Aspies For Freedom

Probably a good idea, but the picture I get in my head of hordes of little AS kids trying to be social with each other....oh boy

There's an excellent school in my town for AS kids -- Amy posted about it last year:

http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/showthread.php?tid=3649

Who here hasn't had the Hogwarts fantasy, or had thoughts of "If I had to go through childhood all over again, what would I want different?"  (I'd definitely want to be an aspie again, but I'd want to learn and grow in a less hostile environment, and where parents and teachers are ready and knowledgeable for the trials and tribulations, like an existential crisis at age eight.)

It would have to be a private school.  I'm afraid if it were a public school, it might get relegated to second-class "special school" status with all the stigma that goes with that.  Maybe it could be a magnet school.  I don't know.  Whatever it is, it has to be a place of prestige, making its students feel special in a good way.

A real library with real books?  Absolutely!  (My best memories of graduate school are of working in the campus library.)

The teachers:  For the recruiting, look for retiring engineers, scientists, doctors, lawyers, etc. who want to be able to do something important in their retirement (to the point of having a second career).  And of course, whenever possible, get the ones who are aspies themselves.  Since they're retired from other careers and collecting retirement, you know they'd be there for the kids and not for the money.  Those teaching as a primary career could still apply but they'd really have to prove their dedication.

A couple of courses that every aspie should have, and that could be fit in as courses (and not as "therapy" or whatever):  Anger management, for obvious reasons.  Also something I can best describe as "imagination management", so as to not get overwhelmed by one's own imagination.  Link that to art and creative writing.  Instead of that abomination known as "PE", have some more dignified options, namely various kinds of martial arts.  (No, not so they can go around beating people up.  Having once studied karate, I can tell you it has other benefits that would be very useful.)

Everyone here talks of gifts/abilities and disabilities/comorbids.  Focus on enhancing the gifts in such a way that they become your advantage later in the real world.  Learn to handle the disabilities "in stride" as much as possible.

If the usual forms of tests don't work, maybe oral tests are more appropriate.  If anything, it would help you later in life with job interviews, public speaking, etc. from having taken so many oral exams.

Boarding school or commuter school?  Both.  If there was one of these in the suburbs of every large city, that would provide reasonable geographic coverage.  Whether you live at the school or go home every night, would just depend on each individual situation.

That's my "two cents worth".

Hey Silky:

Try a coach who comes to work drunk every day and keeps his stash up in the ceiling, and also every thug in the school in your class, scheduled right after lunch.  (You'd almost need pica to be able to eat some of the school lunches I had.)  That was decades ago and it still pisses me off, though I try not to think about it.

They didn't do the "picking" ritual, but they constantly bickered all the way through games of (American-style) football and baseball.  What bothered me most was that all these games were useless skills.

Everyone has got to exercise, but it doesn't have to be any kind of competitive crap.  Martial arts is alot more dignified and consists entirely of useful skills.  The uniform is alot more dignified, too.

That "picking ritual" was a little slice of Hell, wasn't it? And Dodgeball... OH. MY. GOD. I don't know why teachers would choose to be so incredibly cruel.

The school library , in my school is actually bigger tha  the ones in the local villages around.
Picking is really bad, not as much as in PE as for groups, Before I went to this school I was on a school which has about once a year tema work, now I am at the school (and have been for 4 years) where team work is practically to be done nearly every lesson. !
Especially if it come to essay to worl out an presentation gropus it gets bad, . Normally I have the usualy people who I convince that that should let me takenpart int heir gropup and I used to have one of these allies, but since this got involved in drinking short time ago he hangs more out with the guyshe do his drinking tours with.
Therefore the last I group I was chosen to was influenced by a teacher as I wasnt able to find a group that takes me voluntarily ...

"I understand the goals are to teach "teamwork" and balance and agility and self confidence and all that tripe. But it sure didn't work that way. I never got one benefit from gym classes but I sure got emotional scars. "

I've always felt that PF classes play only one game -- and they play it every day. The game is called "Designated Victim."

I've heard about this Dodgeball, but from what I heard, I'm glad I was spared it.  That makes football sound easy.  The denizens of my other favorite website were talking about it a few weeks ago like it was the greatest thing in the world, even when mentioning how some kid got an ear ripped halfway off.  (I go to that site to see weird news and flamewars.)

Just a few more thoughts on PE.  All it did was make me hate sports, such that I would be less likely to involve myself in sports later as an adult.  (The karate was to get me over my fear of fighting.  I discovered its other benefits after being there a while.)  The PE class with the drunk coach included a few days of wrestling.  Now think about it...  Do you really think it's a good idea to teach a bunch of mean kids how to restrain each other?  IMO, that will just make them more dangerous criminals.  Finally, I resented having to go every day into a filthy, smelly locker room, all the time wondering if I was going to be assaulted that day.  I can see how PE will help you in the real world... if you end up in jail, that is.

At some point, you have to bring up the topic of discipline.  That's one area where you can take a page right out of the Hogwarts operations manual.  Give someone extra work, but always useful work, even if it's unpleasant stuff like polishing trophies while listening to some egomaniacal teacher talk about himself.  

What interests me most is how many of us are operating at a fraction of our potential (wasted talent), and how a school such as we're dreaming about here might unlock more of that talent.  What might its graduates achieve later in the real world?

Teachers need offices.  Just tell the architect to build them into the library.

Definitely not like the evil PE many of us remember too well, but I'd hate to see somebody pass up on burning calories and getting endorphines going.  When you're not being harassed and humiliated all through your workout, it can be a positive experience that gets you relaxed and ready for your other studies.

