Celebrating Autism Awareness Month 2020 A Spectrum of Stories
Autism Awareness Month kicks off with World Autism Awareness Day (link)
to raise awareness that people around the world live, go to school and go to work with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. At UMBC, we works with students and employees who seek academic accommodations through Student Disability Services (link), as well as work-related accommodations via Accessibility & Disability Services. We are not unique, and some employers have specialized programs including Freddie Mac (link), Microsoft (link), as well as Ernst & Young, in addition to requesting job accommodations generally.

While there is a CDC Fact Sheet on Autism linked here, we can take note of UMBC alum Melanie Wiley's journey from diagnosis during medical school to Autism Advocate (link) and  from those who have the experience:

Temple Grandin shares that The World Needs All Kinds of Minds (link)
Ethan Lisi shares What It's Really Like to Have Autism
Rosie King shares How Autism Freed Her to Be Herself
Faith Jegede Cole shares What She Has Learned From Her Autistic Brothers

Research on Autism is ongoing, such as what Wendy Chung explains here (link), however, like most people who have been diagnosed are seeking dignity, respect and inclusion within their families, schools, workplace and community.  Take a journey with Steve Silberman to learn of The Forgotten History of Autism.

Additional Autism-focused media for home viewing during these COVID-19 Stay at Home Days include:  Please Stand By, My Name is Khan, Temple Grandin, The Imitation Game, A Brilliant Young Mind, Rain Man, Ocean Heaven, The Lighthouse of Orcas, Marathon, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Atypical, Autism in Love, The Horse Boy, as well as Life, Animated. Please consult online resources such as IMDB or Common Sense Media for brief plot descriptions, ratings, and suitable viewing ages if there are children who may view them with you.


Photo of You Belong Here Sign by Allie Smith on Unsplash
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In our post-9/11 experience, we have more people, including more veterans, who have survived traumatic events and are navigating life with a disability.  Here are two examples:

Life with an invisible disability:  Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder:  https://youtu.be/XFBlfzVveao *

Life after an injury: https://youtu.be/igIkKmMzuS4 *

Both videos include the journey from "before" to their current lived experience, including family caregiver perspectives.  Some of the experiences are similar for people who have survived trauma resulting in disability, such as being hit by a car as a pedestrian.  Both videos include people who may come to a campus for academic, work, and event purposes. What are the strategies they use to be successful that might work at UMBC?

Find support and ask for help.

When an incoming or current undergraduate or graduate student is working with a licensed health care professional (including VA providers) accommodations for academic life are requested through Student Disability Services: https://sds.umbc.edu.  The student accommodation process is available online through the website and is described here:  https://sds.umbc.edu/accommodations/registering-with-sds/

Students seeking local support can reach out to the Counseling Center and University Health Services

Employees with disabilities may also request work-related accommodations.  The process is available here: https://accessibility.umbc.edu/employee-accommodation-request/

For others who might want to help - the person with a disability takes the lead with asking for accommodation as a matter of respect and dignity. They are students and employees here because they have the qualifications for the role.  Accommodations are handled confidentially, so it is entirely possible that a classmate, workmate or a bystander might be the nth person to offer unsolicited advice for something that is well-covered.  How new is the person to their health condition? How new are they to UMBC? Is this related to your role with the person with a disability?  How new is a potential ally to working with someone with a disability?  This linked video helps those who are very new to engaging with people with disabilities. Do what you would do with anyone on campus: be present, listen, and reflect before acting, and ask the person involved. If it's a technical question, the disability professionals on campus are only a phone call away: 410-455-2459 or 410-455-5745.


Self-Care

Self-care on campus can include a variety of activities that are part of the UMBC Wellness Initiative: https://wellness.umbc.edu/  and are available to people of all abilities.  Some activities include taking a Zumba or Yoga class, as well as using the weight room or going for a swim at the RAC (the pools have lifts).  Taking a walk around the loop or on the CERA trail. Accessing resources through the Counseling Center, such as the Mind Spa is an option. 

Connecting with people who know the journey, including successes and struggles, can also be a part of self-care.  UMBC Student Veterans have more information and resources on their website:  https://veterans.umbc.edu/

Getting busy with other people can also help, and there are several service and social action student organizations listed here for joining or volunteering:  https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/studentorgs including Retrievets some are  health-related such as Red Cross and UMBC-NAMI, and much, much more. Just like they say on the airplane, take care of your own oxygen first.


Take good care, all!


As a community that cares, accessibility concerns, may be reported here:  https://accessibility.umbc.edu/report-campus-accessibility-concern/  If it is a repair, call it in to Work Control first: 410-455-2550, as they coordinate sending out the repairpersons.

*Both videos are from Sesame Street in the Community resources and are accessible for adults.  Their work is here:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuEgW3r4ytXwd9UfQySv_Nw and includes many, many videos that often involve muppets
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Going back to school can spark both excitement and stress, as students navigate social circles and workload. For 21-year-old college student Ben Rolnick, who suffers from severe social anxiety, meeting new people and facilitating conversation present a challenge -- but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t think they’re worth it. Rolnick offers his brief but spectacular take on seeking acceptance here:

https://youtu.be/mOHngOg-w_4

Three minute video is courtesy of PBS Newshour, 

It's Welcome Week, and this video is a great reminder that all students want to be genuinely welcomed and accepted, so put your best self out there!


While there are resources:  

Student Disability Services for academic accommodations in Math/Psychology 212 and online at sds.umbc.edu

The Counseling Center is near Erickson Field and online at counseling.umbc.edu

We co-create the campus community, so take a note from this student and bring openness and acceptance to Welcome Week, and embrace the awkward of new beginnings. Happy New School Year UMBC!


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