A former Cal State Fullerton President's Scholar is set to release a new children's book this summer allowing readers to gain a better understanding and appreciation for children with autism. Joanna Keating-Velasco will be releasing her second book, titled "In His Shoes - A Short Journey Through Autism" this summer.
This children's book is set apart from other books because the main character has autism. The book provides an inside into the thoughts of the main character as he transitions from elementary school into middle school. This is often a climatic change for any child. By reading this book, children will be more comfortable around other children who happen to be autistic, Keating-Velasco said.
"People with autism are people that are looking for a communication tool," Keating-Velasco said.
She said she wrote the new book for kids in grades four through six because she wanted to educate them on how to properly interact with kids with autism.
Keating-Velasco felt helpless when she saw other kids on the playground could not interact with her students. At least 94 percent of children with autism experience some form of being bullied at school, she said.
Keating-Velasco began advocating for autism awareness two years ago after she returned to George Key School in Placentia, where she works as an instructional aid for children with autism.
Having no previous experience with the brain disorder, Keating-Velasco spent many hours in the library researching the complex issues involved with autism and Asperger's Syndrome. As she found herself immersed in a world with autism, she decided to stay to expand her efforts to help educate people on how best to interact with people with autism.
"When something hits you, you want to share it with everyone," she said.
Autism is a spectrum disorder, which means that it effects each individual differently and to varying degrees. Those with the more severe forms of autism are nonverbal and are often mistaken to have no intellect, Keating-Velasco said. Those on the less severe side of the spectrum have what is called Asperger's Syndrome. People with the syndrome can go all the way to adulthood before being diagnosed because their symptoms are minor and mistaken as behavioral problems instead of a medical condition.
Autism effects people's ability to interact with others because they are missing the "social rulebook," Keating-Velasco said. Autism effects an individuals ability to utilize multiple senses causing a sensory overload that often results in what is often labeled as odd behavior.
These behavioral acts, such as hand-flapping or rocking, are just a couple of the many different ways in which people with autism calm themselves down, Keating-Velasco said.
We all have such behavioral patterns that have been accepted by society, such as tapping our feet or biting our fingernails, Keating-Velasaco said.
Keating-Velasco's first book on children with autism was released last year. "A is for Autism, F is for Friend," has been nominated for the 2008 Autism Society of America Outstanding Literary Work of the Year.
There are students with Asperger's Syndrome who are highly functional, John Douglas Liverpool, Learning Disability/Mental Health Specialist with the Office of Disabled Students Services, said in an e-mail interview.
Students at CSUF who feel they may have had this disorder misdiagnosed need to consult with a psychiatrist or psychologist off-campus for evaluation. Students diagnosed with the disorder are provided certain accommodations based on the functional limitations associated with their specific case, Liverpool said.
The Director of Disabled Student Services, Paul Miller, said the number of students at CSUF has increased the last several years as national levels in the diagnoses of autism increases.
The university does not have the resources to customize academic programs for students with the disorder. There are several universities in the U.S. that do offer customized courses for students with the disorder, Miller said. It is made clear to parents that their children with the spectrum disorder should enroll at CSUF only if they are highly functional and independent, Miller said.
The university does not have any official statistics on how many students with the disorder are enrolled because student enrollment with the office of Disabled Student Services is voluntary. Miller estimates that there may be as many as two dozen students with the disorder on campus. There are many students with the disorder who may feel comfortable with their abilities and do not require any assistance, Miller said.
