Seeing The Spectrum

With 1 in 59 children being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), odds are that students on the spectrum will be in many classrooms across every subject area.Seeing the Spectrum argues that secondary English teachers are uniquely equipped to prepare students with autism for future success, both in school and in life. Writing for preservice and current English language arts teachers, Robert Rozema offers practical, evidenced-based strategies for teaching literature, informational texts, writing, and communication to students on the spectrum. These strategies are appropriate for inclusive classrooms with both neurotypical students and students with autism. The final chapter includes a complete unit plan on Of Mice and Men, illustrating how curriculum focused on commonly taught literary works can be reimagined to accommodate the needs and draw on the strengths of students on the spectrum. “I appreciate this book. I appreciate the gift Robert Rozema has given me. My thinking and teaching will now be more diverse, more consciously competent, more compassionate, and therefore more vital.” —From the Foreword by Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, distinguished professor of English Education, Boise State University, and author of “You Gotta BE the Book” “Seeing the Spectrum examines real young people and daily classroom interactions to help teachers better understand the mental and emotional processing of their autistic spectrum students and devise assignments to scaffold their success. Rozema knows what matters in English: reading literature, developing empathy, understanding complex ideas and interpersonal relationships, writing to express complicated ideas. The diverse tools, strategies, and ideas he describes foster inclusiveness, compassion, and success for all students.” —Allen Webb, professor of English, Western Michigan University

Finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction An extraordinary narrative history of autism: the riveting story of parents fighting for their children ’s civil rights; of doctors struggling to define autism; of ingenuity, self-advocacy, and profound social change. Nearly seventy-five years ago, Donald Triplett of Forest, Mississippi, became the first child diagnosed with autism. Beginning with his family’s odyssey, In a Different Key tells the extraordinary story of this often misunderstood condition, and of the civil rights battles waged by the families of those who have it. Unfolding over decades, it is a beautifully rendered history of ordinary people determined to secure a place in the world for those with autism—by liberating children from dank institutions, campaigning for their right to go to school, challenging expert opinion on what it means to have autism, and persuading society to accept those who are different. It is the story of women like Ruth Sullivan, who rebelled against a medical establishment that blamed cold and rejecting “refrigerator mothers” for causing autism; and of fathers who pushed scientists to dig harder for treatments. Many others played starring roles too: doctors like Leo Kanner, who pioneered our understanding of autism; lawyers like Tom Gilhool, who took the families’ battle for education to the courtroom; scientists who sparred over how to treat autism; and those with autism, like Temple Grandin, Alex Plank, and Ari Ne’eman, who explained their inner worlds and championed the philosophy of neurodiversity. This is also a story of fierce controversies—from the question of whether there is truly an autism “epidemic,” and whether vaccines played a part in it; to scandals involving “facilitated communication,” one of many treatments that have proved to be blind alleys; to stark disagreements about whether scientists should pursue a cure for autism. There are dark turns too: we learn about experimenters feeding LSD to children with autism, or shocking them with electricity to change their behavior; and the authors reveal compelling evidence that Hans Asperger, discoverer of the syndrome named after him, participated in the Nazi program that consigned disabled children to death. By turns intimate and panoramic, In a Different Key takes us on a journey from an era when families were shamed and children were condemned to institutions to one in which a cadre of people with autism push not simply for inclusion, but for a new understanding of autism: as difference rather than disability.

To many of the people who live or work with an individual with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the processes by which those with autism make sense of the world around them may seem mysterious. In Understanding and Working with the Spectrum of Autism Wendy Lawson demonstrates these processes using comparisons from the non-ASD world to help professionals, families and carers to relate to and communicate with people with ASD better. Exercises at the back of the book encourage the reader to reflect on what has been discussed. The second part of the book contains chapters presenting a range of interventions and strategies for particular situations. Wendy illustrates her text with examples from her own life and from the lives of those she has met or worked with to clarify her points. She analyses ASD characteristics and examines interventions for dealing with social skills, anger management and self-esteem. Stress, its effects on the families of children with autism, and how best it can be alleviated, is also explored. Wendy writes in the light of her personal experience of an autism spectrum disorder as well as that of the available literature to create a book that is both readable and wide-ranging, furthering understanding of the links and differences between neurotypical individuals and those with ASD. Her book is an essential introduction to ASD for social workers, nurses, health professionals and those working in related fields.

This updated edition of the bestselling All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome provides an engaging, gentle introduction to autism. All-new cats take a playful look at the world of autism, and these fun feline friends will strike a chord with all those who are familiar with typical autistic traits, bringing to life common characteristics such as sensory sensitivities, social issues and communication difficulties. Touching, humorous and insightful, this book evokes all the joys and challenges of being on the autism spectrum, leaving the reader with a sense of the dignity, individuality and the potential of autistic people.

Autism spectrum disorders are developmental disorders. Individuals with autism spectrum disorders develop differently. These differences are usually present in social interaction, communication, and sensory processing, and become visible through a wide variety of behavioral responses that differ from individuals without autism spectrum disorders. Despite significant research efforts, the exact causes of autism spectrum disorders remain poorly understood; however, researchers have gained extensive insights into possible pathomechanisms, even at the molecular level of cells. Many diagnostic criteria have been developed, adapted, and improved. The eight chapters in this book highlight the current state-of-the-art in many areas of autism spectrum disorders. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the epidemiology of autism spectrum disorders and the current knowledge of the underlying pathogenic mechanisms. Chapter 2 summarizes the diagnostic criteria and procedures and highlights present and upcoming therapeutic strategies. Chapter 3 reviews the adverse events and trauma in people with autism spectrum disorders. Chapters 4 and 5 focus on atypical sensory processing, and Chapter 6 discusses the genetic overlap of autism spectrum disorders with other neuropsychiatric disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, and schizophrenia. Chapter 7 focuses on the contribution of abnormalities in mitochondria, and chapter 8 discusses gut-brain interactions and a potential role for microbiota in autism spectrum disorders. This book is aimed primarily at clinicians and scientists, but many areas will also be of interest to the layperson.

IBM® Spectrum Control (Spectrum Control), a member of the IBM SpectrumTM Family of products, is the next-generation data management solution for software-defined environments (SDEs). With support for block, file, object workloads, and software-defined storage and predictive analytics, and automated and advanced monitoring to identify proactively storage performance problems, Spectrum Control enables administrators to provide efficient management for heterogeneous storage environments. IBM Spectrum ControlTM (formerly IBM Tivoli® Storage Productivity Center) delivers a complete set of functions to manage IBM Spectrum VirtualizeTM, IBM Spectrum AccelerateTM, and IBM Spectrum ScaleTM storage infrastructures, and traditional IBM and select third-party storage hardware systems. This IBM Redbooks® publication provides practical examples and use cases that can be deployed with IBM Spectrum Control Standard Edition, with an overview of IBM Spectrum Control Advanced Edition. This book complements the Spectrum Control IBM Knowledge Center, which is referenced for product details, and for installation and implementation details throughout this book. You can find this resource at the following website: IBM Spectrum Control Knowledge Center Also provided are descriptions and an architectural overview of the IBM Spectrum Family, highlighting Spectrum Control, as integrated into software-defined storage environments. This publication is intended for storage administrators, clients who are responsible for maintaining IT and business infrastructures, and anyone who wants to learn more about employing Spectrum Control and Spectrum Control Standard Edition.