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1. How can society recognize neurodiversity and foster meaningful inclusion with our friends on the autism spectrum?

2. Specifically, how do you accommodate neurodiversity when you encounter it in others?

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Works Cited:
Lucas, R. (2017). The state of Grace. New York, New York: Macmillan Publishing Group.

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This is the story of Grace, a 15 year old girl who just happens to be autistic. The story is written in first person POV, so we hear Grace's thoughts and feelings as she navigates interactions with her family, her peers, her teachers, and more. Grace is in the 10th grade. She has friends, a horse, a crush on the new kid in school, and a great sense of humor! Take a look inside Grace's thoughts as she navigates her very full life all while on the autism spectrum. This story was Written by Rachael Lucas who has autism, herself. The State of Grace provides great insight into the daily experience of living on the autism spectrum. Click on the link to read the many positive reviews for yourself!

FlipGrid
Please check out my Book Talk about The State of Grace!

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The purpose of this text set is to explore the ways neurodiversity in autism presents itself in order to build awareness and acceptance, but also to build the skills necessary to foster inclusion. You will be exposed to literature and other resources created by those who identify as being on the autism spectrum. Main characters you encounter here will also be those who identify as being on the autism spectrum. The autism spectrum includes those who prefer the Asperger's label, so you will encounter that, as well. You are encouraged to use these texts to develop your understanding of the autism spectrum and to participate in dialogue which seeks to expand your knowledge and skills of inclusion of diversity. Throughout your explorations of the text set materials, keep in mind the Essential Questions listed above:

1. How can society recognize neurodiversity and foster meaningful inclusion with our friends on the autism spectrum?

2. Specifically, how do you accommodate neurodiversity when you encounter it in others?

Connections
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1.d
Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views in light of the evidence presented.

Grade Level Complexity
Mid-level complexity, Peer/Teacher-led Discussion

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Link to Rachael Lucas's website. Discover more about the author through her blog on her personal website.
Even more to discover here CLICK LINK

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8th Grade

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.2
Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1.d
Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views in light of the evidence presented.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

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Rosie King: How Autism Freed Me To Be Myself 

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Rosie King: How Autism Freed Me To Be Myself 

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Video
Summary:
In this TedTalk, 16 year old Rosie King discusses the advantages and disadvantages of her specific autism.

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Rosie King: How autism freed me to be myself

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"People are so afraid of variety that they try to fit everything into a tiny little box with a specific label," says 16-year-old Rosie King, who is bold, brash and autistic. She wants to know: Why is everyone so worried about being normal?

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This six minute long TedTalk by 16 year old Rosie King provides personal insight from a teenager living on the autism spectrum. Ms. King's perspectives are delivered with a dose of humor and  include descriptions of personal struggles to relate with peers and to communicate with neurotypical people in her daily activities. She also explains to the audience that her two siblings are also autistic, but that they, unlike herself, are non-verbal.
This video provides detailed descriptions of life on the autism spectrum by a primary source. Rosie King is a typical high school student navigating life while on the autism spectrum. Her first-hand accounts are invaluable resources to students wishing to learn more about diversity. While the anchor text explored the fictional life of an autistic high school student, this TedTalk provides a platform for an actual 16 year old high school student to describe her experiences to listeners.
Video provided differentiated access to the same subject offered in anchor text.

Connections
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.2
Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.

Grade Level Complexity
Beginning-level complexity, Peer-led/Teacher-Led Discussion

Thoughts/Recommendations
First person account in video format to open dialogue between students and teacher about diversity of communication skills and styles that exist with people on the autism spectrum. Preferable to watch and discuss video after reading the anchor text in order to contrast communication styles and concerns expressed by both Grace and Rosie. This video discussion offers a grade level complexity that is at a 8th grade level, but the discussion can be driven to explore above grade level complexities within peer-led/teacher led discussions.

Citation
King, R. (2014). How autism freed me to be myself. [Video]. TED Conferences. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/rosie_king_how_autism_freed_me_to_be_myself#t-2549

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Teen with autism finds voice  through award-winning poetry

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Teen with autism finds voice  through award-winning poetry

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Newspaper Article
Summary:
In this San Diego Union Tribune article, we are introduced to high school senior Miles McInerney, an award-winning poet, member of his high school debate team, and member of his high school crew team. Discover how Miles found his voice after years of being uncertain about how to use it.

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For years, during classroom discussions, Miles McInerney didn't talk much, which isn't the same as having nothing to say.

His head was full of things worth saying.

Getting them out was the challenge. It often is for students with autism spectrum disorder, a developmental disability that turns their world into a frightening whirl of sensory overload. It's hard for them to communicate, hard to learn, hard to behave. Sometimes, to cope, they shut down.

When Miles was in middle school, he had an English teacher who taught poetry. Miles wrote a couple of pieces and then waited for the papers to come back filled with red marks pointing out the spelling and punctuation mistakes. That's what usually happened.

What he got was Mr. Mattox telling him, I know you can't get the commas right, Miles, but your ideas are really something.

And then this: "You should keep writing."

Miles did. In 2015, he entered the Foyle Young Poets of the Year contest, an international competition that's the largest of its kind in the world. Sponsored by the Poetry Society in the United Kingdom, it draws thousands of works from all over the globe written by kids between the ages of 11 and 17. The judges pick 85 "commended" poems. They chose one by Miles about hiking in the desert.

