Final Project

 As a young child, I was always so interested in animals from my early days of horseback riding to my neighborhood being filled with tons of animals. Growing up I had one cat until about three years ago my family adopted a rescue dog from Florida. By the time she was only about eighteen months old, she had already had two litters of puppies. When the group of rescuers first found Skye her body was covered in deep cuts, and it was suspected that she had most likely been involved with dogfighting. To spite her dark past my dog has changed my life in so many ways and that's why I decided to base my first topic on animal cruelty and animal rights. 

During the first quarter, I did a lot of research about the treatment of animals. My research consisted of both local and distant issues. I learned about things that took place in a variety of locations and also the wide range of problems that animals are faced with. In respects to the places in which it can take place, I learned that animal cruelty can happen anywhere. The books I read highlighted the abuse that happened in labs, in farms and slaughterhouses, and also abuse that takes place at peoples homes. In addition to learning the different areas which abuse can take place in, I also learned that often laws set are not followed and if they are followed, they often do not fully protect the animals to being subjected to any inhumane treatment. Some of these laws which do not fully protect animals include the animal welfare act of 1966. This document did not fully protect animals from abuse and left gaps where the law could be interpreted in different ways. Although since the act was originally passed many things have been changed, there are still was for things to take place behind closed doors, and that is why I dedicated the first quarter to learn more about what really goes on.

In addition to learning about my topic during the first quarter, I actually began my final project. It all started when Ms. Fichera told me about an event where Peter Singer, a famous author, and activist for animals, would be giving a speech on animal rights. At that point in the quarter, I was reading his most famous book, Animal Liberation, and was excited when I heard of the opportunity. On October 11, I attended the lecture at Phillips Exeter. The speech covered the central idea from his book that “the greatest good of the greatest number” is the only measure of ethical behavior. Singer believes that there is no reason not to apply this principle to other animals, arguing that the boundary between human and “animal” is completely arbitrary. This two-hour presentation inspired me to make a difference of my own and from that point on I began brainstorming for my second part of my final project.

As the beginning of January came around I started to brainstorm possible projects for my final. During the first quarter as I mentioned, I researched local shelters and other organizations dedicated to helping animals. Among some of the shelters, I learned about Sweet Paws Rescue. At first, my intention was to volunteer there, but because of their strict age requirements, eighteen and older, I was forced to think more outside the box. In addition to my passion for animals I also enjoy baking, so that was when I figured out what I would do for my final; a bake sale with all proceeds going to the shelter. So, on January 4th, I emailed Sweet Paws Rescue to introduce them to my idea for the fundraiser. Below is the email I sent.

Soon after sending the email I received a response from SPR and they were very excited for my bake sale. I then had to call the West Newbury Foodmart to ask if I could hold my bake sale there. At this point, I began spreading the word around the school and the towns by posting advertisements in various places. First I printed out fliers to post around the school. In addition to posting fliers around the school, I also posted about my event on various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.

 As the day of my bake sale approached I began to plan out what materials I would need to be successful. First I ensured I would have a couple of other people there to help me run the fundraiser. Once securing other volunteers I made a list of things I would have to bring. My list consisted of not only the baked goods I was going to make but also things such as two tables, one for the food and the other for the representative from SPR to use. In terms of things I was going to bake, I made nearly 50 cupcakes, two dozen brownies, four dozen of both chocolate chip cookies and snickerdoodles, and finally some mini loaves of banana bread. One final thing I did in preparation for my bake sale was to make a few posters which we could use to advertise from the road near food mart. Below is a video of all the things I baked for the bake sale. 

The morning of my bake sale was finally here and I arrived at about 9:30 to begin setting up. I had my two tables set up, one with information about SPR and one with all the baked goods. At 10 my representative from Sweet Paws Rescue arrived, and she actually brought her foster dog with her! She hoped that my bake sale would help find a home for her after being returned twice. By the time we had been out there for an hour we had already made over one hundred dollars and lots of people were taking information from the SPR table in addition to some baked goods. 

By the time 1:00 came around we had run out of all our baked goods and had to close early. Before even counting up the money raised it was clear that we were very successful. After having a bake sale for three and a half hours we had made almost 400 dollars! Not only did we raise more money than I expected, but there was also one woman who even began to talk about adopting the foster dog. 

