Transcript Quotes from ‘Martian in the Playground’ – Clare Sainsbury

Quotes from ‘Martian in the Playground’ – Clare Sainsbury
There are emotional scars from all the years of teasing
that I endured. My self esteem suffered as a result.
As far as my teachers were concerned, I was bright but
perverse and lazy. My great mistake was in not being
mentally retarded.
I got hanged (with wire round the neck) and other kinds
of stuff what the staff called mild teasing. Someone
ejaculated over my trousers in front of the whole class.
I was comparatively lucky in that I was rarely hit.
Quote from Hans Asperger
Our knowledge of the great range of possible
outcomes and the clear dependence of
outcome on the quality of education
received…..
Gives us the right and the duty to speak out
for such children with the whole force of
our personality.
Quote from a Y10 pupil
Imagine walking on scorching hot sand in bare
feet…
Wearing itchy clothes…
Through two lines of people screaming at you…
In total darkness.
The anxiety, fear and physical pain this would cause needs to
be multiplied by 100 times to get near how courageous
some of our pupils have to be to get through each day.
Counselling
“A label lets a child know that their disability is not their fault; it lets them know that
their problem has a name; and it lets them know that there are others out there like
them”
“Only when it has been acknowledged that a child is genuinely different from others
and does have problems is it possible to go on to build a positive self image based
on acceptance and even celebration of differences”
“Accurate self understanding is vital if a child is to take control and learn how to
manage and work around their problems and make best use of their strengths”
“Many people with AS conclude as children that they must be stupid, crazy, retarded,
brain damaged, or that what is wrong with them must be so awful that no-one
would talk about it”
NAS 2000 ‘Inclusion and Autism – Is It Working’.
20% of children with autism are excluded
from school.
96% of adults with ASD are unemployed.
Generalisations
• Liking and need for routine
• Liking/need for repetition of what neurotypicals might
consider boring/mundane tasks.
• If happy – punctual and reliable.
• Coffee break of 15 minutes – will not take 16 minutes.
• Visual and memory skills in potentially key areas.
• Polite and respectful to customers and colleagues.
• Dislike of making mistakes.
• Will be at work despite having flu/broken leg.
• Will rigidly apply health and safety rules
‘Unlocking Potential’ – 2000. Employers Forum on
Disability.
• Disabled people are as productive and as reliable as any
other employees.
• In living their day to day lives, many disabled people
develop transferable problem solving skills that are
invaluable in the workplace.
• Disabled people in work tend to have better attendance
records, stay with employers for longer and have fewer
accidents at work.
• The spending power of disabled people and their families
in the UK is estimated at an annual £50 billion
NFER scores, predicated and actual GCSE grades for years 2001-2003
Av. NFER
score at Y7
5A– C
grades?
Overall
grades
expected
Actual GCSE grades 5 years
later
92.5
No
E
6 Cs and 1 B grade
74
No
X (no
grade)
2 Fs, 3 Es, 1 D and 1 C grade
82.5
No
F
4 Es, 2 Ds and 1 C grade
73
No
X
1 F, 3 Es, 2 Ds and 1 C grade
93
No
E
7 Cs and 1 B grade
108.5
Yes
C
1 D, 6 Cs and 1 B grade
85.5
No
F
4 Es, 2 Ds and 3 C grades