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About Autism Resource Group
Dave Watros
- I have written Slant the Paper to help people identify autistic traits, and Autism in the Classroom to provide strategies for educators. I have the skills to help a staff learn more about autism and be advocates for inclusivity in the building.
- I do this because our son, Andy, had 30+ teachers, a psychiatrist, an educational consultant, two therapists, and I missed that he was autistic until his diagnosis at age 19.
- My experiences and expertise from 35 years in the classroom with 15 of them in an inclusion classroom with an intervention specialist have led me to develop curriculum, present effective educational strategies, and share good co teaching models.
Our Mission
Our mission is to help schools and businesses cultivate an inclusive environment that utilizes the talents of autistics.
Our services
We offer a variety of presentations showing what autism may look like, educational strategies to help students succeed, and work place strategies for employers and employees.
Unlock an Autistic Person's Potential by Slanting the Paper
WHy Slant the Paper?
My friend Jim had trouble attending a private school in first and second grade. He just did not conform to that school's way of teaching in the 1970s. Consequently, he was kicked out of the private school. When he was enrolled in the public school, he was placed in a resource room because they thought he had an intellectual disability.
He told me he loved the class because they got to go on field trips and cook breakfast and lunch in class. It was real life experiences in second grade. One reason it was great was that he already knew how to make scrambled eggs because he was one of four siblings. School went from difficult to easy!
One day, however, they were learning how to write between the lines. Jim was good at this. One of his classmates, though, kept drifting his handwriting upward to the right. The teachers were getting frustrated. They made him repeat the writing while stressing that he kept his writing in the lines. Jim could see the frustration on the faces of the teachers and his classmates. So, second grader Jim told the teachers to have him slant the paper. Lo and behold, the student wrote between the lines.
The lesson to the teachers was to not make the student do what they think is right. Instead, they should see what other possibilities are correct.
Consequently, Jim was removed from the resource room and placed with the general education population. Jim's ability to see something from a different angle seemed like a superpower.
Autistics see life through a different lens. Society is used to wanting everyone to conform. However, we are too diverse. We need to understand and accommodate.
Autism Resource Group can help you find new strategies to teach all students and utilize all employees. Schedule us now.
Teacher Training
We offer presentations and workshops designed for educators and employers looking to understand autism and learn strategies to help autistics succeed.