Barb Rentenbach

The presentation today was really informative and gave me a new perspective of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Barb Rentenbach and her book definitely changed my view of those with autism. She is very intelligent and had a lot of really great things to share with the audience. Barb believes that there are benefits to autism and that it adds to the diversity in our world. She also writes in her book that there is a flip side to every neurological coin and that autism is just a type of neurology.  I think that this is a very positive way to look at autism. Barb does not let her disability stop her from making a difference in our society. She believes that people should "find out who they are, and be that on purpose." I think that this is a great quote for everyone to live by.

After attending this presentation, I will take Barb's suggestion and focus on my students strengths. It is crucial for teachers to meet students where they are so that they can offer them an adequate education that will meet their needs. It is also important to keep in mind that there is no standard brain and that each student is unique in their own way. I will definitely work to get to know my students and how they learn.

Something else that I learned from Barb's SS, Lois,  was that she learns from the people that she serves. In order to help them, she finds out where there are comfortable and uses that information to reach out to them. I believe that this is another strategy that teachers need to take into consideration, not only when working with students who have autism, but for all of their students.

I acquired a lot of new information during the presentation and I believe that it was very relevant to the teaching profession. I am glad that I got to learn about Barb and her experiences and plan to learn more about autism and other disorders so that I can better serve my future students.