Autism Teacher Awareness

One of the main places that parents often get information regarding their child’s autism is through the child’s school, particularly through their child’s teacher. This makes sense since the teacher sees the child every day and can observe interactions in class, as well as communication and their level of work.

How, though, can teachers make an appropriate determination as to whether a child might have autism or not, and how can they discuss this with the child’s parents without taking a difficult conversation about a difficult situation and making the situation even worse?

A new program for teachers, developed by Autism Speaks, The Ad Council and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is being launched to help teachers with the issues involving autism.

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Autism and the Media

There is a lot of information on the motion picture scene that is swirling around the topic of autism and other mental health issues this week.

First, the organization supporting individuals with autism, Autism Speaks, is protesting the movie “Tropical Thunder” starring Ben Stiller and Robert Downey, Jr. The film, by DreamWorks, is about an actor who is playing the part of a soldier, but had previously had the role of an individual who had a mental disability. The character with the disability had been called Simple Jack, and the movie not only made light of that, but put labels on individuals dealing with these problems.

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