How do you write about something you don't understand or about a group of people you've never encountered? Not easily. Over my 27 ½ years, I have only met one little boy who has this disorder which he has to live with his entire life. Meeting people will be difficult, living on his own will probably be impossible, and what's sad, is that he probably won't be able to understand why.
The look on his face is a mixture of curiosity and fear. Almost like he wasn't sure whether or not he feared me or if I was his friend. Whatever the case, he couldn't understand the difference. His brain wouldn't allow him to. Autism spectrum disorder is a brain development disorder which makes social interaction, communication and behaviour almost impossible. The brain somehow doesn't connect with these every day issues.
There is a lot of information on Autism, almost too much to read through. For someone like me, comprehension was difficult as I had no clue where to start and because I wasn't sure which material was the best. But the point is, I know more now than I had a week ago. You are all probably wondering what this has to do with wrestling? But it does.
On January 7th of this year, WWE.com posted an article written by Katie A. Raymond about a mother with two autistic children, ages 4 and 12, who uses the WWE as a way to teach her two boys.
Social skills training is essential aspect of treating Autism. Erin Donohue has found away to help her children understand social interaction all by using the WWE.
""We would all start watching WWE together as a family," Donohue recalled. "What the shows enabled us to do [because there are good guys and bad guys] is help him to understand different social situations."" -- WWE
A lot of older children with Autism find it hard to connect with others their age. Mrs. Donohue's eldest son Willie (12) uses the WWE as his way to connect with his classmates.
"With WWE Magazine, Willie brings it to school, and it instantly becomes a way to connect with his peers. They see the magazine cover with a picture of Triple H or Chris Jericho and sit next to Willie at lunch and begin talking. This opens up new lines of communication, and helps Willie gain more self-confidence, especially in social situations."--WWE
Her youngest son, Tommy (4) uses WWE action figures as part of his therapy sessions. His aids in the specialized school he attends uses the action figures as a reward for good behaviour and being nice to someone. They use them to teach Tommy the names of the superstars as well as the concept of over, under, in, and out. These methods are making it easier for Tommy to understand something that most people would know when they were still under the age of 4.
It's harder to teach children with Autism as they often need something to stimulate their interest. That stimulation is not as easy to achieve as it might be for me or you. Every case is different and wrestling may not work for everybody with Autism.
Using the WWE as a learning tool is something I personally would never have thought of. Willie uses WWE.com to help improve his reading skills and WWEshop.com to help him with math skills.
"Willie also logs on to WWE.com almost every day, something that helps to build his reading and math skills. His mom turns WWEShop.com into mathematical problems. He tells her what he would like to buy, and together they figure out how much money (or how much more money) Willie would need to purchase each item." --WWE.com
For those who do not truly know or understand Autism, this concept may seem unorthodox. However it has helped Mrs. Donohue's son cope with their disorder the best way they can. Early intervention and teachings could help children with their social skills and help gain the ability to take care of themselves when older. Unfortunately there is no cure for Autism, and to be honest there really isn't anything substanstial that proves why the brain doesn't develope fully early on in their childhoods. Many theories have been talked about but no scientific conclusion can be proven.
Diagnosis is based on behaviour. Symptoms can inclue lack of social or emotional reciprocity, as well as repetive language and/or idiosyncratic language. Before the age of three there are delays or abnormal functioning in their interaction within society as well as communication. Parents may point at some object and say "look" and the child will not follow the path of the where the parent is pointing to. Something so simple to most is not as simple for children with ASD. There are possible signs that would suggest to have the child evalutated by a specialist; no babbling or gesturing (pointing, waving etc) by 12 months, no single words by 16 months and any loss of languge or social skills at any age.
