Jeremy's Blog

WTC

Do not mistake the title for World Trade Center. In this post, it means Workforce and Technology Center. The Workforce and Technology Center is a school in eastern Baltimore for those with disabilities who have graduated or are close to graduating like me; I did some testing there last week from Monday through Thursday.

There are plenty of things to do there. There is a canteen with lots of vending machines; a recreational area with pool tables, a ping pong table, and a fuse ball table; a bowling alley; a swimming pool; a court yard; and plenty of dorm rooms (many students spend the night there).

I can't describe everything that I did there, but there are a few things that I remember. Most of the tests were on paper and a few were on the computer. I even got to use a version of auto CAD. Tests included English, Math, and 2D and 3D shapes. My results should come in a few weeks.

If you are interesting in receiving testing, you can apply with the department of education division of rehabilitation services (DORS). http://www.dors.state.md.us/dors. you can receive testing as early as sixteen years of age.

Job Interview

   

    One of the things that Temple Grandin suggests is to go and interview those with a job that you might be interested in. I got to do just that this Wednesday with a man named Mark Neely. My family has known the Neely's since they came to our church. It wasn't long ago when I learned that Mark had a job designing ventilation systems in large buildings.

    When I was there, I got to see some of the plans for a building that is under construction. Many of the plans were in complex schematic drawings. I did my best to understand them but most of the time I couldn't figure them out. I bet I could understand them even more if I had more time to study them. We also discussed a few different types of furnaces while I was there and how the ventilation systems and air conditioners worked. He told me how your body releases heat and how water can cool you down after a shower.

    When water evaporates off your body after a shower, it takes along your body heat and cools you down. The same goes for perspiration. The watery oily substance that makes up your sweat also absorbs heat and evaporates. You can also do the same with an air conditioner. A specific model sprays water into the big chamber inside and collects heat. The propeller at the top blows all the heat out and it becomes cooler inside. Designing ventilation systems involves drafting. This information will probably help me in the future.

     I also got to show him my interest in the highway department. I had a plan for an interstate that ran from Rochester, New York to Calias, Maine. To me, it was pretty clever, probably would make a decent portfolio. I really enjoyed spending time with Mr. Neely. I'm glad he made time to meet with me.

Developing Talents: Do what you do best.

    When choosing a job, choose one that matches how your mind works. If you are a visual thinker, like Temple Grandin, you can translate words into pictures in your mind; the same works for me; I can visualize things in my head. For example, I could visualize the 1986 Baseball World Series game 6 error in my mind as well as the audio ("So the winning run is on second base with two outs,..."). This is the kind of thing that a visual mind can do.

    Temple Grandin explains in this book that she stores information in video form in her long-term memory that she can pull out whenever needed. The same can go for me. Short-term memory, however, can be a whole lot different. A visual thinker like Temple Grandin might have quite an overload when it comes to multitasking. Grandin categorizes the specialized minds into three categories: Visual, Math, and Verbal minds. You probably understand visual minds; music/math brains are obvious too; verbal minds are more "wordly", as so to say (reference to Wordly Wise). Grandin said that they had a knack for lists and numbers.

    My mind could be categorized as a visual, math brain. I can understand mathematical equations and am good with chemistry. However, I also have a visual mind as explained above. I can also be categorized as verbal as well; I am learning Spanish and Dr. Grandin states that those with verbal minds would be a good translator.

    The next thing Grandin says in this chapter is to follow your talents. However, she also reminds you to be practical; some degrees won't be enough for lots of jobs. Majors like history, political science, or math will not be the best choice for you because you won't find many jobs that require just those degrees. Grandin also talks about your social skills. Your boss may tolerate social skills if their not the best, depending on how good you are as an employee.They, however, won't tolerate poor politeness or grooming.

    In an economy like this, education is the highest value. Though you might be out of school, you will always learn new things. Life is full of learning; get used to it:)

Trip to Houston

    My dad wanted me to write about a trip to Houston that I went to; so I decided to tell you. It actually contains a few things that can help you become more independent.

    On Friday, February 19th, I went on a direct flight to Houston, TX by myself! My mom figured that this could help me become more independent. My dad had a special Southwest credit card; when he earned a specific amount of credits (credits are determined by the amount of money spent using the card), he'd get a Southwest ticket to anywhere he wants. Dad used three that he had earned on himself, my brother Drew, and myself.

