Cal wins the RedBox Bowl
Cal Football not just bowl-bound this year but also won the RedBox Bowl at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara against Illinois
Go Bears!!
IW Annual Holiday Party
So I'm back at the Inclusive World's Annual Holiday Party.
Can you believe the 2 photos with Madhu Krishnan- first one taken last year and the next one this year.
Can you believe the 2 photos with Madhu Krishnan- first one taken last year and the next one this year.
Housing for Adults with Autism in the Bay Area
A Paper for my Introduction to Disability Studies Class
Housing for Adults with Autism in the Bay Area
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) grow up to be adults with ASD, as autism does not magically go away in adulthood. The prevalence of ASD is rapidly increasing, with the CDC (2019) placing the diagnosis rate at 1:59 children. This means that there are an increasing number of autistics exiting the school system and entering the adult world (Marino, 2018). However, as I find when trying to navigate the adult world of autism, supports and services are not just inadequate but the existing supports are not prepared to deal with the varied and unique needs of adult autistics. The situation can be complex as there is a huge spectrum of profiles within autism itself, a factor that also comes into play in the case of housing. While many autistics function independently with little to no support, a significant number are not employed and need more support for daily living. This paper focuses on the housing challenges for adult autistics needing more support in the Bay Area.
Other topics in the adult ASD world that were considered during the web search were Adult Day Programs and employment. The first was concerning as many of my peers have not been accepted into any Adult Day Program due to “autism behaviors.” Adult Day Programs typically support people with disabilities (PWD) after they exit the special education system at age 22 (Escher, 2014) and range in the level of support provided. The second issue of employment is equally concerning as according to the National Longitudinal Transition Study only, “58% of young adults ages 20-25 with ASD who had been in special education in secondary school had ever worked during their early 20’s” (Marino, 2018).
As the process of deinstitutionalization began all over the US, an important piece of legislation in California that directly impacted housing for individuals with developmental disabilities like autism was the Lanterman Act of 1969. It opened the doors to the “right to get the services and supports [autistics] need to live like people without disabilities” (The Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, n.d.). It allowed for the creation of Regional Centers which are nonprofits that contract with the Department of Developmental Services (California Department of Developmental Services, 2018). Social workers at the Regional Centers help coordinate tailored services and supports including full or partial funding depending on the type of housing. Yet the housing situation in the Bay Area as summed up by Lisa Kleinbub, executive director of the Regional Center of the East Bay, is that there is, “a pent-up demand right now among young (special-needs) adults for housing...They’re housed in settings that really aren’t what they want.” (Kendell, 2019). Kleinbub goes on to add that there are fewer than 100 units for the 4500 units of housing needed in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. When it comes to Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito counties, Kleinbub states that almost eighty percent of the 17,500 clients live with their parents (Kendell, 2019).
In this research, it is useful to briefly look at some of the current housing options as listed by the San Francisco Autism Society. The most common and well known are the Group Homes or Community Care Facilities. The typical three-bedroom group home is privately owned and licensed by the state and can house up to six individuals with the state paying the group home for each individual depending on the level of care needed. Group homes provide an all-in-one solution (ASD Housing Options, 2019).
Apartments and co-ops are arrangements where an individual lives alone or with shared living space. Staffing support is provided through agencies or individuals that provide Supported Living Services (SLS) or Independent Living Services (ILS) (ASD Housing Options, 2019). The big advantage of using SLS and ILS is that the client, “retains separate control over housing choice and support staff...[even as they] need support to carry out choices” (ASD Housing Options, 2019). Rents are expected to be funded through social security income received by the individual and Section 8 vouchers which landlords can make use of to rent apartments at fair market value.
The autism community model is increasingly popular and is loosely based on a retirement community model, offering housing, community and sometimes programming options. Two of my peers will have a future home in the Clearwater Ranch in Sonoma county. Spread over 80 acres it will feature many single-family homes, each housing four ASD adults (with their own room) and two caretakers. Another example is the Sweetwater Community in Sonoma County and the soon to be completed Summer Hill project in Pleasanton (Kendell, 2019). Extra support needed for individuals would still have to be organized via SLS and ILS agencies (ASD Housing Options, 2019).