It's just that many of us have such a strong tendency to associate PE with pure evil, that we might not be willing to give physical activity another chance even after being moved into a safer environment.  That's something that would need to be overcome.

If somebody's really worried about getting kicked in the martial arts training, let that student work on forms and katas for a while and later try addressing that fear of pain.  (I won't kid you.  There's definitely some pain involved in karate.)

Shouldn't be too hard to find among retiring engineers and scientists.  

One thing I forgot to mention earlier.  In my own imaginings of stuff like this, I always imagine having some bean-bag style chairs available in addition to the usual classroom and lecture-hall seating.  That way, if someone is unusually fidgety on a particular day, they can ask the teacher to let them sit in one of the beanbags, which might help them relax and concentrate.  (Of course, it would also help to include meditation through such things as Tai Chi or in connection with the martial arts.)

If it's done right, those other kids would wish they had AS just so they could go.  If it works, other schools would borrow ideas and concepts from it.  Then you could say you're on the leading edge of education.

Another thought: schedule the classes in a similar manner to how universities schedule classes.  That would give students more control over what times of day they're in class.  Encourage independence at every possible opportunity, such as with choosing your class times.

It would definitely have to be a private school, because if it's a public school it would get watered-down to a second-rate "special school", stigma and all.  It won't be cheap.  That said, how do you convince everybody's parents (besides upper-middle class) to pay the tuition?  The only things I can think of immediately are loans (debt, yuck), or grants from the types of business that would benefit from hiring graduates of such a school (after they've been through university, that is).  Software companies come to mind.  

It would need to create a sense of pride so that its alumni will be inclined to support it through small annual donations.  Same thing for support from the aspie community in general.  Then of course, where to get the funding to buy land, build it, and hire staff?

No doubt, all kinds of groups and individuals would want to "buy in", "on the ground floor" so as to influence it.  That's where you'd want to hold on tight to the "by us, for us" concept.

I've not had issued with fluorescent lights.  Is it the sound they make or is it the rapid flickering that most people don't notice?  Keeping that in mind, I've always imagined our hypothetical school as having a highly advanced lighting system, LED- or OLED-based and with the ability to vary color as well as brightness.

NTs on staff are fine as long as they don't take on a condescending attitude.  (Of course, I remember teachers who got like that with all students, not just spec. ed. and gifted.)  I still like the idea of using retirees from other professions who have chosen teaching as a second career.  Flexibility is needed to have enough teachers for small classes, though the university-like scheduling would help by having more classes, more spread-out throughout the day.

Agreed, for the younger students, it should be about individual discovery, in an environment totally free of bullying and other things that foul up school days, where they can focus strongly on the task of learning.  That may sound a bit sheltered, but it would be good to have something like that to look back on, long-term memory and all.  (I've always wondered what it would be like to have the high intelligence and advantages of AS without the burden of PTSD and bitter memories.  I think that would keep more potential free for use later on in adulthood.)  As they get older, however, it would have to move in the direction of preparing them for the real world, taking exams just like in university, finances, dealing with people, etc.

Let me dig this thread up even though it has been inactive for the past few weeks, because alot of what I have been reading on AFF lately suggests there is a real need for places like this.  So, the question I will pose is, how exactly do you make it happen?

Keep in mind, great things often have humble beginnings.  It would take money, lots of it, to fund such a place, so it would be years from its inception before it achieves the capabilities discussed above.

My guess is that alot of parents of Aspie kids (the parents being either NT or Aspie themselves) will be forced into homeschooling if they don't want to go along with what the school has in mind.  When that happens, the people in these homeschooling situations should organize into a club and stay in constant contact, bring their kids together for shared activities, etc.  (This being on the scale of one group per city, county, etc.)

That might go on for a few years, during which time there would have to be a way to raise funds to build an actual school.  That won't be easy because you'd have to raise enough to buy land for a campus.  With land, there is also the matter of taxes, zoning, engineering, etc.  How much land (in acres or hectares) do you think it would take for each campus?

Even at that point, it's still not as grand as the ideas above, but on its way there.  The first thing to appear on the campus would be temporary buildings (office trailers, etc.).  (Even some universities started out with only temporary structures, so it's nothing unusual.)  Then of course, there's the matter of hiring faculty and staff, and being able to maintain a payroll for them.  (It would have to be a private school, so as not to be politicized.)  Would anyone care to try calculating the tuition rates?

If it survives enough years like that, THEN those in charge of it can look into building permanent facilities with the specialized arcitectural features described in some of the posts.

I know everyone here likes to go all over the place with topics of discussion, but for the next few days at least, try to stick with what it would take to get it started.  And, don't forget to include your opinions on the toughest part of it all, funding.

actually,Dodgeball was one of the few games i enjoyed...i was quick on my feet,and knew how to dodge...which came from dodging other missiles ¬_¬
plus,once i DID get a ball,i would pelt it at the nearest prick :p

Re: item 1, that's awesome, and I hope you can make it work.  Just one thing.  Where does that grant money come from, and who ends up with a vested interest, and therefore influence, as a result?

Re: item 2, the getting rich part is something that's not going to be happening to too many people any time soon.  What came to mind when I wrote my previous post was the slow build-up and investment of donations, fundraisers, etc., possibly even toward the creation of an endowment that pays interest, with the interest paying for a significant chunk of start-up and operating expenses.  An accountant would have to work that one out.

what makes a subject interesting?

for me,its knowledge,or rather,the aquisition thereof.

if a lesson is just covering what I already know,then i will find it exceptionally boring.

however,if it is something that i do not know,or do not fully know,then i will find the lesson...stimulating