TIA FINAL

TIA: Walk Now for Autism Speaks: 

TIA: Walk Now for Autism Speaks Dimitra Pissanos DPissanos@knights.ucf.edu 11/26/11 EEX 4242

PowerPoint Presentation: 

Autism Speaks : Founded in February 2005 by Bob and Suzanne Wright, grandparents of a child with autism. G rown into the nation's largest autism science and advocacy organization, dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. Mission : At Autism Speaks, our goal is to change the future for all who struggle with autism spectrum disorders. Autism Speaks aims to bring the autism community together as one strong voice to urge the government and private sector to listen to our concerns and take action to address this urgent global health crisis. It is our firm belief that, working together, we will find the missing pieces of the puzzle. Walk Now for Autism Speaks, a community event held in states around the country, raised $25.9 million dollars for Autism research in 2010 and the 2011 Orlando event raised over $200,000 for the cause.

Engagement Activities: 

Engagement Activities 4 hours each week working with a student with Autism at internship. September- November 2011 Completing assignments Helping with organization Guided practice At the Event- November 12, 2011 Volunteered for 9 hours Helping families affected by Autism Working with children with Autism Helping event staff set up for the walk

Participant Demographics: 

Participant Demographics At school 14 yr old, Hispanic boy At the event Families, friends and volunteers ranging in age from Newborn- Elder All ethnicities Some were children with Autism, while others were families and friends affected by the disease I.D.E.A. states that, “Children between the ages of 3 and 21, who meet the eligibility criteria in one of thirteen qualifying disabilities and who require special education services because of the disability can qualify for services under IDEA. The categories of disabilities are; autism , deaf/blind, deafness, hearing impaired, mental retardation, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, serious emotional disturbance, specific learning disabilities, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, visual impairment including blindness, and other health impairment. To be eligible, a student must have a disability that adversely affects her or his educational performance and must need special education in order to receive an appropriate education.” http://www.help4adhd.org/education/rights/idea Walk Now for Autism Speaks is an event that helps thousands of people with Autism around the country.

Service in Action: 

Service in Action Orlando Sparklers cheerleaders during their performance.

Perceptions of Differences: 

Perceptions of Differences My initial thoughts about the project Excitement: Having the chance to try something new. Nervous: How would I react, how would the kids react to me? Unsure: What is it like to have prolonged interaction with students with disabilities? Now, I realize I was wrong to be nervous or unsure about this assignment. The children I interacted with are just as “normal” as anyone else. Most of them are even more polite, and more willing than students without a disability. The beginning weeks of my internship, working with the student with Autism, showed me a lot about what it will be like for me as an educator. But the actual walking event opened my eyes to the lives and difficulties that the parents, families, and friends of children with Autism go through.

Connections to Your Course: 

Connections to Your Course EEX 4242 Think, Pair, Share Allows each student to think about a question you ask them, then pair with a neighbor or previous classmate and allow them to share their response. In service learning, while working with the student with Autism, I saw this used daily by having student share their responses to a variety of questions or activities. Jigsaw Break students into groups, assign topics to each team member, each person in the classroom with the same topic gets together in an “expert group” to discuss their topic further, then students return to their home groups to share what they learn. This was also used at internship. Students were asked to create a newspaper from sections in the textbook. Each student was assigned a textbook section and allowed to collaborate with others with the same section about what was good information to use.

Connections cont’d…: 

Connections cont’d… Autism In class we had an entire module on Autism and this project has allowed me to understand what it is like to work with students with Autism. Better understanding of course content: Real life situations Implementing different ideas into the classroom This experience will definitely provide me with more patience and understanding in the classroom. Not everyone is at the same level, and you cannot expect the same from each student. One student’s success is another student’s failure.

Civic Engagement: 

Civic Engagement Volunteerism and civic engagement is something I always try to participate in. This project provided me with a different volunteer opportunity than before, but one that was still as rewarding. Civic engagement is important for all people because of the opportunities to give back. Provides each person with multiple outlooks Allows us all to see what others are going through and help them by simply giving a few hours out of the day. Service learning is a great opportunity for all people to learn. Education service learning gives you first hand experience This service learning provides us with real life situations and experience with children with disabilities. I would definitely encourage teachers and students to embrace service-learning in the future. Same reasons listed above

Final Thoughts &Reflections: 

Final Thoughts &Reflections Simply getting involved is a great way for other people to visualize and have a better understanding of what it is like for the families and loved ones affected by disability. There is no better way to understand than first hand experience. I can help by finding more activities or events in my community and getting my family and friends involved. Teachers play a huge role in communities outside the classroom. Many people think a teachers job is over at the end of the school day but that simply is not true. Teachers have a huge influence on society and the new generation. It is our job to prepare the future generation with the necessary means and ideas to help those less fortunate.