    During my visit, I went with my dad and my brother as well as dad's friend Dan and his family (we stayed at his house during our visit.) and went to the Johnson Space Center ("Houston, we have a problem":). Apparently, there is a planet walk there just like there is in the National Mall in Washington DC. The visitor's center had a simulator where you could land a space shuttle like the Challenger in 1986 (I'm referring to just the shuttle design.). Apparently, that shuttle was named "Discovery".

    Another thing I did there was go to my dad's cousin, Lyndsey's wedding on Sunday, February 21st, the same day as my girlfriend, Amber's birthday. Lyndsey married a man named Joshua and I caught the garter. When they photographed me next to Joshua, I didn't know where it was supposed to go, so I put it on my arm.

    A lot of relatives of my dad's were there. Including a few of his aunts and uncles. One of dad's cousins is a cheerleader of the New Orleans Saints (they won the Super Bowl this year and you can see her in the video:), however, she did not come to the wedding:(). The bride, Lyndsey, was my dad's aunt Bonnie's oldest daughter. A few of my second cousins were there as well. There were only five out of eleven people in the official Pedneau family that were not at the wedding: my mom, my sister, my uncle Mike's two sons, and his wife, Randa.

    I flew by myself on the return home to be greeted by my mother. I had a great time in Houston. Before I finish I'd like to let you think about something. Would you be able to fly to and from somewhere all by yourself?

Temple Grandin Movie

Just recently, a movie came out about Temple Grandin, about how she was different from most people. It showed a few brief scenes scattered in the movie about how she can think. For example, there was one time when someone mentioned animal husbandry and she thought of a cow getting married; it, however, lasted only about two seconds. Some parts of the movie give out some important information too, like about her childhood.

To me, I think this gives a great example about how her autism works, both the good and the bad. This movie will probably make Dr. Grandin even more famous. Temple Grandin is definitely a great example of a successful person with autism, not to mention one of the most famous individuals with autism. This movie should be shown to anyone with, or without, ASD whether mother or child.

On the photo above, you see Temple Grandin on the left, and actor, Claire Danes who played the part of Temple Grandin in the movie, on the right.

Self-Advocating

Self-advocating is very important for anyone, especially those on the autism spectrum. It is harder for those on the autism spectrum to self-advocate. There was one time when I had self-advocated, which proves that those with ASD can self-advocate.

My school uses a payroll system. This system is sort of like a social skills grading system. If the student is good, they earn dollars (Harbour Dollars); if not, then they do not. I didn’t like this system; it felt to me like I was always lugging around my imperfection.  I told one of my mentors, Dr. Lescht, that I wanted the payroll system abolished. Yet, the payroll system was one of the school’s customs so it would be impossible to abolish it. One of the students had a system where he didn’t look at his payroll. They gave this option to me and I accepted it; in addition, I suggested that every one of my teachers would keep track of my payroll during the week and I wouldn’t carry it around all the time. They agreed to this compromise. My case manager now goes over it with me at the end of the week which I don’t like, but it’s better than having to carry my payroll around all the time.

As you can see, this was one of the times where I self-advocated and got something that helped me and the school. Has there ever been a time when your children have had to advocate for themselves?

Developing Talents Part III

Emotions are very hard to control for those with ASD.

Losing ones temper can be frightening to colleagues; it won't be tolerated for long. Temple Grandin learned this numerous times in her past. She switched emotions from anger to crying. Crying is tolerable at work, but intense anger is not.

Exercising can help anyone reduce stress; it also soothes the nervous system and helps you focus.

Avoid discussing personal topics in the workplace. Things like sex, religion, and politics are a few of those topics.

If you want to use medication to help you in the workplace, take it very seriously. If you take too high of a dose, it could cause agitation, aggression, and insomnia-which would be one of the first notable symptoms.

Social skills are very important in the workplace. Be careful on how you would criticize someone; don't be rude or blunt. You could talk to them about what they’re doing and maybe they might see the problem that you would want to tell them about.

Talented people can get away with eccentricity, but they can’t get away with poor grooming. People should know their hygiene not only in the workplace but in their home as well.

Gossiping is something you should not do in the workplace. It is very disrespectful to whoever it is you’re talking about. If it is your boss, it could get you fired.

A change of boss can be very stressful. Your previous employer who might’ve liked your talent could leave the company and a strict employer could take his/her place. It could make employee’s lives miserable in the workplace or even get them fired.

This can apply to anyone, not just those on the spectrum. I know someone who has experienced this and it is very stressful for him.