He entered other contests and won other awards, culminating in three major ones this year. His poem "20 Reasons Why I Can't Order in a Restaurant" captured a gold medal in the national Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, an annual contest for students in grades 7 through 12. It dates to 1923 and includes among its past winners the writers Truman Capote, Joyce Carol Oates and Stephen King and the artists Andy Warhol, Hughie Lee-Smith and Cy Twombly.

Another poem, "Seeking Cracked Boys for Clinical Trial," was shortlisted for the international Hippocrates Prize, also based in the United Kingdom, which explores the relations between medicine and poetry.

In the National Student Poets Program, which judges a collection of five poems, he was named one of 35 semi-finalists out of 20,000 entries. The program recognizes original work that "exhibits exceptional creativity, dedication to craft, and promise."

Ask him about his poems, though, and he doesn't mention the awards. He's a high school senior now, and busy. He competes in speech contests and history quiz bowls. He rows. He's learning how to speak Mandarin, Persian and Arabic. He wants to be a foreign diplomat.

Speaking up during classroom discussions is not much of an issue any more.

"What poetry did," he said, "is give me a voice."

(Howard Lipin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Unlocking the mystery

The prevalence of children with autism is rising. It's estimated to occur in 1 in 59 children, up from 1 in 125 ten years earlier, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It's about four times more common in boys than girls. Although there is no single known cause, doctors believe a combination of genetic, environmental and biologic factors are at play. There is no cure.

Every child with the disorder is different, but it's often marked by language and communication difficulties, repetitive behaviors, and an inability to socialize. Some families find the right combination of treatments - therapy, behavior modification, coping skills, medication - and are able to unearth and channel a child's gifts and skills. Some never do.

Miles was born in England to American parents, Kim Kennedy, chief marketing and communications officer at UC San Diego Health, and Patrick McInerney, an architect. They moved to San Diego, where McInerney had grown up, when their son was 5. He was diagnosed two years later.
Elementary school proved challenging. "Just getting through the day, dealing with the sensory stimulation, was exhausting for him," Kennedy said. They moved a half-dozen times in San Diego trying to find the right academic environment.

Small class sizes seemed to work best, which is what led them to the Bishop's School in La Jolla for middle school. That's where the poetry and teacher Tod Mattox came in.

Miles already had an interest in word play from listening to rap music, and he quickly latched on to poetry's elastic ground rules. "There is no form it has to take," he said. He absorbed what Mattox told him: "The ideas are more important than the grammar."

Writing poetry takes concentration, which comes easier for him if he exercises. That's another thing his family has discovered through trial and error. First it was cross country, now it's rowing. He spends about 20 hours a week on the water.

"The physical activity and the repetition help him relax," his mother said, "and when he's relaxed he can stay focused, does better in school."

His early poems were about hiking (another favorite activity), nature, the world around him. But the focus changed in January 2017 when Juan Felipe Herrera, the U.S. poet laureate, came to Bishop's and spent a week as a scholar in residence.

Herrera, the son of migrant workers, talked to the students about how writing poetry helped him figure out who he is and where he fits in the world. He encouraged them to make their work personal, to tell their story. And he shared his community-activist streak through the poem "187 Reasons Mexicanos Can't Cross the Border."

Miles loved the poem, its immediacy and its dry sense of humor. When his English teacher, Mark Radley, assigned the class to mimic the poem with something from their own lives, Miles came up with "20 Reasons Why I Can't Order in a Restaurant."

"Even in ninth grade, Miles was really in touch with his emotions," Radley said. "He had a strong sense of imagery, and a sensitivity to irony that impressed me."

(Howard Lipin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

'Cracked like me'

Suramin is a drug developed more than a century ago to treat African sleeping sickness. In a study involving mice, a team led by Dr. Robert Naviaux, a UC San Diego professor, found that a single dose temporarily reversed core symptoms of autism, which prompted them to put together a small clinical trial a few years ago to test the drug in humans. Miles applied to participate.

He had mixed feelings. Suramin might make him better. But it might make him different, too. "What part of me would be lost?" he wondered. The doctor couldn't say.

Ten boys were picked for the trial, paired off based on their IQs and levels of impairment. They couldn't find a match for Miles so he wasn't selected.

He got a poem out of it, though, "Seeking Cracked Boys for Clinical Trial." It begins like this:
Somewhere, there is a match cracked like me but not entirely broken lost boys.
Another stanza, addressed to Naviaux, goes:
You explain all cracked boys fight a civil war of cells suramin negotiates the peace treaty and ends the war.
"Cracked Boys" is the poem that got Miles shortlisted for the Hippocrates Prize. It ends this way:
Two years later, there is no match the other cracked boy is lost but I am not broken, only cracked.
His school, Bishop's, is private and pricey, a place where students routinely go on to Ivy League schools, and then on to careers in medicine, the law, on Wall Street. Miles hasn't decided yet where he's headed. Maybe the East Coast, to study international relations and diplomacy. He wants to keep rowing.

Sometimes the other students question the usefulness of his poetry. "It's not going to get you anywhere," they say.

"That's not the point," Miles responds.

He could answer this way, too: It already has.