However, each type of housing option comes with its own set of challenges and more so in the context of the Bay Area. A small subset of these issues are discussed below.
The first issue is that “even in situations where PWD are not able to live independently, living in community settings is generally considered preferable to institutionalization (if adequate support is provided)” (Schur, Kruse, & Blanck, 2013, p. 124). Group homes and SLS/ILS housing are more in line with the principle of housing in community settings. So there is debate over whether the creation of exclusive communities for autism would be a form of “gilded” segregation. But Kleinbub feels that the community model may work as long as, “residents have opportunities to venture beyond the building” (Kendall, 2019). I also want to add that that it is worrying that so many autism communities are coming up in Sonoma county which is likely to be the site of recurrent wildfires as climate change is not likely to reverse course in the immediate future. As we learned in class, PWD are most at risk during rescue and evacuation attempts.
A fundamental problem is that many of the housing solutions for the disabled community were not envisaged for the behavioral issues that often accompany autism. Housing in the community is easier when there are fewer “disruptive” behaviors. Some autistics may find it difficult to share rooms in Group Homes or have close proximity, others may have frequent meltdowns or behaviors that other autistics may not be able to tolerate. A friend was sent back to his parental home from two different group homes as they could not manage his behaviors.
Training staff to the unique needs of the individual has been a challenge especially if an individual is seen as having more support needs. My friend Tyler Fihe, now in his 30s, has been living on his own in an apartment with SLS support since age 19. He states in a youtube video he made for the 1:59 Autism Spectrum Disorders DeCal class here at UC Berkeley, “I wish I could say that I have been fully in charge of my household...having trained, probably hundreds of staff over the years. I finally wrote an operations manual. It is hard work to keep it up to date, but it is harder to teach the same basics over and over again” (Fihe, 2019).
The Bay Area is very expensive to live in, making it almost impossible to find affordable housing for adult autistics. According to the Bay Area Market Reports, the median home price in the Bay Area is $980,000 compared to the California average of $609,000 and the United States average $279,600 (Bay Area Real Estate Markets Survey, 2019). Rents are also prohibitive, the national average at $1,465 compared to $3,240 in Berkeley, and $2,789 in San Jose (Bona, 2019). It is not without some irony that the social security income received by an adult, which averages $1000 a month, “is expected to fund the rent, utilities, food and living expenses“ (ASD Housing Options, 2019).
The high cost of living affects support services as well. In his video, Fihe adds, “Staff turnover has always been a major problem. The pay for staff is ridiculously low. It bugs me that my staff could make more money making lattes and mochas than helping me have a life. Our society values seem pretty screwed up to me" (Fihe, 2019). Two of Fihe’s SLS agencies have shut down in the last ten years due to staff not being able to afford to live in the bay area (Fihe, 2019). This is a continuing trend. Group homes are again paid a flat state fee which does not account for the geographical cost of living (ASD Housing Options, 2019). The group home of another friend is moving to a rural area to lower their cost of operation. When that happens either you live too far away from your family to visit or move back into the family home as you continue to search for other (almost non-existent) options.
Even in the case of solutions like the communities, either the cost of entry is prohibitive or the affordable ones have long waitlists. A family I know bought into Clearwater Ranch a few years ago for $200,000 and the other family recently at $350,000. It guarantees a room for the lifetime of the ASD adult. 300 individuals have expressed interest in the 31 units of the more affordable Sunflower Hill community project with rents from $300 to $1,500 a month (Kendell, 2019).
One of the concerns for adult autistics and their families is the potential for abuse and neglect in any housing option. The social worker for a severely impacted ASD friend paid a surprise visit to his SLS apartment and found his careworker on top of him. His horrified parents immediately moved him back to the parental home for now.
