For those not familiar with my research focus, I currently study the communications skills of teens and adults with autism. My particular interest is original compositions by those diagnosed with autism. This research leads me to study language, neurology, psychology, and more. Neurolinguistics are important, for example, but I never…
Category: Education
Posts on teaching, studying, educational systems, and institutions.
This week there is a major national conference on campus, sponsored by the academic department in which I reside (in theory). However, either I missed the announcements or didn’t understand them earlier this academic year. So, while other graduate students and instructors are meeting administrators from across the nation, I…
I am currently analyzing online spaces dedicated to issues of autism spectrum disorders. I am also including spaces created by and/or for individuals with ASDs. This is a funded project, sponsored by my university, to help determine how we might design online courses to better accommodate students with special needs.…
Tonight, slightly after midnight, I e-mailed a second draft of my dissertation prospectus to my academic adviser. It was shy of 20K words, about 40 single-spaced pages. It has been a long journey, certainly. The prelims, the oral exam, and now the dissertation. I won’t make my goal of having…
I often speak on post-secondary education and students with special needs. Every student I have met has “special needs” and quirks. Every human has limitations. Therefore, I have been stunned lately to hear and read advocates suggesting students with autism disorders or similar limitations can “do anything they want.” No…
I have too many interests, or I have too little time. Maybe both are true. When do people finish projects? The writing is piling up, a long backlog of things I hope to complete. I’m hoping this summer is all about finishing things, so I can start the next projects.…
On April 8, 2009, I completed my preliminary examinations towards my doctorate. The written and oral exams were during a busy, difficult month. There were family emergencies, personal medical nonsense, and the general stress of examinations. Honestly, I thought a lot more about my parents and my own health than…
It’s not easy to have surgery after surgery, medical adventure after medical adventure, while trying to complete my doctorate and move forward with life. Written Exams… Testing Sanity I spent the entire week taking my written exams, receiving questions on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. With 24 hours to respond to…
As the school year begins, I am preparing for a series of presentations and updating more of the AutismWiki in parallel. I believe these resources will be helpful to students, over time. I started rewriting my manuscript, as well. It won’t take a lot of effort to adjust some things…
I have hated this summer. I resent the house because working on it causes way too much physical pain for too little progress. I hate using the sink in the bathroom, as it reminds me of the time and pain wasted on a sink that still isn’t to code. I…