Friday, April 20, 2012

April Is Autism Awareness Month!

Our school has embraced Autism Awareness this month to help our students learn more about what it means to be on the Autism Spectrum.  I was able to tie this into an art lesson and create collaborative artwork that could then be displayed in the hallways for the month of April. 

First, I asked students what they knew about being on the Autism Spectrum.  It was interesting to see what some of the misconceptions already in the young minds, especially the 1st and 2nd grade students. I was happy to help them understand a bit more what it is like to have Autism, and that the most important part is that we are all the same on the inside.  I also visually made my own "spectrum" with rainbow colors and discussed what someone might be like on different parts of the spectrum. 

After lots of discussion and questions or comments on someone they knew with Autism, I handed out a puzzle piece I drew and photocopied on white paper.  A puzzle piece is a symbol for Autism because of the complexity of the disorder and that there is still no cure.  After discussing this with the students, I let them color it any way they chose, and they could add words if they wanted to. 





Students then cut out their shapes and we glued them to a larger paper to hang in the hallways.  Below are some of the finished posters!!





You can learn more about the Autism Spectrum Disorder at http://www.autismspeaks.org/



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