Dynamic Thinking and the Autism Spectrum — Part 1

One of the books I loved growing up was Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. The author of this children’s novel had some thought-provoking things to say about education and learning. The young protagonist, Betsy, goes to stay with relatives. One of the first things her uncle does is give her the chance to drive [...]

Random Learning Notes & Thoughts About Aspergian Development

Marie and I are reading To Kill a Mockingbird. I am loving it even more the second time around. (Literature, History) She is still spending time on her movie reviews. (Writing, Film Studies) The other day, I suddenly became aware that this avocation is not just about writing and film studies. It is actually a [...]

Marie’s Research Project — Includes Various Thoughts About Writing Development, Asperger’s, RDI & Whatever Else Pops Into My Cluttered Mind

This post promises to be long and a bit dry, but if anyone can wade through it, I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback.
As I’ve mentioned before, my 14-year-old daughter, Marie, is a prolific writer — she likes journaling, fiction writing, and writing short book and movie reviews. She also loves list-writing. You know [...]

Repost: 9th RDI E-Learning

The term “Guided Participation” was coined by Barbara Rogoff, who studied how parents in many cultures guide their children in cognitive and social development. Social Learning is necessary for the brain to develop in a dynamic manner. According to Rogoff, “Children’s cognitive development is an apprenticeship. It occurs through guided participation in a social activity [...]

Repost: 2nd-4th E-Learnings: Dynamic Thinking

Chapters 2, 3 & 4 of the training focused on “static” versus “dynamic” skills.
The abilities of people with autism spectrum disorders tends to be focused (sometimes resulting in unique and amazing gifts), while “neurotypical” people have a “broadband experience” of life. In an example which he acknowledged was grossly oversimplified, Dr. Gutstein said a person [...]

Repost: First RDI E-Learning

Most folks who are likely to drop by this blog knows that my daughter has “mild” Asperger’s Syndrome, and I probably have it too. Marie, who is much wiser than I, was the first to figure out that Asperger’s can be viewed as a gift. On the other hand, her life is difficult in many [...]