Group homes have the most oversight in that they are licensed. However, my social worker remarked that it was impossible to physically visit each client more than once or twice a year as she had a huge caseload, many of them in different group homes. According to the San Francisco Autism Society, some group homes may also choose to limit family involvement and oversight (ASD Housing Options, 2019). Historically, a lack of oversight and accountability contributes to neglect or abuse (UNICEF, 2005, p. 12).
A majority of adults continue to live in the family home for many years due to this housing crisis. There is some advantage to living amongst familiar friends and family which gives a sense of belonging (ASD Housing Options, 2019). While it is actually cost-effective for the state to have the adult continue to stay with their families into adulthood, there is currently a huge financial disincentive to do so (ASD Housing Options, 2019). The full range of ILS and SLS services cannot be accessed unless the adult autistic resides in a separate address. Aging parents simply cannot continue to provide the same level of care without access to significant SLS support, so autistics are often forced into housing options that are less than optimal. Changes in legislation to enable adults to continue living in the parental home with full SLS/ILS support could help alleviate some of this housing crisis until better alternatives can be found.
Families can indeed play an important role in the oversight process of “service delivery and monitoring of safety” (ASD Housing Options, 2019). My social worker had once mentioned that some parents are buying a smaller second home close by for their adult child so that the parents can better monitor service delivery. Buying a second home in the Bay Area is however impossible for most. Some family friends have bought two houses on the same street in cheaper areas like the outskirts of Sacramento, one for themselves and one for their adult ASD family member. A family I know in San Jose is working on converting their “in-law” unit through city permits into a separate address. Caseworkers in Marin County have also indicated to a family I know that the county was now encouraging the building of in-law units on existing properties and zoning them as separate addresses. It is part of the attempt by Marin county to address the housing crisis for adults and the hope is that more counties will follow suit.
Essentially the state has been unprepared for the exploding numbers of adults with autism which has rushed their housing needs into a crisis mode, more so in an expensive geographical location like the Bay Area. Changing legislation to build and rezone in-law units on existing properties as well as continued residence in the parental home with full SLS support may help alleviate some of this crisis. Thousands of affordable units also need to be built as well as other incentives to make rents affordable. Staffing is a critical component for this population so affordable housing for staff also needs to be addressed. In addition, there is the issue of addressing the unique and behavioral needs of the autistics themselves to consider, which impacts the type of housing they need. The overriding issue of disability rights still remains unresolved for the autism population - that of inclusion via community-integrated housing versus a new form of segregation with the creation of autism communities. There is clearly a housing crisis for this vulnerable population and currently no simple solutions.
Additional Note:
Additional Note:
Something which appeared almost like a conundrum to me (and Prof Marsha Saxton also hinted at this in class) was the Independent Living Paradigm. PWD (People with Disabilities) went from being dependent on their families to living and making decisions on their own; the shift in decision making towards self-determination is just amazing progress. It truly represents the disability rights mantra of, “Nothing about us, without us.” In my adult autism housing web paper, one of the options mentioned (or adults with more support needs is supported living, which is a form of independent living.
The concern is that independent living unless arranged properly can result in isolation. It could end up with just the autistic and a caretaker who will leave for their own family home when their shift ends. The thought of loneliness is one of the most terrifying fears for a lot of folks including me. Just parking a person in the middle of a community with personal assistants does not mean inclusion or a sense of community. A great irony is that the non-disabled neurotypical population places so much emphasis on being surrounded by family and friends yet the disabled are pushed towards becoming an “independent island” that has to live away from the family. Isn’t having some sort of self-determined, independent living arrangement in your family home or near your family a better option - so you continue to have access to that network of friends and family in your life rather than just a series of paid caretakers alone. Staff turnover is so high in the Bay Area and it is hard for a PWD to get a sense of stability or mental calm when you know 'paid people' around you will/can quit anytime.
We need hybrid housing options that allow for self-determination yet incorporate the opportunity for being included in the community and access to the family and friends network. Doing the paper both educated and worried me as it seemed to me that those of us with more significant disabilities will be at the mercy of caretakers and support agencies. It was no surprise to me to hear that some PWD got abandoned by their caretakers during the Paradise wildfire 2 years ago.
