Autism The Way I See It & Not Thinking In Pictures

When reading the two readings "Autism the way I see it" and "Not Looking in Pictures" I agreed more with the second article by Donna Williams titled "Not Looking in Pictures". The first article discussed three types of learning styles. When reading the descriptions of each I felt like they were too specific. I have seen and experienced many learning styles in myself and children I have worked with over the years. I don't agree that everyone thinks as one of the following:

1. Visual Thinking

2. Music and Math Thinking

3. Verban logic thinking. 

The way that Dr. Temple Grandin explained these styles of thinking made it seem like you were either one or the other. It is important to understand these styles of thought but I think it is wrong to categorize children in such different categories. 

To go along with the categorizing and labeling the second article further supports my thoughts. Donna Williams has autism but she has learned to use signing to be able to communicate. She has a very different process of thoughts than I have ever heard about. Rather than seeing a cat when she was little she saw a tail, ears, and fur. It was hard for her to put the picture together and see it was an animal. She is lucky she has been able to find what works for her to communicate and although signing isn't "very autistic", as someone in the article mentioned, it works for her. 

This reading opened my mind to different styles of thought and the drastic differences they can have. I need to remember these articles and bring them into my classroom. I can do this by incorporating music, pictures, words, and activities to help every student in my classroom be successful.