Autism Spectrum Disorder and Educational Funding Cuts
As a parent, sending your child out in to the world is scary. Kids can be mean and there isn’t always a prudent adult nearby to help them. If your child is Autistic and can react violently, it gets even scarier.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has a very large range of symptoms and challenges. The whole world is a learning environment for children with ASD. But what may be logical and navigable for you and I may be a mysterious challenge to a child on the spectrum.
Two challenges stand out:
· Monitoring emotional state in self (and others as well as)
· Understanding social cues from others
Errors in these two areas often end up in verbal or physical fights especially among young children
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has a very large range of symptoms and challenges. The whole world is a learning environment for children with ASD. But what may be logical and navigable for you and I may be a mysterious challenge to a child on the spectrum.
Two challenges stand out:
· Monitoring emotional state in self (and others as well as)
· Understanding social cues from others
Errors in these two areas often end up in verbal or physical fights especially among young children
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is on the rise. In the last 10 years identified children have more than doubled. (see graphic)
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Data & Statics the prevalence of ASD is about 1 in 68 children, occurs in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups, and is almost 5 times more common among boys (1 in 42) than girls (1 in 189). (CDC, 2014)
With funding being cut to public schools, reducing the number of support staff readily available to high functioning students with social interaction challenges, Virtual Angel is a great way to provide digital support to these students who may otherwise fall between the cracks of an overburdened system.
Blatant and critical problems stand in the way of learning. While students who are categorized as ‘high functioning’ may not seem like a blatant and critical problem to schools, they are to parents who see their child not getting the assistance they need. It is these children who are not supported in stressful social situations that end up being a behaviour problem or categorized as a bully. They end up receiving suspensions as consequences or even getting expelled as a result of a condition they are not able to manage independently and are not receiving support for, permanently hurting that child’s access to education. There is also the risk that the school has not intervened before another innocent student could be harmed. This could adversely affect the careers of other students and staff.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Data & Statics the prevalence of ASD is about 1 in 68 children, occurs in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups, and is almost 5 times more common among boys (1 in 42) than girls (1 in 189). (CDC, 2014)
With funding being cut to public schools, reducing the number of support staff readily available to high functioning students with social interaction challenges, Virtual Angel is a great way to provide digital support to these students who may otherwise fall between the cracks of an overburdened system.
Blatant and critical problems stand in the way of learning. While students who are categorized as ‘high functioning’ may not seem like a blatant and critical problem to schools, they are to parents who see their child not getting the assistance they need. It is these children who are not supported in stressful social situations that end up being a behaviour problem or categorized as a bully. They end up receiving suspensions as consequences or even getting expelled as a result of a condition they are not able to manage independently and are not receiving support for, permanently hurting that child’s access to education. There is also the risk that the school has not intervened before another innocent student could be harmed. This could adversely affect the careers of other students and staff.