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Should the U.S. do more to educate kids on the autistic spectrum?

Should the U.S. do more to educate kids on the autistic spectrum?

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MildSteel

MildSteel

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In another thread I saw a very interesting article from 2011 about a young man with Asperger's syndrome

12-Year-Old Genius Expands Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, Thinks He Can Prove It Wrong

Could Einstein’s Theory of Relativity be a few mathematical equations away from being disproved? Jacob Barnett of Hamilton County, Ind., who is just weeks shy of his 13th birthday, thinks so. And, he’s got the solutions to prove it.

Barnett, who has an IQ of 170, explained his expanded theory of relativity — in a YouTube video. His mother Kristine Barnett, who admittedly flunked math, did what every other mother would do if her genius son started talking mathematical gibberish. She told him to explain the whole thing slowly while she taped her son explaining his take on the theory.

While most of his mathematical genius goes over our heads, some professors at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey — you know, the U.S. academic homeroom for the likes of Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Kurt Gödel — have confirmed he’s on the right track to coming up with something completely new. For now, they’re encouraging Barnett to continue doing what he likes to do, which is explaining calculus using a whiteboard marker and his living room windows as seen in the video above.

“I’m impressed by his interest in physics and the amount that he has learned so far,” Institute for Advanced Study Professor Scott Tremaine wrote in an email to the family. “The theory that he’s working on involves several of the toughest problems in astrophysics and theoretical physics.”

“Anyone who solves these will be in line for a Nobel Prize,” he added.

Barnett’s parents knew that there was something different with their son when he didn’t speak until the age of two. He was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism, so they thought he might have problems in school. Instead, they were astounded when he started solving 5,000 piece puzzles by the age of 3. The 12-year-old taught himself calculus, algebra and geometry in two weeks, and can solve up to 200 numbers of Pi. He left high school at the ripe old age of eight and has been attending college-level advanced astrophysics classes ever since.

Right now, Barnett is being recruited by Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis for a paid research position. We figure he’ll find a way to pencil that in between dating his girlfriend and playing Halo: Reach, one of his favorite video games. Yes, he can play classical music by memory on the piano, but he also enjoys watching shows on the Disney Channel and sci-fi movies. In many ways, he’s your typical 12-year-old boy....
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Some of these children are truly amazing. The problem is that there is not enough funding provided to meet the educational needs of these children. The U.S. should do more to support the education of these children. They have a huge potential to have a big impact on the future of the world.

12-Year-Old Genius Expands Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, Thinks He Can Prove It Wrong | TIME.com
 
As a father of a Aspie I can tell you they are extremely misunderstood.
 
I vote no because anything society does in the way of improving education worsens it for more people than it helps. As long as we have a system of mainstreaming those with special needs, then those special needs kids should not get special treatment. If we remove them from mainstream classrooms, then do whatever you want, but until then...
 
I have fond memories of autistic kids from back in school. In middle school this 7th grade kid named nick, big, fat kid, would haughtily tell the Assistant Principle every day when walking in to the cafeteria "**** you bitc,h you evil devil woman I hope you burn in hell for all eternity". You could tell he meant it to with how he said it. All manner of pandemonium would break loose shortly after this and this occurred every single morning of every day.


It was just great. Never have I had more respect for an individual to this day.
 
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IMO every special needs child should be able to get intensive and specific education no matter what their diagnosis. Who knows what potential would be 'unlocked?'

Unfortunately, $$$ usually gets in the way.
 
Lursa said:
IMO every special needs child should be able to get intensive and specific education no matter what their diagnosis. Who knows what potential would be 'unlocked?'

Unfortunately, $$$ usually gets in the way.
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It is very unfortunate.
 
azgreg said:
As a father of a Aspie I can tell you they are extremely misunderstood.
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Is is a shame. I hope that one day we will cultivate this talent

Children with Asperger Syndrome can be highly talented, but society baffles them. Charlotte Smith reports
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Seventy six per cent of Asperger individuals have special skills and talents, which may ocasionally amount to genius. Claims have been made that great men as diverse as Wittgenstein, Kafka, and Bartok had Asperger syndrome characteristics. Asperger himself stresses the impressive contribution that his patients could make to society even after a stormy childhood and adolescence. Certainly such talents challenge our assumption about what people "ought" to be or do; the boundary between acceptable, even admirable, eccentricity, and outright disability, is a hazy one.
.....
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Children with Asperger Syndrome can be highly talented, but society baf fles them. Charlotte Smith reports - Health News - Health & Families - The Independent
 
I think that we should do what we can to give kids with special needs an equivalent education to everyone else. But most kids with autism or aspergers are not geniuses. The 'idiot savant' thing is pretty rare.
 
MildSteel said:
Is is a shame. I hope that one day we will cultivate this talent
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He already has. After dropping out of school for 2 years after his freshman year he has gone back and is almost a straight A student and has almost caught back up to his class. once he learned how to control the anxiety attacks and learned how to get out ahead of the situations that used to make him uncomfortable he has done exceptionally well. I couldn't be prouder of him.
 
azgreg said:
He already has. After dropping out of school for 2 years after his freshman year he has gone back and is almost a straight A student and has almost caught back up to his class. once he learned how to control the anxiety attacks and learned how to get out ahead of the situations that used to make him uncomfortable he has done exceptionally well. I couldn't be prouder of him.
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That is so nice to hear!!!

Check this out, every time I look at it I almost come to tears it makes me so happy!!!

 
Yes, IMO expansion of education, which is basically healthcare in this situation needs expanded.
 
Declan said:
I vote no because anything society does in the way of improving education worsens it for more people than it helps. As long as we have a system of mainstreaming those with special needs, then those special needs kids should not get special treatment. If we remove them from mainstream classrooms, then do whatever you want, but until then...
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How do you define 'special treatment'? Once we are placed in the general education classroom, that doesn't mean our IEPs and 504 plans go away. They stick with us.