This project has taught me so much about the power that one person can have towards making a change in the world. I honestly was so surprised with the outcome of the bake sale. If I could change anything about my project I would only make it in the summer so we weren't as cold but besides that everything went as planned if not better. This class has inspired me to look around me and find things that I am passionate about and to make a difference. As teenagers, sometimes we feel as if we are insignificant, but after seeing what I could accomplish in one day I no longer believe that. Even though this class is now over I plan to volunteer with Sweet Paws Rescue once I turn eighteen to continue to do my part towards something I am so passionate about.

Hours Spent:
Planning/ Advertising: 1-2
Lecture: 2
Baking: 6
Bake Sale: 3.5-4

Friday Blog: Week Eleven

This week I finished reading the book Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig pages 178-364. This quarter I read a total of 1,522 pages (five books). I did not come across any words I was unfamiliar with this week so I decided to go back to my previous blogs and highlight the most important terms I have learned this quarter.

Apraxia – A disorder of voluntary movement, consisting of partial or total incapacity to execute purposeful movements, without impairment of muscular power, sensibility and coordination. The person has difficulty sequencing movements in the service of a goal. Maybe specific to speech.

Developmental Delay – A child who acquires skills after the expected age in achieving cognitive, adaptive, physical, communication and social skills.

Expressive Language Disorder – Developmental expressive language disorder in which a child has lower-than normal proficiency in vocabulary, the production of complex sentences, and recall of words. Child will typically use gestures, words, and written symbols to communicate.

Hyperlexia – Is a condition in which the main characteristics are an above average ability to read accompanied by a below average ability to understand spoken language.

Neurotypical (NT) – Is a neologism used to describe people whose neurological development and state are consistent with what most people would perceive as normal in their ability to process linguistic information and social cues. While originally coined among the autistic community as a label for non-autistic persons, the concept was later adopted by both the neurodiversity movement and the scientific community.

Self-Stimulatory Behavior – A term for behaviors whose primary purpose appears to be to stimulate ones own senses. An example is rocking ones body: Many people with autism report that some ‘self stims’ may serve a regulatory function for them (i.e., claming, adding concentration, shutting out an overwhelming sound.) Other examples: hand-flapping, toe walking, spinning, echolalia.

Sensory Integration – Is the ability to take in information through the senses of touch, movement, smell, taste, vision, and hearing, and to combine the resulting perceptions with prior information, memories, and knowledge already stored in the brain, in order to derive coherent meaning from processing the stimuli.

Behavior Support Plan/(BIP) Behavior Intervention Plan – Multi-component behavior intervention plans, with multiple layers of support, are in fact the best way to establish effective and comprehensive strategies for addressing challenging behavior.

Augmentative Communication – Special devise that provides an alternative for spoken language. For example, photographs and picture exchange communication.

Baylet Scales – A developmental assessment used for children age one month to 3 1/2 years old. It is comprised of a mental, motor and behavior scale. This scale has a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15.

Thursday Blog: Week Eleven

This quarter my topic was on whether or not fiction could accurately portray autism. To gain more knowledge on this subject I read a total of five books on a range of different topics. The first book I read was Marcelo in The Real World, which was about a boy named Marcelo who has autism. The second book I read was Wish, which followed a girl and her twin brother who had autism. The third book I read was The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-Time, which was also about a boy with autism. After that, I read The Rosie Project, which was about a man with autism. And finally, I read the book Ginny Moon which followed a young girl with autism. From the descriptions of the books, it is clear that books on autism tend to favor one portrayal of a person with autism, and that is a male on the high functioning end of the spectrum. This means that most the books will tell about a male age 10-18 who has some special gift and only seems slightly awkward in social situations.