Finally, plan a daily structure. What's important to you in life? What do you plan to achieve in life? What are your goals? If you were to organize your workplace label them A,B, and C from most relevant to most irrelevant.

These things will help those with disabilities more easily enter the workplace. But there is still a whole lot more for me to talk about. My next post will talk about rules for success.

Easing into the Workplace Part II

This is part two of the summary of Chapter Two of Temple Grandin's book Developing Talents.

Tactile sensitivities can be noticed by parents. This is one of the first things parents can notice with children with ASD. Children with this sensitivity are usually diagnosed by age two or three. Tactile sensitivity can include the parent hugging their child and not get hugged back. The child would push away because the sensation was too much for that child. Temple Grandin had this sensitivity when she was a girl.

Scratchy clothes and collar tags can distract those with this sensitivity. Make sure clothing is comfortable to any of you. This could probably mean cutting off the tags of shirts or wearing underwear inside out. There are other ways to make them comfortable as well. In a job, they should be stationed on the perimeter so they can be out of the way of other workers.

Nasal sensitivity, those sensitive to smell, can be distracting. in a hypothetical situation, you could be sitting next to someone with a strong perfume or cologne at a meeting. All you would think about would be the odor of that perfume or cologne and you couldn't concentrate on the meeting. You also could be nauseated by simpler odors like lotion, strong foods like garlic, and bad breath. Temple Grandin suggests chewing gum; cinnamon or peppermint flavors can float around your nose blocking undesired odors. You can also find air fresheners to put in your workplace. Scented candles aren't allowed in the workplace for safety reasons.

I'll talk about anger management, meds., and social skills in my next posts.

Easing Into the Workplace Part I

This is a summary on Chapter Two of Temple Grandin's book on Developing Talents.

Everyone has a sensory system; it helps the body keep in a state of equilibrium in this very complex world of ours. In a neurotypical person, the nervous system sends information smoothly to and from the brain. In someone with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the smoothness is roughened, metaphorically speaking. The sensory system has problems and things aren't run the way they should. This can cause sensory issues in certain parts of the body.

Some people with ASD have sound sensitivity; this is common to many with ASD. When I was a child, I had sound sensitivity. Things like fireworks, a fire alarm, and the ocean roar were too much for me. Nowadays, sound sensitivity causes me to become distracted. I might hear my brother watch a television show and I would want to watch with him.

Visual sensitivity is another problem with people with autism. Temple Grandin says that the biggest problem for those with visual sensitivity is fluorescent lighting. Fluorescent lights flicker about once per second and is usually unnoticed by neurotypicals; those with visual problems can't take it; it would drive them crazy. I don't have this kind of visual sensitivity. My family owned a Windows 98 ten years ago and I don't ever remember seeing the screen flicker. TV monitors have fluorescent lighting in them as well. Those with visual sensitivity should get a flat screen monitor or a laptop for they don't flicker as much.

I'll explain tactile and nasal sensitivity in my next post.

Developing Talents Part II

Temple Grandin talks about autism spectrum disorders. As she mentioned earlier, Grandin tells us that many people with autism don't have a job, or are underemployed. But those with autism can be able to get a job if they use their talents to their advantage and challenge their disadvantages. People on the autism continuum can be a brilliant scientist, or a non-verbal individual. I've always had trouble getting off electronics and doing it in a positive attitude. I am considerably "hypnotized" by these games, but they're fun. I have been trying to get out of the "spell" that is hypnotizing me. My mom is even hooked to the computer and she also is trying to break it. It doesn't hypnotize me when I am doing these posts for you.

Temple Grandin tells you the possibilities of how autism is formed; we are not quite sure. According to research, the brains of those with autism have abnormal underdevelopment in the limbic system that is the center of emotions. In the frontal cortex, there is uncontrolled overgrowth of neuron. These brain abnormalities cause many of the autistic symptoms. However, memory storage is normal, this might explain the great memory of those with autism have. The Autism Society of America predicts by 2014, about 4 million Americans with have some form of autism. Autism appears at the same rate no matter where you are in the world; four times as many boys have it than girls.

There are many challenges that people with autism face. Problems with social skills; difficulty in carrying conversations; receptive speech, not being able to speak, or speak properly; obsession with rituals; sensory problems; fine- and gross-motor difficulties, klutzy, uncoordinated; understanding thoughts and facial expression; tantrums, even in situations when the world seems too overwhelming; theory of mind, telling about boring subjects to others that are interesting to you; anxiety; and depression. My next post will be about the sensory system and how to ease into the workplace.