Printer-friendly versionSarah had a strange way about her. She would focus so completely on whatever she was reading that she seemed oblivious to the world around her. However, when the volume in the room reached a certain level, she would burst out with a screaming plea at her classmates to be quiet. “I can’t take anymore of this noise,” she’d yell. At other times, she made loud exclamations to no one in particular. “My mom makes great cinnamon rolls,” she announced one day while unpacking her materials.
Classmates would raise their eyebrows, equally confused and surprised. This girl with the anime books had a hard time writing the smallest paragraphs, and yet could speak aloud more eloquently than most of her peers. How was it she could easily synthesize the main concepts of lessons she didn’t seem to be paying attention to? Why didn’t she talk directly to anyone? One day she gave her own explanation.
Someone asked her a question out of my earshot. All of a sudden I hear Sarah’s unmistakably emphatic voice say, “I have Asperger’s."
The other children twittered at the funny-sounding name. Sarah wasn’t fazed.
“What’s that?” somebody asked.
“It means I relate to adults better than to my peers,” she said, explaining one common characteristic of children with the syndrome.
The other children were quiet and respectful as they processed the new information. They had noticed that she didn’t interact with other students much. Now they understood that there was a reason for that. I was grateful to her for sharing.
Sharing is the key. People can’t hope to understand mental health issues if they have never learned about them. Sarah’s willingness to share her perspective helped my students build empathy, and the result was a more tolerant culture in our classroom.
What if it was as easy to talk about Asperger’s syndrome as it is to discuss diabetes? It would help break down the stigma, making school a more comfortable place for students on the autism spectrum, and for their classmates trying to understand them. The way to make it easier to talk about, like most things, is just to do it. Bring it up. Don’t shy away from conversations. We can incorporate information on mental health into an English unit, or initiate the discussion with a journaling exercise.
It is great when students feel comfortable sharing their specific circumstances regarding mental health; the whole class benefits, certainly. But we have to take our share of the responsibility, and teach mental health awareness throughout the year. We can (and should!) discuss the spectrum of autism, depression, and any conditions that we know to be affecting students in our communities. No specific names need be mentioned. Kids will gain awareness and be more likely to react in a peaceful way when they encounter a classmate living with a mental health issue.
Sarah was brave enough to share her story with my class, but not all students are. We must do our part.
Craven is a middle school English teacher in Louisiana.
Comments
Thanks for sharing an article
Thanks for sharing an article about people with differences. It is a needed perspective that we should incorporate conversations about people and who they are in healthy open ways within the safety of the classroom. If we accept each other, then the conversation can help explore positive ways of encouraging more acceptance.
I would be even more supportive of having conversations where we use the word "differences" instead of looking through a lens which evaluates "health" or its opposite, disease. So many children, and adults, have a range of behaviors and capacities and it seems far more productive to put aside assigning "normal" or "not normal" to anyone and instead look at everyone on a large number of continuums of differences. Then, no one is still "not healthy" but just working at making the most of his or herself.
As educators, isn't that one of the goals? To help each student become all that he or she can be in the ways that he or she values seems a worthy goal for any classroom and any school.
Sharing is relieving.Sarah
Sharing is relieving.Sarah did not hesitate to share her predicament with classmates and that
helped to create an atmosphere of empathy ( thankfully , not sympathy ) in the class.Teachers,
as suggested by the writer Carries Craven, too need to play a parental role.A word of appreciation goes to Carrie Craven for sharing the incident with " whomsoever it may concern".
-- and it should concern all.
Prof.(Mr.)Suhas Patwardhan ( 60)
M.A. ( English literature, 1976 )
University of Bombay
Freelance Journalist
MUMBAI - I N D I A.
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While I appreciate the
While I appreciate the sentiment here, I was surprised to see Asperger's
described as a "mental health issue." Asperger's is not a mental illness but
a neurological and developmental disorder.
As a classroom teacher for 15 years, I work hard to teach children that
everyone is unique with different strengths and struggles. This is no
different for a child with Asperger's than a child who is dyslexic or a child
that struggles to sit quietly in class meetings. In this framework, in a
respectful community, we have no difficulties helping children to support one
another in areas which challenge them.
I was just about to comment
I was just about to comment the same thing. My son has Asperger's and he does NOT have a mental disorder. But, I do appreciate the article and enjoyed reading this viewpoint. My son shares his Asperger's at every opportunity. He also seeks out others with Asperger's. If he meets someone he likes, he automatically assumes they have Asperger's. (Why else would they be cool, right?)
I apologize for any offense
I apologize for any offense my word choice has caused. After reading your comments, I checked myself and wondered if I should pursue a retraction. Had I mis-labeled a condition I know very little about? After doing a small bit of internet research, I realized that I do feel justified describing Asperger's as a mental health issue simply because it is a condition that affects the brain. I understand your concern, of course, and certainly would share a sense of frustration if someone misrepresented a fact about my child.
That said, my hope is that any condition, neurological, psychological, physiological or otherwise, is treated with respect. To do this we must refrain from stigmatizing any one of them.