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In the Race
Now, here, you see, it takes all the blogging I can do to keep in the same place. If I want to get somewhere else, I must blog twice as fast as that! You see, I'm in the Red Queen's Race...
School or a Reality Show?
By Janet Evans
Wednesday, May 28 2008, 08:50 PM
Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that typically lasts throughout a person's lifetime. It is part of a group of disorders known as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Today, 1 in 150 individuals is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. It occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups and is four times more likely to strike boys than girls. Autism impairs a person's ability to communicate and relate to others. It is also associated with rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines. Symptoms can range from very mild to quite severe.
Asperger Syndrome or (Asperger's Disorder) is a neurobiological disorder named for a Viennese physician, Hans Asperger, who in 1944 published a paper which described a pattern of behaviors in several young boys who had normal intelligence and language development, but who also exhibited autistic-like behaviors and marked deficiencies in social and communication skills. In spite of the publication of his paper in the 1940's, it wasn't until 1994 that Asperger Syndrome was added to the DSM IV and only in the past few years has AS been recognized by professionals and parents.
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The Topic: Bullying |
Easier - A bully is someone who is mean and attacks other people with words or actions. They use teasing, threats, or strength to pick on, frighten, or hurt someone or take what they want.
Harder - Bullying is a form of aggressive and harassing behavior. This antisocial behavior occurs across geographic, racial, and socioeconomic segments of society. Bullying prevents its targets from enjoying a safe, stress-free living, learning, and working environment. Children who bully are at risk for a host of long term, negative developmental outcomes including juvenile and adult criminal behavior. Early intervention in the home, school, and the community are the best hope we have of diverting people from this destructive pattern.
  Alex Barton
Is teacher Wendy Portillo a bully, or is she just ignorant?
Alex Barton, a kindergartner at Morningside Elementary School, Port St. Lucie, FL, returned to class after being sent to the Principal's office to be disciplined. Alex is currently in the process of being evaluated for Asperger Syndrome. After Alex returned to class, his teacher, Ms. Portilllo, allegedly proceeded to ask the class to tell Alex what they disliked about him and then had them vote whether they would like him to stay in class. The vote was 14-2 against Alex staying. Alex spent the rest of the day in the nurse's office.
Read the story from the Sun-Sentinel ç here
View a CBS Video (where mom goes a bit off-track) :
I haven't read, and it doesn't appear that Wendy Portillo is a Special Education teacher, not does it state that she has any training in Special Education. Considering that 1 in 150 children now suffer from some form of Autism it is now something that every teacher should be aware of whether they teach Special Education or not. But that is beside the point.
If this story is true, in my view Wendy Portillo is just plain ignorant. She has parents reporting that she has been a model teacher in the past. Well, she has obviously made a very poor error in judgment.
We are not talking about learning how to win or lose, how to accept the fact that you might not always be chosen for a team, that you might not always get a good grade, etc. It's been shown that students who end up going berserk and have taken it out on teachers and classmates have done so because they say they were picked on and bullied at school.
Has Portillo been hiding her head in the sand these past years?
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