My Presentations:
I give presentations about autism to school groups, parent’s groups and many other organizations about what autism is like. People really enjoy hearing what I have to say because I can explain “autism from the inside” and they can learn things they may not understand about how the world seems to someone with autism. The box alongside this explanation contains comments from some of the people who have heard me speak. During my presentations I give a speech and also use video clips and photographs to make specific points. My presentations usually last between one and two hours. Below are descriptions of the different presentations I give.
My Advice to Teachers and Paraprofessionals
My nickname for this presentation is “What not to do if you have an autistic child in your class.” This presentation lasts about an hour and is based upon my classroom experiences. It’s important to learn how an autistic person might perceive a situation as well as the seemingly simple things that might be distracting or confusing to a student with autism. I give lots of interesting details. Teachers have told me that hearing this presentation has totally changed how they think about things and what they do in their classrooms!
The View from Here: My Life with Autism
This presentation lasts a little over an hour and a half and covers the material from My Advice to Teachers and Paraprofessionals as well as details about how my friendships with neurotypical peers were developed, about my experiences in the jobs I had, and what it’s like to be autistic in the world. I also talk about my art and animation. This presentation is very thorough and has lots of interesting information.
Social Stories: an Autistic Explanation of What They Do and How They Do It
This is a “team presentation” given by one of my former teachers and me. Jana Rodgers, CCC-SLP, was my “case manager” and Special Services teacher in my last three years of high school. She introduced me to Social Stories and was involved in lots of “community based” education with me as well as job coaching and life skills work. Jana and I go into detail about the “learning partnership” we developed and how the use of social stories not only helped me learn the details about certain things, but also helped me “learn how to learn.” This program lasts two hours.
Raising the Dad: Family Life with Autism
This is a presentation my father and I give. As in all my programs, I explain what it is like to be someone with autism, how easy it is to become confused and how hard it is at times to learn what’s really going on. I also explain how easy it is for others to misunderstand me. In this presentation, my Dad gives details about how he learned to be the father of a person with autism. We talk about developing and maintaining friendships. This presentation lasts about two hours.
To the left of this paragraph is a picture of me giving a presentation in Jonesboro, Arkansas, in April, 2010.
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