioning students favor departments that have loud noises, such as wood and metal. The nonverbal students tend to enjoy quieter departments, such as ceramics and jewelry. I think the level of focus is better if the students are in departments that they enjoy, but the lack of focus if they were put in a department they didn't enjoy would come from different reasons (sensitivity to noises, different textures, etc.), rather than from simply disliking it.
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DeleteIt seems like such an interesting relationship between communication levels and focus! Why do you think that the "high-functioning" students have a harder time focusing? Does it affect the end product that they are creating, or even the time it takes for them to complete projects?
ReplyDeleteI think since the high-functioning students are able to verbally communicate without any trouble, they then nonstop talk and they don't know when it is appropriate to speak and when it isn't. I think the average time to make these products are actually pretty equal, but the lack of focus definitely is put into play.
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