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20 Reasons Why I Can't Order in a Restaurant -- By Miles McInerney
(for Juan Felipe Herrera)

Because the woman sitting at the table next to me laughs like a car bomb

Because my father's touch urging me to order feels like shrapnel

Because my cells refuse to enter a compromise agreement

Because my cells are fighting a civil war

Because I am memorizing the menu

Because I suffer from neurological bureaucracy

Because I am having a conversation in my head with someone I read about in the Economist

Because the waitress is carved in alabaster and she might secretly be a deity

Because I ordered a drink five minutes ago and I am waiting for it to cross enemy lines

Because I have not finished arranging the forks and knives into tactical formation

Because the blue and pink sugar packets haven't finished their census yet

Because cell danger response attacks in oblique order

Because my mitochondria are folded tightly like the linen napkin on the table

Because incoming calls are blocked due to radio jamming

Because I have to translate the message, and the translator is on a coffee break

Because I speak a language and remember there is only one translator

Because my ability to communicate is locked behind bullet proof glass

Because the lock has no key

Because projectiles, car bombs and deities help shatter the silence

Because my cells are fighting a civil war called autism

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Teen with autism finds voice through award-winning poetry

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For years, during classroom discussions, Miles McInerney didn't talk much, which isn't the same as having nothing to say. His head was full of things worth saying. Getting them out was the challenge. It often is for students with autism spectrum disorder, a developmental disability that turns their world into a frightening whirl of sensory overload.

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This San Diego Union Tribune article from 2019, shines a spotlight on high school senior Miles McInerney for discovering his voice while living on the autism spectrum. Miles was not always confident about expressing himself through his neurodiversity. The story of Miles and his transformation includes advice he received from a helpful English teacher who encouraged him to "keep writing." The article compliments this text set by bringing in a positive voice from academics. In The State of Grace, we read about Grace's negative interactions with her teachers, many which lead her to feeling frustrated and demoralized. This article demonstrates the powerful impact supportive interactions with teachers can have on students who are autistic. It is important for teachers to encourage autistic students to find their voices and encourage participation. Unlike the fictional character, Grace, the real-life Miles McInerney was inspired by a teacher who recognized his diversity and encouraged him to keep going. In The State of Grace, we can see the easy cruelty exhibited by Grace's teachers even when Grace attempts to advocate for herself. In this article we see how a teacher, mindful of diversity, can inspire students to be more than they believed possible.

Connections
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1.d
Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views in light of the evidence presented.

Grade Level Complexity
Mid/High-level complexity, Peer-led/Teacher-led Discussion

Thoughts/Recommendations
This article presents the real-life evolution of a high school student from an insecure young adult to a thriving and adventurous high school senior. While his autism has not disappeared, he has engaged with educators who have encouraged him to find his own unique voice in order to express himself as best he can. Benefits would be gained by reading this article after reading the anchor text. Discuss the differences between how Grace's teachers treated her compared to the way Miles McInerney describes his interactions with his teachers. This article can be read and discussed in peer-groups with teacher guidance towards discussions of recognizing diversity and the importance of inclusion. Students who struggle with the higher-level vocabulary of the article will find discussion provides meaning.

Citation
Wilkens, J. (2019, September 15). Teen with autism finds voice through award-winning poetry. The San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/lifestyle/people/story/2019-09-13/teen-autism-poetry-awards

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Living on the Spectrum - Three Poems by Nikki Satterlund

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Living on the Spectrum - Three Poems by Nikki Satterlund

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Poetry
Summary:
Nikki Satterlund is a 23 year old autistic woman who expresses her difficulties in making connections with others through her poetry. Through these three poems, readers are invited to understand what exclusion feels like when what you yearn to do is make connections with others.

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By Nikki Satterlund
Living on a Spectrum
I live on a spectrum
Of colors and lights
Where here it is dark, and here it is bright
But mostly,
I balance on the shades in between.

In my world, yellow is happy
And blue is sad.
And a rainbow is what I am.
A rainbow of colors, the shape of a circle,
Where the ink bleeds from beginning to end.

My colors, they shine like lights.
Bursting from me.
Society wants to dim the lights,
Put a lid on them,
Tuck them away from everyone's eyes.

I'll spin, I'll stim, I'll flap.
I'll be who I am
And love who I love
And think how I think
And stand where I stand.
I'll drop my balancing act
Uncap the lid
Let out my light
And break out of the shades in between.
The Other Side of the Glass
Because it's hard to reach the world
When you're watching from a distance.
I'm so tired of being different.
So, I'm waiting here
On the other side of the glass.

Because it's hard to teach a world
That keeps you at a distance
It's hard,
But I'll learn to be proud of being different
I'll keep waiting here
On the other side of the glass.
More Than Different
Little girl wanders the edge of the playground
She watches the other kids play basketball
Wishing she could play along.
But she knows
Even if they let her join in
They'd never pass the ball to her.
So, she puts her head down
And walks away.

The words the grown-ups say
Echo in her brain
Autistic
And different.
And if you tried harder, you'd fit in.
But how can they say this?
They don't know her
Never took the time to understand her
If they looked closer, they'd see
She's more than different.