https://slideplayer.com/slide/5251986/

This 'ideal' of a super intelligent male with autism leads to expectations which are completely unrealistic. These books portray autism as a mere set back which hardly effects the person in their everyday life. By only showing the high functioning side of the spectrum, people with autism get grouped into a stereotype of being super intelligent and slightly socially awkward. When in fact autism effects everyone differently. For example there are three levels of autism ASD Level 1: “Requiring Support”,  ASD Level 2: “Requiring Substantial Support”,  ASD Level 3: “Requiring Very Substantial Support”. In most of the books I read the majority of the people fell under level one which is descried as difficulty initiating social interactions and clear examples of atypical or unsuccessful responses to social overtures of others. May appear to have decreased interest in social interactions. For example, a person who is able to speak in full sentences and engages in communication but whose to-and-fro conversation with others fails, and whose attempts to make friends are odd and typically unsuccessful. Only one of the books I read this quarter had a character with autism above level one which was Wish. He had what would be level three which is described as severe deficits in verbal and nonverbal social communication skills cause severe impairments in functioning, very limited initiation of social interactions, and minimal response to social overtures from others. For example, a person with few words of intelligible speech who rarely initiates interaction and, when he or she does, makes unusual approaches to meet needs only and responds to only very direct social approaches.

https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-are-the-three-levels-of-autism-260233

Overall based on the portrayal of characters with autism I would say fiction is not always a reliable source for reading about autism. If I had to recommend any of these books I would recommend Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig, Marcelo in The Real World by Francisco X. Stork , and  The Rosie Project by Melina Bellows because they were the most realistic and did not contain most of the stereotypes.

Sources:
          Rudy, Lisa Jo, and Joel Forman. “Making Sense of the 3 Levels of Autism.” Verywell Health, Verywellhealth, www.verywellhealth.com/what-are-the-three-levels-of-autism-260233.

Wednesday Blog: Week Eleven

As many of the books I have read this quarter have to do with misunderstood autistic children. This idea explains some of the key things they want you to know. 

Tuesday Blog: Week Eleven

This week I have continued reading the book Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig. Ginny is a Fourteen-year-old girl who is on the autism spectrum. Ginny was removed from her house when she was just nine years old due to her abusive mother. Five years later Ginny is still trying to find her way back home to find and take care of her 'baby doll', which is later revealed to be a baby sister which they have no records of. Ginny who is not allowed on the internet finds her mother on a classmates facebook and attempts to contact her. Ginny's birth mother, in turn, shows up at her 'forever home' and causes a scene while Ginny is still at school. With no regard for her own safety, Ginny persistently tries to meet up with her mother to spite the possible consequences. After many attempts by both Ginny and her Mother, Crystal with a C, her aunt, kidnaps Ginny in hopes to eventually bring her to her mother in Canada. Her plans are spoiled when Ginny's birth father provides the police with information which leads them to bring Ginny back home to her parents and her newborn baby sister. Once she arrives home she is overwhelmed with the flood of questions from her parent and the police. Since they have no knowledge of her younger sibling they do not understand when Ginny says she must go find her and take care of her.

http://parentingchaos.com/wandering-autism-lost-kid/

"I don't want to answer so I wait. Because sometimes if you don't answer then someone will answer for you or someone will say something else to help you know what to say." (Ludwig 240)

https://researchautism.org/elopement-and-autism/

Ginny who struggles with communicating with others, can not figure out exactly what she should say when she returns home. Most of her life, as I explained in my previous blogs, people have been placing labels on her which she lets define her. Being defined by her condition Ginny feels as if she can get away with certain things more than others. For example, Ginny allows others to answer for her or hint to the correct when she does not want to answer. This time in specific Ginny was being questioned as to why she ran away to meet her mother. Ginny's dismissive behavior carries over to her future plans to run away again thinking its not a problem.

https://www.thelittleblackduck.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/poster_communicationAndAutismpdf.png

In life, a lot of times people will refrain from answering a question honestly or at all if their answer would be less then desired by the other person. Ginny's behavior is similar to how most people have acted at least once before in their life. Her behavior could, in fact, be an example of the diffusion of responsibility. Diffusion of responsibility is a sociopsychological phenomenon whereby a person is less likely to take responsibility for action or inaction when others are present. Considered a form of attribution, the individual assumes that others either are responsible for taking action or have already done so. 

Friday Blog: Week Ten

This week I continued reading Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig pages 57-178. While I was reading. I did not find any words that I was unfamiliar with so instead, I have looked up words that had to do with autism.

Prosody

The rhythm and melody of spoken language. Prosody is shown in the rate, pitch, stress, inflection, and intonation used in our speech. People with autism have a harder time with intonation, and can often be more monotone or speak in a singing voice.

