Maya Angelou Adversity

Irabina is delighted to announce that Jeanette Purkis will join with Professor Temple Grandin and Tim Sharp to provide on Saturday November 21st in Melbourne.

Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4th, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1931, after her parents’ divorce, Angelou and her older brother, Bailey, moved to Stamps Arkansas to live with their paternal grandmother, Mrs. Annie Henderson, and her crippled uncle, Willie. Their family resided in the living quarters attached to the back of the small store that they owned. As a young African American girl, Angelou experienced harsh racism and discrimination while in Stamps (Angelou, Maya).

Discover Magazine wrote, “Temple Grandin has probably done more to improve the welfare of animals at the point of slaughter than any human alive.” Grandin was born with autism, a common disease with no known cure. Grandin was discouraged from an early age with her father wanting to put her in a mental institution (“Biography”). Grandin currently gives speeches around the country about her life and autism, autism also has many symptoms which makes it hard for everyday life.

“The speed of your success is limited only by your dedication and what you’re willing to sacrifice.” - Nathan W. Morris The common author’s purpose found in all of the pieces of nonfiction literature we studied in this unit is dedication. The definition of dedication is to devote wholly and earnestly to a certain person or purpose. This trait is important to the people studied in this unit because of the way they all were committed to their cause and determined to follow through despite great obstacles and challenges that may get in the way. Similarly, dedication is seen in our world through the way an individual strives to continue with a common purpose or cause because they believe in it fully and completely.

I was in elementary school when my youngest brother, Dominic, was born. The first two years of his life were filled with the average toddler developments: first words, first steps, first day of preschool. Now, almost a decade later, it is hard to remember when the shift happened in him—my mother used to tell me that it was like the light suddenly went out of his eyes. When my brother, Dominic, was diagnosed with Autism, my family and I were introduced into a whole new world that showed us how beautiful difference can be.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) a complex effect in brain development has limited many from having the opportunity to live a healthy, normal and stress free life. Today, the pervasiveness of ASD in society has gained momentum. The article, The Epidemiology of Autism Spectrum Disorder, by Newschaffer et al claims that it is “second only to mental retardation as the most common serious developmental disabilities in the United States (2006, p. 21.2).” In an objective but yet deliberate tone, this scientific article states that those who were born with this neurodevelopmental disorder lack skills in social interactions, communication and possess a limited and reoccurring pattern in behavior. The word “spectrum” in ASD refers to the wide range of

In the early 1990s, an educational treatment program was spreading like wildfire all over the U.S. and Canada. This program, known as facilitated communication, promised to revolutionize the way people treated debilitating conditions such as autism and profound mental retardation. The idea behind facilitated communication was that many people with autism or severe mental retardation actually possess normal levels of intelligence. The problem, advocates of facilitated communication argued, is that these conditions simply prevent people from expressing themselves (because of verbal or motor deficits). If you could read the mind of a person with severe autism, the argument went, you would discover a person who could read at a high level, express sophisticated emotions, and even write a touching essay about the pain and isolation of living with autism.

We live in a modern era: one that allows us to learn about and accept personal disabilities and limitations that were previously hidden from the public or even institutionalized. In Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, a fifteen-year old boy named

Autistic teens will often get discouraged in school, because the abnormality of their behavior which leads others to believe that they are incapable of learning--if this has not convinced the person themselves. One autistic teen has spoken out about this very behavior at school, “ I thought I was stupid, because I was always getting bad grades, doing dumb stuff, or freaking out in a panic attack”(Understanding Our Gifted and Complex). The person goes on about the details of his school life, even stating that regardless of his high IQ score and his exceptional reading skills that surpassed his upperclassman, his class--including himself--thought of him as a fool. Although this teen is lucky enough to have his family's support during this ordeal

The idea of starting The Imagine Beyond Foundation was conceived in my room one fine November evening. The thought of creating a non-profit organization first seemed crazy to my three other peers. However, when my brother noticed I didn’t have the slightest smile on my face, or hint of sarcasm, he took out his laptop. The search for a worthy beneficiary led to our first visit to the Autism Treatment Center (ATC) of Dallas. We were welcomed by a pleasantly decorated sitting room with origami irises and paper mache dolls. When we asked about the décor, the director, Dr. Garver, replied, “Oh that was our art project last Friday. The kids loved it!“ Dr. Garver introduced us to several children with autism who told me their names, ages, and favorite colors. But what struck me the most

“Nothing will work unless you do” (Maya Angelou). That’s exactly what she did having titles such as civil rights activist, poet, memoirist, actress, and screenwriter. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and has plays, movies, and television shows. Maya Angelou received several awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. She is also known for her famous poem I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, expressing her feelings about her early life. She had a hard life and overcame her struggle and became a very influential person to so many people including me.

When thinking about what Sue Monk Kidd wrote in her novel she was right about how hard it is to find something that truly matters to you. But when I considered it further I found that I’ve always known what mattered to me and that is helping the autism community. My brother was diagnosed with autism at the age of eighteen months, and his disability has opened my eyes and made me realize that you cannot judge people. The reason this matters to me is that I’ve grown up experiencing societies judgment of these children. The major problem I see is that we as a society judge people too quickly. If people stopped and tried to understand someone beyond what they initially perceive then they would be less judgmental. If they stopped to understand someone

Autism is known as a disorder of the neural development of a person, which is routinely defined by both impeded communication and social interaction. It is also characterized by behavior that is both repetitive as well as restrictive. All of these signs of autism can be observed in people when they are still very young, usually before the age of 3. This disorder has a reputation for impacting how the brain processes information through changing how both nerve cells as well as their synapses associate and get organized. Because of the aforementioned problems that stem from autism, it is a disorder that clearly creates a lot of lifestyle dilemmas for the person who has to endure this disorder.

It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.

Today’s world presses in on us from every side, with various noises, actions, and sensations all vying for our attention. For most people, the task of filtering through these stimulations becomes an unconscious daily action. For people with autism, though, it becomes a “shrieking, blinding hurricane of sensory acid rain” that never stops tormenting them (Notbohm 7). Author Ellen Notbohm illustrates the complexity and stress of living with autism as like leading a meeting, teaching a class, writing a report, cleaning the house, and acting as a dinner guest all at the same time as riding on the world’s wildest roller coaster (7). Indeed, children and adults with autism daily wrestle with altered sensory