The words the bullies say
Echo in her brain
Why are you so different?
Why can't you just fit in?
Put yourself together
Pull yourself off the floor.
It doesn't matter.
She's been broken too many times before.
If they took the time, they'd see
She's more than different

I'm autistic
Creative
Amazing, my brain is.
I might be the one with a disability
But I'm not the one who lacks empathy.
Step back
Take the time to know me.
Because I'm proud to be
Different.

My name is Nikki Satterlund, I'm twenty-three years old and autistic. I spent much of my life as a child being picked on or ostracized by peers. I know several other neurodivergent people who've been through the same thing. It seems to be a near universal disability experience. Though I've seldom experienced it, I also know several people who have been subject to bullying behavior at the hands of adults who should be supporting them. I've learned to accept my differences as an autistic woman, and I have a strong desire to share my experiences. I identify as bisexual, and that has been a road of its own as well. It took me a long time to be okay with who I was, but I've learned to embrace it. My art and poetry reflect on the nature of being different and on my identities as autistic and LGBTQ+.

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Living on the Spectrum and other Poems by Nikki Satterlund

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By Nikki Satterlund Living on a Spectrum I live on a spectrum Of colors and lights Where here it is dark, and here it is bright But mostly, I balance on the shades in between. In my world, yellow is happy And blue is sad. And a rainbow is what I am.

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The website, The Art of Autism, invites you to explore various forms of art and expression created by those who live on the autism spectrum. Through art created by people living on the autism spectrum, it is hoped that understanding and acceptance can be achieved. Poet Nikki Satterlund has written three poems and created art to further her goal of communicating what it feels like to yearn for acceptance by peers but to have that acceptance denied. Consider the Essential Questions:
1. How can society recognize neurodiversity and foster meaningful inclusion with our friends on the autism spectrum?
2. Specifically, how do you accommodate neurodiversity when you encounter it in others?
Students can gather in groups to read one of the poems the group elects to read together. Consider the essential questions in relation to the exclusion Nikki Satterlund is expressing in her poetry. In The State of Grace, Grace has a core set of people in her life she can count on to accept her diversity and include her in social adventures. The author of these three poems has expressed the emotional pain of persistent rejection by peers. What can you do, what can society do to ensure this exclusion of neurodiverse people does not continue?

Connections
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

Grade Level Complexity
Mid/High-level complexity
Peer-led

Thoughts/Recommendations
Read these poems after reading the anchor text. Students can engage in group discussions focused on one poem from the three that the group chooses. Consider the Essential Questions and discuss opportunities for inclusion that would have prevented these negative experiences Nikki Satterlund describes in her poetry. Rather than focus on your own negative experiences of exclusion, write a poem about an experience you had where you were included when you thought you were going to be left out. Being included feels good. Being excluded is very isolating.

Citation
Satterlund, N. (2020, June 22). Living on the spectrum and other poems by Nikki Satterlund. The Art of Autism: Connecting Through The Arts. Retrieved from https://the-art-of-autism.com/living-on-the-spectrum-and-other-poems-by-nikki-satterlund/

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Blog/Short Story
Summary:
Madeleine Lewis is a high school student who has taken the time to write a blog post that reads like a short story offering a view into a day of her life while living on the autism spectrum.

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My alarm chimes, and in a drowsy state, I turn it off and attempt to get myself out of bed. I remember how long it took to find an alarm that would wake me, but wouldn't hurt my ears. For as long as I can remember, a lot of sounds have caused me pain. I don't quite know how to explain it, but I can't deal with them. As soon as I hear one, I shut down and I can't focus. Everything just spirals and spirals until I break.

I pick up my carefully chosen outfit and begin to get dressed. I have to pick out what I'm going to wear the day before because I can't function without a plan. For example, the night before a presentation, I'll pick out a specific dress (a long one, so I can wear leggings or tights to protect my legs) and a sweater to match (sweaters, like magical armor, protect me in a way I can't describe).

I continue with my morning routine, one I've practiced for years. I can't even begin to imagine deviating from it without triggering a spiral of stress. Occasionally I'll go out for breakfast (I don't normally eat until the afternoon because of the medications I take), but even then it's planned in advance. Once I'm dressed, I greet my two cats and head downstairs to take my meds. I take a lot of medications, especially for someone my age, but I'm used to them. It is because of them that I cannot eat breakfast, or on most days, lunch. After I've finished taking them with water, I call for my mother to drive me to school.

It is a B day today, which means I need my instrument, so I grab it on my way out of the door. Once in the car, I plug in my headphones and press play on my favorite playlist. I'm not sure why, but I usually can't listen to whole songs because I compulsively change them. As it drives my mother crazy, I am required to use headphones the majority of the time, which is all right by me. If sweaters are my armor, then headphones are my shield. They protect me from the noises that attack. Chewing. Bells. Rustling papers. So many common sounds I'm unable to deal with. Headphones protect me from it all.

Like a lamb to the slaughter (overused, but still true), my mom kicks me out of the car with only a few encouraging words, my instrument, and my school bag, and sends me to school. I brace myself, remembering my armor and shield, but also my sword - my instrument. As I step through the door, the battle begins.

I'm early as always, so I go to drop my instrument off. As I pass through the hallway, filled to the brim with people, I hear them. The words neither my shield nor armor can protect me from no matter how I try: "that's autistic." They're said carelessly in front of me, and while they do not know I'm autistic, I still can't help but wonder, why? Why is it an insult to be autistic? Why is a part of my identity so horrible? Do they even think about what they're saying? Who they're hurting? Do they even know what autism is?

