I was so overwhelmed after coming out of the lecture. It's so easy for me to assume that autistic people who can't express themselves are obviously not smart enough to write, understand humor, and form their own thoughts. Barb completely blew me out of the water in the way that she could see respond to our questions pretty fast and with humor. I was impressed that she is determined and has a lot to say about autism. I could think that when teaching to the autistic population, the teaching doesn't really matter because they are going to probably never be able to find a job etc. But I came to realize after the lecture that education is for everybody and that knowledge is a gift that I can give to someone as their teacher.
Her caretaker Lois was very inspiring to me also. I learned from her patience is a huge key in working with this unique but great population. She took the time over the last 15 years to find out exactly what ticks Barb off, how to best utilize the facilitated typing and love her as a person. I want to see all my students as people with real needs and real desires. She has stood by her step by step through her writing of the book, getting her to the point where she can leave self sufficiently and getting her everything that Barb herself wants (like a hottie trainer as she said. ha) This really opened my eyes to the potential that this population can have and never to shut them out or anybody out due to a disability.
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