Reflection

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Reflection

1.         Spending time with students with Autism from SUCCESS provided a platform that was capable of capturing the implications posed on the respective students regarding perspectives that involve social justice and the overall culture. The general culture usually discredits things such as mental disorders and illnesses. As an outcome, students with intellectual impairments such as those from SUCCESS tend to experience some form of social judgment from the greater community. This further explains the exclusion that such individuals experience across many societies regardless of identifiers such as race, age, or even ethnicity. Additionally, the views asserted by the involved parties regarding issues such as diversity, social justice, individual values, and cultural inclusion generally affect the identified individuals in terms of opportunities. For example, persons with intellectual disabilities tend to be ‘left out’ in terms of the opportunities that society provides, especially because of the conventional culture. Additionally, such persons undergo forms of exclusion from ‘normal’ groupings as identified by the segregation of facilities for both ‘ordinary’ and persons with the respective incapacities.

2.         Different actions can be carried out in order to alleviate most of the issues that autistic children encounter on a daily basis. After close interaction with students from SUCCESS, I learnt that most of them face the same problems that normally arise from other members of the community. For example, I realized that other students usually ‘pick on’ other children or even students that are different from them in terms of their actions or thoughts. Even though it was quite depressing initially, one of the students who was bullied helped me understand that the words that other people say regarding another person, especially in such situations does not matter. The respective experience is an illustration of the experiences that autistic children face because they are simply different. However, rather than shun them because of these mundane reasons, it is important to acknowledge and assist them in achieving their aims. In this respect, it is important to focus on measures such as the sensitization of intellectual disabilities such as autism across the community.

3.         Teachers and schools can gain significantly from the respective case study. Unfortunately, societal attitudes regarding intellectual and mental incapacities affect learning institutions considerably. In most cases, instructors, as persons, tend to experience several issues when faced with students that possess such disparities. For example, while attending the service-learning site for the SUCCESS students, I admit that I had significant inconsistencies especially when communicating with the students. In one incident, I attempted to communicate with a student named Benjamin for the first time but he did not respond to my advances. This left me distraught and incapable of progressing further. However, for the second time, I used another approach and we ended up communicating for a short while. This experience showed me the obstacles that teachers encounter when helping children with intellectual impairments such as autistic students with their studies. Nonetheless, teachers can benefit from the case study by understanding that such children respond to different approaches. As such, it would be strategic to tailor learning aids based on the aspects that the students prefer.

4.         Regarding the case study of the SUCCESS students, the society can attain beneficial information regarding social justice. The concept of social justice advocates for equality across all individuals when it comes to the provision of opportunities. Over the years, different groups have fought against the society’s conventions in order to gain opportunities that seemed reachable for a certain set of people. Despite such changes, it is unfortunate to witness the lack of opportunities among certain groups of people. For autistic children, it is impossible to deny this form of inequality. My experience with SUCCESS students showed me that the opportunities that other people receive are not available to these individuals. The same situation is also evident among persons with other forms of disabilities. However, the commitment displayed by the instructors at SUCCESS showed me the possibility of social justice for students with intellectual disabilities. To an extent, the society can learn that all persons should be provided with the same opportunities to excel regardless of the differences that they possess.

5.         I can represent my perspectives artistically concerning the respective case study by providing a reflective take on the issue of social justice. Indeed, social justice does not solely involve ensuring equality of opportunity across all members of the community. It also places emphasis on acknowledging that the differences that people possess contribute to the success of the overall community. My time with the SUCCESS students showed me that disability does not necessarily relate to incapacity. Based on what I saw, I discovered that the children possessed warm hearts that they occasionally concealed due to the way most people treated them. As such, I understood why it was difficult for some of them to open up to me as I tried to communicate. However, after putting some music on, the students began to respond positively to the point that we began communicating significantly. Indeed, the way that music generates response across all individuals is the same way that people should acknowledge such groups.