Autism is a spectrum, and everyone who has it is different. As Kerry Magro said, "Autism can't define me. I define autism." There are common traits, yes, but autism affects everyone differently. Most everyone has their personal bias for what it is and what causes it, but in truth the cause is unknown. The Autism Society's definition is "Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental disability; signs typically appear during early childhood and affect a person's ability to communicate, and interact with others.". I'm not sure how I'd define autism personally because I'm still deciding how I define myself. I have ASD, ADD, OCD, anxiety, and depression, which honestly songs like a bunch of alphabet soup, but each one is a piece of me whether I like it or not.

After my instrument has been put up, I walk to one of my "safe places" so I can either work on a bit of school work or draw. Today I choose to draw. It's quiet, with the exception of the subtle music that my fifth block teacher plays before class starts. My headphones go in and I enter my own world. A world that a little bit later is interrupted by the flood students called to class by the bell.

Class begins and I follow along with instruction as though I were a "normal" student. I feel sickish and my head aches, but these are side-effects I've long grown used to. We're doing a lab today in class, and immediately the spiral begins. Who will I partner with? I don't have any friends in this class. Will I have to wear goggles (I hate the red lines they leave on my face)? How do I face my partner(s) and make conversation with them?

The teacher announces he's choosing the partners, that this is more of an activity than a lab, and to turn to a specific page in our workbooks. A surge of relief comes, and calms the brewing storm of anxiety. The activity goes smoothly; luckily my partner is more focused on it than making conversation with me. Making and maintaining conversation with my peers is something akin to learning rocket science, extremely hard, but doable. I can't comprehend subtle comments, sarcasm, and most jokes. I also can't read people's emotions, so I just unintentionally assume they're annoyed with me. I often repeat things I've already said or obsess over one thing for the entire conversation.

The bell rings, and my next class is mostly a blur. I'm doodling on a worksheet, tuned out to the events until the inevitable once again happens. "God, can't they just shut the hell up?" a student in my class calls out. I don't even have to ask, I already know who they're talking about. Across the hall are the special education classrooms and sometimes we can hear the students there. The teacher is quick to silence him, but they do not stop. All I can think is, "why?" I see when they're passing in the hallways escorted by aids or teachers, and I see the looks and mocking they receive. That could be me, if I had been diagnosed earlier or not as careful to cover up all my differences. I've experienced mocking and such before, but not for those reasons. I don't know what it's like, but I've seen the effects. I can't count the number of times I've seen my younger sister come home crying because of the cruel words of her peers. The peers who claim to celebrate diversity, yet take one look at my sister and her aide and throw words as if they were stones.

The rest of class is a blur, for I was simply lost in thought. The next thing I knew, I was in music class. With the eruption of the attempts to tune, I realized today was one of those days. Grabbing my things and trying my best not to attract any attention, I walked up to the teacher and told her I needed to leave. I was sent to a practice room. Out of all my sensory issues, hearing is the worst. I love music as it is what gets me through the day; however, when my ears and mind have decided they've had enough or that they can't cope I exercise the ability to work in a quiet place. I have a pair of soundproof headphones (they're one of my favorite things ever), but due to my fear of my peers I choose not to use them outside of the house. Carefully lifting my instrument up, I tune on my own as quietly as I can (while of course, stressing about whether my peers can hear me and if they're making fun of me. A part of me knows that logically they can't and they're not, but my mind doesn't care and will spiral anyways.). I practice a song I had worked on with my private music instructor and I let myself melt into the music. As I've said, my instrument is my sword. My sword and I are fighting away the demons of my mind, forcing them to leave me for a while.

The bell rings. My instrument gets put away and I head to one of my "safe places" for lunch. I don't typically eat lunch, so it's really just a half hour of sitting and playing my favorite game on my phone. Today however, I begin to ponder on why I feel so alone. I don't tell most people, whether friends or not, my diagnoses. I'm too afraid they'll just reject me. It's not a fear without reason, for I've heard the common response "oh you don't look like you have _____" or "You're joking, right?" Deep down I know my true friends won't actually reject me, yet I can't bring myself to tell most of them (I've told a couple with mixed results). I have friends who know what I have and some of how it affects me, but I've never met another person with autism or with any of my other alphabet soup diagnoses. I don't know how I'd react or what I'd say, but I kind of wish I had someone who got it (my sister is young and not very verbal).

The last block of the day is pretty easy-going and not much happens. My ADD meds start to wear off, so I eat some snacks from my lunch and drink the strawberry milk, my favorite lunchtime companion. I get a few weird looks. It's understandable, I am eating lunch when it's clearly not lunch time.

As for why I'm writing this, at first I wasn't sure myself. I started it for a website I currently frequent, but it's become something more personal than I originally imagined. I was complaining to a friend about how my school isn't doing anything for Autism Awareness Month; I was overheard and asked to write this. If you search on the internet for articles written by teens with autism, you'll likely find what I found (unless you are miraculously lucky), which is a bunch of stuff by and for everybody else. Most articles were for parents of teens with autism, parents of kids with autism, and a few written by actual people (adults) with autism. None of them were written for or by teens.

