Neurodiversity on display
April 30, 2016 6:53 PM Subscribe
With his project Special Books by Special Kids, special education teacher Christopher Ulmer interviews neurodiverse people about their lives and interests.
The project was originally conceived as a book series for his students (he prefers the word friends) to explain their diagnoses in their own words. Now, it has shifted to a facebook-based blog that shares videos from his classroom and powerful interviews with neurodiverse friends and their loved ones all over the United States.
His videos touch on many aspects of his friends' experiences. Some aspects are fairly universal, like love (and its challenges) or activities like baking and gaming and running to embarrassing mistakes to wishes for world peace. Other aspects are specific to their diagnoses, like high-functioning autism, non-verbal autism, Tourette syndrome, emotional disturbance, or multiple diagnoses together. Often music and singing make appearances. He also discusses lessons he's learned about teaching special education and goings-on in his classroom.
This summer, he's planning to road trip around the US and collect over 100 more interviews.
The project was originally conceived as a book series for his students (he prefers the word friends) to explain their diagnoses in their own words. Now, it has shifted to a facebook-based blog that shares videos from his classroom and powerful interviews with neurodiverse friends and their loved ones all over the United States.
His videos touch on many aspects of his friends' experiences. Some aspects are fairly universal, like love (and its challenges) or activities like baking and gaming and running to embarrassing mistakes to wishes for world peace. Other aspects are specific to their diagnoses, like high-functioning autism, non-verbal autism, Tourette syndrome, emotional disturbance, or multiple diagnoses together. Often music and singing make appearances. He also discusses lessons he's learned about teaching special education and goings-on in his classroom.
This summer, he's planning to road trip around the US and collect over 100 more interviews.
This is awesome. Thank you.
posted by inconsequentialist at 9:32 PM on April 30, 2016
posted by inconsequentialist at 9:32 PM on April 30, 2016
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posted by R a c h e l at 6:56 PM on April 30, 2016