Pre-Professional Days are hosted by my university for two days each semester. All education classes are cancelled so that future educators are able to attend the presentations.
This year, I attended a presentation by Kelly Jo Hadfield: “Understanding Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder.” Mrs. Hadfield is the mother to two young boys, both of whom have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). She spoke about how she and her husband found out that their first son had autism and the difficulties of mourning the life she dreamed of for him. She outlined how they came up with a care plan and had in-house help around the clock to help with her first son. She also spoke of the difficulties he experienced when their second son was born – their first son began to backslide. The words that he could speak began showing up less and less until they were no longer there.
It was brought to their attention by one of the speech therapists that came to their home to work with their first son, “Jay,” that their second son was showing red flags for ASD as well. Mrs. Hadfield explained during her presentation that at first she was shocked to hear this. She said that her second son was nothing like her first son. Then, she showed us a quote:
This was extremely powerful for her and it showed in her presentation. Mrs. Hadfield reiterated that autism is a spectrum and that it looks different for everyone.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates autism’s prevalence as 1 in 59 children in the United States – Mrs. Hadfield said that she has been doing this presentation for the past few years and that every year she has to change this number. Apparently, it has gone down since her last presentation.
Children with a sibling with ASD have a higher risk of also having ASD. Almost half of children identified with ASD have average or above average intellectual ability. Mrs. Hadfield reminded us that, while most people assume all people with ASD as “super intelligent” as she put it, there is in fact the other half who are not.
When the presentation was over, I was one of the 30 or so students that attended who was brave enough to ask a question. “What was one of the most helpful things teachers or staff in the district did to help your boys?” Mrs. Hadfield said that what helped immensely was teachers’ willingness to participate in transitioning her eldest son to his new school. They laid out a plan and had him visit his new school and teacher for the last few weeks of school last year. She said social stories also made and continue to make an incredible difference for him. One of the biggest things was acclimating him to a new routine, but they made sure to include as many of the same classmates in his new class and his aide was even transferred to the school with him.
In my future as an educator, I hope to assist students with ASD and their parents to ensure my students get the best education.
If you are interested in learning more about Mrs. Hadfield’s journey, please click here to visit her blog, The Next 25 Letters. Or, click here to visit her page on Twitter.
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Teach & Be Taught 