I know there are others besides me and I can't speak for them as to why they're not sharing their stories, but I can speak for me. I'm tired of having to hear a part of my identity being used as an insult or as a joke. It's not. I'm tired of seeing people who are different because of their disabilities being mocked for it. My autism pretty much controls my life, for better or for worse. I've spent many therapy sessions having to learn how to be "normal," when I should be learning to love who I am. I have to hide so people don't treat me like I'm different. Is that truly funny? Is it worth a couple laughs to choose "autistic" or "retarded" to insult someone? Pick a new word. Educate yourself.

Stop staring or bystanding and start standing up. Actually embrace the diversity most of you claim to. Learn that those with a disability like me are people first and we deserve to be treated as such. They deserve your respect and they deserve to be accommodated so they can have equal opportunities. Throw your pity and taunts out with the garbage. And at the end of the day, autism is what I am, but not who I am.

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My alarm chimes, and in a drowsy state, I turn it off and attempt to get myself out of bed. I remember how long it took to find an alarm that would wake me, but wouldn't hurt my ears. For as long as I can remember, a lot of sounds have caused me pain.

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Madeleine Lewis would like others to know just what it takes for her to navigate a typical day while living life on the autism spectrum. With sensory overload a constant problem for her, she has devised many ways in which she can mitigate feeling overwhelmed by sounds and other sensations. Many of her coping skills prevent her from socially interacting with her peer group. For instance, she relies heavily on earphones which cancel out noises that overwhelm her senses. Consider your own behaviors. Are there times when you choose to use your headphones as a means of blocking out other noises? Can you appreciate a neurodiverse person's need to do the same thing? Perhaps the person is not being antisocial, instead, they simply need/require less stimulation. Madeleine Lewis takes the reader through the events of her typical day, but she ends her story with frustration at being treated with disrespect for her diversity. She demands the reader acknowledge that it is easier to claim to support diversity than to actually be supportive of those who are on the autism spectrum. In the anchor text, The State of Grace, Grace touches upon her frustration with those who claim to be sensitive to diversity needs, but who fail to follow through. Here we have Madeleine Lewis take a harsher tone towards those who want to claim to be sensitive to diversity needs while not actually supporting diversity. Supporting diversity requires action, not simply statements of support. This first-person narrative mirrors Grace's first-person narrative in The State of Grace. However, Madeleine Lewis is not a fictional character, and she takes the reader of her blog/short story to her conclusion where she demands better responses from neurotypical peers.

Connections
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.2
Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.

Grade Level Complexity
Beginning/Mid-level complexity
Individual-led/ Peer-led

Thoughts/Recommendations
Any discussion about diversity and inclusion should contain material that offers first-hand accounts of the frustrating reality of being singled out or excluded from the mainstream based on diverse qualities. Madeleine Lewis has written a true short story of a day in her life in a blog format. She invites the reader to experience her neurodiverity through her inner dialogue just as Grace does in The State of Grace. However, as you read these events, keep in mind that you are reading non-fiction. Grace is a fictional character, whereas Madeleine Lewis is a real person trying to exist within her neurodiversity in a primarily neurotypical world. Consider what Madeleine Lewis wants the reader to take away from her writing. Read carefully as she calls out those who claim they support diversity while not making any real effort outside of those claims. Do you recognize yourself in that description? How do you actively participate in promoting inclusion of diversity members?

Citation
Lewis, M. (2018, May 9). A day in my life as an autistic teen. The Mighty. Retrieved from https://themighty.com/2018/05/day-life-autistic-teen/

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Music Video
Summary:
Musicians with autism form a band and create music inspired by their goal to let others know that their autism does not prevent them from harnessing their talents. They have goals and ambitions that are "just the same" as yours.

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Jack Beaven-Duggan (19) Luke Steels (18) and Saul Zur-Szpiro (21) all have autism and form the band The AutistiX, along with singer Jim Connelly who is not on the autism spectrum. Listen to the music they have created and consider their individual talents. The majority of the band members identify as autistic, but their singer is not on the autism spectrum. Collaboration between diversity groups can result in many creative projects and outcomes. Among the offerings of this text set, we are told through first-hand accounts of living on the autism spectrum that abilities differ from one autistic person to the next. Not everyone on the autism spectrum will be a musician. Just as Rosie King tried to explain in her TedTalk, not every person identified as autistic is Rain Man. This music video highlights a group of autistic young adults who are musically inclined. The format of a youtube music video is helpful in showing evidence of skills and talents which may not be evident when first meeting an autistic individual. You must make an effort to get to know any individual you meet in order to uncover their not-so-evident talents. Never assume a person labeled autistic meets a simplistic definition of an autistic person. You must get to know the individual in order to know the person.

Connections
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.2
Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.

Grade Level Complexity
Beginning-level complexity,
Student-led

Thoughts/Recommendations
This music video can be presented at any point in reading the anchor text. The video could also be shown to students prior to reading the text. Where ever this video is inserted into instruction, it serves its intended purpose to enlighten students about the fact that talent is not always evident. You would not know a musician or a poet by simply standing alongside a person. You will not know the talents a person has until you take the time to get to know the person. Diversity groups are full of interesting people with hidden talents. Get to know others and discover their abilities.