The OP suggested funds. Funds, even if you (a student with a disability) are in the general education classroom, are not divided on an equal basis per child. It's per the child's needs. There is a funding issue, but it's more on the federal end. The federal government hasn't been providing the sum it agreed to, which put more stress on the states to do so in order to be compliant with federal law. How that impacts what a child receives is usually tricky, but on the whole, they have to remain compliant with federal law no matter what they fuss about.
 
Children with intellectual disabilities should be given educational help the moment they're diagnosed. I've worked with children with disabilities in a pre-school environment, and if you can teach them the basics of self-control and social skills before they hit school, they do a hell of a lot better once they reach school.

Oh, and the goal shouldn't be to get all kids with ASD disproving relativity, it should be giving them the education and skills to get a job and move out of their parents house and have a successful life.
 
Declan said:
I vote no because anything society does in the way of improving education worsens it for more people than it helps. As long as we have a system of mainstreaming those with special needs, then those special needs kids should not get special treatment. If we remove them from mainstream classrooms, then do whatever you want, but until then...
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They are already removed from mainstream classrooms in many places. My son is in a special class just for children with autism.
 
roguenuke said:
They are already removed from mainstream classrooms in many places. My son is in a special class just for children with autism.
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And in many places they are not. A friend of mine's gal's job is to accompany an autistic child like a human service animal throughout the school day in mainstreamed classrooms.
 
Declan said:
And in many places they are not. A friend of mine's gal's job is to accompany an autistic child like a human service animal throughout the school day in mainstreamed classrooms.
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Not the most efficient method of teaching them. And you said that the system was to mainstream those with autism. This isn't true. Some systems mainstream those children with autism, while others separate them, determining what is best for the child based on their individual needs. Some children are actually fine with going into the classrooms. Others could not handle it.
 
roguenuke said:
Not the most efficient method of teaching them. And you said that the system was to mainstream those with autism. This isn't true. Some systems mainstream those children with autism, while others separate them, determining what is best for the child based on their individual needs. Some children are actually fine with going into the classrooms. Others could not handle it.
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I did not say that all systems mainstream all autistic children. My complaint is that too many are mainstreamed that should not be. Create all the special classes you want for them, but when "socializing" autistic children takes priority over educating non-autistic children, then the school systems that do it are failing in their purpose.
 
Declan said:
I did not say that all systems mainstream all autistic children. My complaint is that too many are mainstreamed that should not be. Create all the special classes you want for them, but when "socializing" autistic children takes priority over educating non-autistic children, then the school systems that do it are failing in their purpose.
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Obviously it is not taking priority over educating non-autistic children if they are in fact putting in precautions to be able to quickly address any problems the autistic children might have in a mainstream class, such as assigning them an escort, a teacher of their own. They can quickly be dealt with. But if they don't learn to socialize with their peers, and how they are supposed to behave in a classroom setting like mainstream classrooms, then they won't ever learn it. It should be done based on the ability of the child, the resources available by the school, and the educational needs of the child.
 
roguenuke said:
Obviously it is not taking priority over educating non-autistic children if they are in fact putting in precautions to be able to quickly address any problems the autistic children might have in a mainstream class, such as assigning them an escort, a teacher of their own. They can quickly be dealt with. But if they don't learn to socialize with their peers, and how they are supposed to behave in a classroom setting like mainstream classrooms, then they won't ever learn it. It should be done based on the ability of the child, the resources available by the school, and the educational needs of the child.
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When they are taking money that could be spent on instruction and using it to provide autistic children a thunder buddy in the classrooms they should not be in, then yes it is taking priority over the education of non-autistic children.
 
Declan said:
When they are taking money that could be spent on instruction and using it to provide autistic children a thunder buddy in the classrooms they should not be in, then yes it is taking priority over the education of non-autistic children.
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Autistic children now practically have a teacher per student. My son's class has a ratio of 2:1, students to teachers/teachers assistants. And two of the boys from my one son's class are also assigned to my other son's regular class, just as the autistic son has a regular class he is assigned to and goes to some activities with so that he gains social skills. So there are times when they go to the class with my other son. Not all schools are going to have as many autistic students as my sons' school has. Some may have more, and likely more teachers to go with them. More money goes to them because they need more attention.
 
Declan said:
When they are taking money that could be spent on instruction and using it to provide autistic children a thunder buddy in the classrooms they should not be in, then yes it is taking priority over the education of non-autistic children.
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Those are separate monies, actually. There's notoriously tight regulations on what schools can spend certain federal and state funds on in matters of sped dollars. There's no actual theft of dollars going on, unless you're of the primitive "every man for himself" type.

Likewise, those aides actually are a vital support network for any general education instructor who has any sped students in the classroom. One of the most common comments from instructors for decades has been wanting more of it. Furthermore, while there is an intense preference for general Ed placements, federal law (thanks to case law) enables schools to change placements to a more restrictive setting if even with additional supports and interventions the two cannot be claimed: 1) meaningful education for the student 2) harmless education for the rest of the classroom. The thing is, however, a school has to justify such choices in a manner that will satisfy the courts, otherwise their claims have no standing.
 
Education in its current state is a bad fit for the 21st century. The 20th century was supposed to educate people to advance in a pipe line career while teaching them sufficient liberal arts skills to participate in social interest groups. Ergo church, the Masons, unions, etc. The economy these days is pretty counter intuitive when it comes to building a career. Education should be reformed to reflect that.

As far as autists go, if evolution gives you human computers, thank God for the blessing. No telling how many people like that have pushed civilization forward in the capacity of revolutionary intellectual and spiritual leaders.
 
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