Saturday, September 25, 2010

Questions, Questions, Questions


As I mentioned in my last entry, this list of questions will probably grow and change continuously.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to put links on a lot of these as I become able to write entries that outline the answers I’ve found.  I need to find so may resources, but without further ado, here are, in no particular order, the questions I need to answer.

  1. What sort of professions are out there for someone who wants to work with and advocate for children with autism?
  2. What sort certification(s) exist for these professions?
  3. What sort of degree do you need to effectively carry out this work?
  4. What are the best, accredited online schools for the degree I need?
  5. Where can I volunteer to work with autistic children in order to get some hands-on experience?
  6. How much will it cost me to go to school?  What sort of scholarships, grants, etc. are available for my education?
  7. How far can I reach with this new platform and this new life plan.  Can I improve the lives of children and adults with autism beyond my city, beyond my state, beyond the U.S.?
  8. Am I actually good at this?  What proof can I offer?
  9. What are my ongoing goals with all this?
  10. What are the ways that I can use my blog, my website, my twitter account to help more people?
  11. Will this blog and website serve more people going through the same processes I am, or do I want to focus more on serving children and adults dealing with autism themselves?  Can I do both?

Yes, there will be more questions.  If you can think of some more I should be asking, please comment.  Thanks for reading.

2 comments:

  1. oops, should have posted that comment here:

    I just wanted to give you my input, as an autistic person who has heard a lot about ABA, and some of the long-term effects of ABA.

    Your goals should not be to render a child to be indistinguishable from his/her peers. This is impossible, as there is no set mold for human beings.

    You also should not be aiming to make a child automatically obedient, as this may damage the long-term ability to make decisions for his/her self and be able to avoid potentially abusive situations.

    You goal should be to help people in the community, the family and the child to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the child, and help the child to develop skills to overcome disabilities and develop life skills in order to become as independent as possible. The goal is like being a parent, to raise a child to, ultimately, not need you anymore.

    The difference is that there are various degrees of independence, and some have different potentials, but what really matters is being able to live freely, interacting as one wishes, and living happily.

    this is my opinion as an autistic.

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  2. Thank you so much, Corina. Your opinion most DEFINITELY matters to me. After reading some of your blog and some of your tweets, I can tell you're a very intelligent person with a unique outlook and I will be digging deeper into your blog to try to absorb as much of your perspective as possible. I still don't know if becoming an ABA Therapist is where I'll ultimately go, but right now, it's just what I'm shooting for in order to leave all options open. I don't want to ask any questions of you that I can find the answers to in your blog so I'll do my due diligence by catching up on that first, but as much of your journey, knowledge and outlook as you're willing to share with me, I will be listening with eager ears.

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