Citation
The Autistix, (2015). Just the same. YouTube. Fixers UK. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilytN26eI1Q

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Picture Resource
Summary:
This list of famous people with autism has been complied by The Autism Community Network (ACN) to illustrate all of the famous people who have been identified as being on the autism spectrum or who were likely on the autism spectrum.

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It is important for students to be introduced to the autistic community members who have discovered acceptance and fame despite their neurodiversity. Autism affects approximately 1-59 people. Autism impacts every demographic. The wealthy can be autistic as well as the poor. While this list reflects autistic community members who have achieved fame, it is important to remember that autism exists in every demographic. Not everyone with an autism diagnosis will be non-verbal. Not everyone diagnosed with autism will have an amazing talent. A lot of ordinary people are diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. Fame can also be achieved by autistic community members. Consider some of these famous people who have a diagnosis of autism. The famous film director Steven Spielberg is on this list. Look over this list of people with autism diagnoses. Do any surprise you?  Does having the visual of a familiar famous person identified as autistic help you see autism as something relatable?

Connections
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.2
Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.

Grade Level Complexity
Beginning-level complexity, Student-led/Peer-led

Thoughts/Recommendations
Students can use these images of famous autistic people and their accomplishments to understand more deeply the amazing and varied abilities found among autistic community members. Autism is not a one-size-fits-all diagnosis. A spectrum diagnosis such as autism means you will discover people on the spectrum with all sorts of different abilities, talents, and diversities of abilities. Not everyone on the autism spectrum will be a film director or musician, but that is true for people who are not on the autism spectrum, as well. Students should consider that diversity exists all around them everyday. People on the autism spectrum are well-represented by successful people in a variety of industries. Students should go over this list of famous people with autism during the reading of the anchor text in order to begin to see the full scope of abilities of people with diversity characteristics such as autism.

Citation
Famous with Autism (2020). Autism Community Network. Retrieved from https://www.autismcommunity.org.au/famous---with-autism.html

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Entertainment article
Summary
This entertainment news article discusses the background of the real-life family which inspired the animated short film called Float. Discussion centers around the metaphor Float presents for describing a father's acceptance of his son's autism. The story of Float is described in more detail than in the news segment provided in Supplemental Text #7, but the two texts compliment one another.

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I realize there are a lot of options for new subscribers of Disney's streaming platform, Disney+, but I humbly suggest you add the new Pixar short, , to the very top of your list. Float is one of three new original Pixar shorts that premiered on November 12-meaning it's not attached to any feature-length Pixar films, like many of the other Pixar shorts are-and it absolutely wrecked me.

Float is not even six minutes long (not including the credits), yet somehow this short film managed to tell one of the most poignant, moving, and just spot-on stories of autism than I have ever seen. The reason for that, undoubtedly, is Pixar animator Bobby Rubio, who wrote, directed, and produced the film based on his own relationship with his son.

The story itself not explicitly about autism, and can no doubt apply to any parent or person who has a family member that's been "deemed different." In Float, a father realizes his baby son, well, floats. It's not dangerous, necessarily, but it's very noticeable, and other parents of children who don't float find it weird and wrong. So the father tries to stop his son from floating. He keeps him inside as he grows up. When they do go outside, he has his son on a leash and weighs his backpack down with rocks. One day, his son gets away and floats around the playground. The child is happy, but the other parents on the playground are not. They are afraid. The father drags his screaming son away, and, in a moment of frustration, exclaims-in the short's only moment of dialogue-"Why can't you just be normal?!"

When the father realizes how much this exclamation hurts his son, he is ashamed. Instead of holding his son back to protect the parents of children who don't float, he lets his son float freely. The film ends with a dedication from Rubio, which reads: "For Alex. Thank you for making me a better dad. Dedicated with love and understanding to all families with children deemed different." (Even typing it, I'm tearing up.)

Again, though the film can be interpreted in many ways, I suspected from that dedication that Rubio's son is on the autism spectrum. Rubio himself confirmed that to be the case, in the making-of video, which is also available to watch on Disney+.

"When my son was first diagnosed, I didn't handle it well," Rubio said in the short documentary. "My wife said, you're a storyteller, maybe you should tell a story through a comic."

Rubio, who is Filipino, did, but he initially wrote the characters as white. Rubio-who's served as a storyboard artist on films like The Incredibles 2, Inside Out, and more-was shocked when a friend suggested he make the character Filipino instead. "I was like, 'I don't know if anyone wants to see a Filipino-American character."

As it turns out, people did. The outpouring of love on Twitter has come from all over, but especially from Filipino-Americans who say the representation is invaluable.

"In the beginning, the father loves his son wholeheartedly without restriction," Rubio said. "And then, when he looks at society, that seeps in and kind of taints it. The father has to decide: Does he agree with them? Or does he say, 'I don't care what you guys say.'"

Float is Rubio's first project as a writer and director, but I have a feeling we'll be seeing more from him very soon. Pixar is nothing if not pure storytelling, and the studio has found another storytelling master in Rubio. Make Float your next Disney+ watch ASAP, and be sure to watch The Making of Float when you're done.

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Pixar's 'Float' on Disney+ Is a Moving, Must-Watch Metaphor for Autism

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I realize there are a lot of options for new subscribers of Disney's streaming platform, Disney+, but I humbly suggest you add the new Pixar short, , to the very top of your list.

