diversity

Learning from "From the Inside":
A Neurodiverse World

Paul Grobstein
August 2009

I've been thinking a lot this summer not only about my own story of myself but also about some general ways of thinking about ... selves, interpersonal relations, inquiry, humanity, and our relation to the universe.  Central to all is has been the notion of "looping," a recurrent and infinitely extended process in which existing structures and forms interact with each other and with an underlying persistent randomness to generate new structures and forms.    

I found that Allison's lesson was interesting. I'm not a biology person, so having a lesson that was grounded in my life experiences was a welcolmed change. Since I'm teaching kindergarten this year I will have to mofify the lesson.  In the beginning of the year I will ask them to draw of picture of what they want to do in school. I will then ask them to draw a picture of what scares them about school. I then want them to draw of picture of what they want me to do in school.  I will then ask them to share their pictures in a group and I will walk around discussing their pictures with the kids. Afterwards I will bring them to the floor and with volunteers, create a chart recording children ideas about their pictures. Finally, I will summarize the leasson and chart.

Living Life

Suggestions from the group: Bob Dylan (Chronicles), Ramachandran (New Yorker article, others?), Oliver Sacks (Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood), Joseph Heller (Catch-22)

I'd like to add: Donna Williams - she has a series of autobiographies about her experiences living with autism, including vivid descriptions of her inner world. Titles include: Nobody Nowhere, Somebody Somewhere, Like Color to the Blind, and Everday Heaven.