Perseveration

Repeating or persisting with an action or behavior after the stimulus that prompted it has ceased. To perseverate is to become stuck on something and to not be able to mentally shift gears.

 Echolalia

This is the repeating of sounds, words, or phrases. People who “echo” may not always be able to communicate effectively or express their own thoughts, but they parrot back what they have heard. If asked a question, they might repeat the question, and not answer the question.

Transition

A change from one environment or activity to another. Transitions can be hard for a person with autism. It sometimes helps if warnings are given before a transition.

Meltdown

Often mistaken as temper tantrums, meltdowns are common with people who have autism and are typically not anger-infused. Instead, it is the body’s way of reacting to a confusing or over-stimulating situation. Meltdowns can be loud or they can be very quiet.

Sensory processing disorder (SPD)

A neurological condition that exists when sensory signals are not adequately processed in order to appropriately respond to the demands of the environment. For example, many people with sensory processing disorder are highly sensitive to fabrics

Scripting

The repetition of words, phrases, intonation, or sounds of the speech of others, sometimes taken from movies, but also sometimes taken from other sources such as favorite books or something someone else has said. Echolalia is sometimes referred to as scripting.

Stimulatory behavior (Stimming)

Repetitive behavior, such as the spinning of objects, vocal echoes, or other repetitive actions, that people with autism commonly partake in to alleviate the stressors of overstimulation.

Elopement

To leave without permission or without letting others know where you are going, and without processing the dangers/risks involved in leaving. Elopement is a great concern in the autism community.

https://i.pinimg.com/474x/9a/bd/19/9abd19b116316d89bba215c641d1f60b--autism-learning-school-psychology.jpg

To connect these terms back to the book, Ginny has a sensory processing disorder and struggles with loud noises and bright lights. When faced with a stimulus which triggers her SPD she tends to act out in order to get away from what it might be. Another term which connects to a central part of the book it elopement. Ginny has a hard time understanding that what her abusive mother did to her was wrong, so she wanted to see her mother and younger sister again, against restraining orders.

Thursday Blog: Week Ten

As the quarter is nearing the end, I decided that I would go back and answer some of my key essential questions. From all of the books I have read, I have gathered the most information on...

• What is an Autism Spectrum Disorder?
• What aspects of the disorders do fiction books accurately and inaccurately portray?
• Is fiction a reliable source for information on life with an Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Before reading the books I had only limited personal knowledge about the topic. From my reading and from the other activities such as talking to my father and watching videos on the topic I have acquired a lot of useful information. Autism is a developmental disorder of variable severity that is characterized by difficulty in social interaction and communication and by restricted or repetitive patterns of thought and behavior. In most of the books, the emphasis was on the difficulty with social interaction. From speaking with my father who works closely with my topic, I have learned more about autism from a diagnosis standpoint. One thing he gave me was the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition: DSM-5. This was published in the year 2013, which in some cases is newer than the books I was reading. From reading through the section on autism in the DSM-5 I learned that specific disorders within the autism spectrum no longer exist, like Aspergers. In place of that outdated method, ASDs are now described on a spectrum of severity level. 

https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780890425558_p0_v3_s550x406.jpg

In the most recent weeks, this next question has been on my mind. After reading articles and watching videos over break I have begun to question whether fiction can accurately portray autism. Since then I have become a lot more critical of the books I have read after realizing the trend that they follow. This quarter I have read five books so far and out of that only one book featured a girl with autism, and only two out of the five showed the more difficult aspects of autism. The other three books all featured male main characters who were exceptionally gifted. Although they suffered with social interactions, their autism caused nearly no problems that were expressed in the book. On the other hand, Wish and Ginny Moon have a more realistic portrayal of life with autism. In Wish, the main character Bobby had severe autism and the book expressed the struggles he and his family encounter. Similarly, Ginny Moon follows an autistic girl whose birth mother was abusive. Ginny now lives with her 'forever parents' who are expecting a child, which causes them to worry about Ginny's past and how she might treat a child. Both books cover the ups and downs of autism, therefore only some books truly can convey a realistic portrayal of autism.

http://autismmythbusters.com/general-public/home/portrayals-in-the-media/

Overall I would say select fictional books can be a reliable source for information on autism, and for a better well-rounded basis of information, one should include resources of multiple genres and mediums.