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News segment (video)
Summary
Disney's streaming platform Disney+ contains a Pixar short film called Float which is about a father who learns to accept his son's differences. The characters are Filipino which is an embrace of diversity in representation in that respect, as well. Float attempts to present a metaphor for autism with its story. This news segment contains an interview with the creator of Float who discusses his son's autism as the inspiration for the animation.

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EMERYVILLE, Calif. -- "Float" features a father struggling to deal with his son who has the ability to fly.

We went to Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville and caught up with writer-producer Bobby Rubio, the man who created the short film.

"It's resonated with everyone because it's about being different, and I think everyone has at one point in their time of life felt like the outsider," Rubio said.

Rubio was inspired by one of his sons to create the story of a child who is different. Alex has autism.

Stephanie Ramirez of the Fresno Autism Network has watched "Float" many times.

"I think it's such a great description of what it's like to be a parent of a child with autism," Ramirez said.

Ramirez has assisted about 3,000 families since she started the network. She says "Float" resonated with her.

"From my perspective, it kind of feels like the isolation that you feel as a parent whether you're a mom or a dad," Ramirez said.

"Float" caught our attention long before it premiered on Disney+.

"It's been super exciting, and I have to thank you for championing it as well because I've gotten so much feedback," Rubio said.

The film not only raises autism awareness, but it also features Pixar's first Filipino animated characters.

"It's nice to be a voice for the Filipino community because we don't have much, and if I'm given this platform, I'll definitely take advantage of it," Rubio said.

Rubio said he never saw any Filipino faces on the big screen.

Many people who watch "Float" draw their own interpretations, which Rubio applauds.

Pixar has been very successful in illustrating personal stories.

Disney is the parent company of ABC.

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Pixar film brings awareness to autism while making Filipino-American cinematic history

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EMERYVILLE, Calif. -- "Float" features a father struggling to deal with his son who has the ability to fly. We went to Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville and caught up with writer-producer Bobby Rubio, the man who created the short film.

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Autism can occur in any demographic. For that reason, it is essential to include voices from as many demographics as possible in this text set. In this case, a Filipino film creator named Bobby Rubio who works for Disney's Pixar has created a short, six minute film to illustrate his own acceptance of his son who was diagnosed as autistic. This news segment includes an interview with Bobby Rubio where he describes his excitement at having an opportunity to share his message of acceptance of our neurodiverse community members as well as his excitement at being able to project his vision for acceptance through a diversity demographic (Filipino) not well-represented in film.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1.d
Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views in light of the evidence presented.

Grade Level Complexity
Beginning-level Complexity,
Student-led

Thoughts/Recommendations
This short two minute video from a local news network would be best viewed after reading the anchor text. The conversation can include the fact that acceptance of diversity is not always an easy thing for people to do even when it is in regards to immediate family members. We are all unique individuals who struggle to learn and grow and accept others into our lives. It is important for students to understand that consideration for the Essential Questions might pose difficulties for us we did not anticipate. As was stated by the author, Madeleine Lewis in Supplemental Text #4, it is easy to say you recognize, accept, and support diversity members, but it is another thing altogether to put that acceptance into practice and inclusion. Consider the struggle of this parent to accept his son's diagnosis of autism. Consider how this parent was able to overcome his concerns and fears and accept his child's diversity.

Citation
ABC Action News. (2020, May 5) Pixar film brings awareness to autism while making Filipino-American history. Retrieved from https://6abc.com/float-pixar-films-autism/5980531/

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For differentiated access to the content of this text, Supplemental Text #7 provides a video option in order to accommodate beginner access. This text is complimentary of Supplemental Text #7 because it offers a deeper look into the plot of Float, as well as access to content through reading. In the anchor text The State of Grace, Grace's family does not struggle with her autism diagnosis as far as the reader can tell. But what happens when family members struggle to accept a diagnosis of autism? What concerns might motivate a parent to want to hide or deny a diversity trait such as autism? This article provides deeper insight into the personal struggle of a parent who may love their child but want to deny or hide the diversity their child presents with. It is important to acknowledge the difficulties and challenges of accepting diversity. Some people will struggle with acceptance more than others. We should recognize when we struggle in order to master the Essential Questions. When we recognize that we are struggling with answering the Essential Questions in a way that promotes diversity and inclusion, we can evaluate why that is happening and seek to overcome our reluctance to be inclusive.

Connections
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1.d
Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views in light of the evidence presented.

Grade Level Complexity
Mid/High-level complexity
Student/Teacher-led discussion

Thoughts/Recommendations
While the text is not overly complex for a beginner, the content and discussion will require peer/teacher led discussions as thoughtful reflection of the reluctance to be inclusive of diversity members and prejudices against diversity members will be difficult to evaluate on a personal level. Students should be encouraged to self-reflect about times when they chose not to be inclusive of those with diversity presentations. Just like the real-life father in this news article demonstrates- acceptance, inclusion, accommodation, and embracing of diversity is not always as easy as it sounds. Putting the goal of inclusion at the forefront of all interactions is essential to mastering the Essential Questions.

Citation
Menta, A. (2019, November 15). Pixar’s ‘Float’ on Disney+ is a moving, must-watch metaphor for autism. Decider. Retrieved from https://decider.com/2019/11/15/float-pixar-short-disney-plus-autism/