References for Web Paper.
ASD Housing Options. (2019). Retrieved October 14, 2019, from https://www.sfautismsociety.org/housing-options-for-adults-with-autism.html.
Bay Area Real Estate Markets Survey - Compass. (2019, October). Retrieved October 14, 2019,
Bona, S. (2019, July 22). Bay Area Rent Report - June 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2019, from
California Department of Developmental Services. (2018, June 8). Information About Regional
Centers. Retrieved November 11, 2019, from https://dds.ca.gov/RC/.
CDC. (2019, September 3). Data & Statistics on Autism Spectrum Disorder. Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html.
Escher, J. (2014, January 22). Commentary: What happens when autistic children become
adults. Retrieved October 14, 2019, from
Fihe, T. [Tyler Fihe]. (2019, April, 9). Tyler Fihe [Video File]. Retrieved from
Kendall, M. (2019, May 21). Why the housing crisis hits this Bay Area group especially hard.
Retrieved from
The Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2019,
Marino, S. A. (2018, September 13). The Special Ed Epidemic: What happens when they age
out of school? Retrieved October 14, 2019, from
Schur, L., Kruse, D., & Blanck, P. D. (2013). People with Disabilities: Sidelined Or
Mainstreamed? New York: Cambridge University Press.
UNICEF. (2005, July 28). Violence against Disabled Children: UN Secretary Generals Report
on Violence against Children Thematic Group on Violence against Disabled Children
(Summary Report) New York: United Nations. Retrieved November 11, 2019, from
Basic Issues in Cognition
with Prof Davina Chan on last day of class
The Discussion Section in Hildebrand Hall
Intro to Disability Studies
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| With Prof Marsha Saxton, Introduction to Disability Studies |
Group Presentation by our team on the book "Deaf in Delhi" for the Class"
The DSP asks for proof of purchase in order to provide the textbook in an alternative format (pdf in my case). I did not have a receipt so sent a photo instead of the 2 textbooks. Worked!!
Second Semester Teaching an Autism DeCal Class at UC Berkeley
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| Autism Decal, Take 2 |
First Class
First Autism DeCal Class today at UC Berkeley with co-instructor Devina. Larger class this sem and we got allotted a bigger classroom too. Almost half the class had not met someone with autism before today. This a word bubble of the words that came to mind when students heard the word autism. Lots of guest speakers this sem. Gonna be so good.
Sensorimotor Issues in Autism
Week 2 of the 1:59 ASD Class.
Full house with 25 students + 2 auditing students.
Our first guest speaker Dr. Clarissa Kripke from UCSF on Sensiromotor Issues in Autism. Certainly gave the (NT) class a lot to think about.
A nod towards Respect(Ability) ---- She asked if the class had been assigned my article on experiencing Sproul Plaza with sensory dysfunction as a reading for today, or was I too humble to do so. Recommended the class read that article.
Immediately saw lots of startled glances look my way - earned some newfound respect from my NT peers-- Thanks Clarissa
Week 2 of the 1:59 ASD Class.
Full house with 25 students + 2 auditing students.
Our first guest speaker Dr. Clarissa Kripke from UCSF on Sensiromotor Issues in Autism. Certainly gave the (NT) class a lot to think about.
A nod towards Respect(Ability) ---- She asked if the class had been assigned my article on experiencing Sproul Plaza with sensory dysfunction as a reading for today, or was I too humble to do so. Recommended the class read that article.
Immediately saw lots of startled glances look my way - earned some newfound respect from my NT peers-- Thanks Clarissa
Guest Speaker Igor
Guest Speaker and international Berkeley Law Student Igor Silva talking about activism and identity at our 1:59 Autism Spectrum Disorder class last night.
Prof Steve Hinshaw on Stigma
ASD Adult Panels
Our 1:59 Autism Spectrum Disorder class this semester at UC Berkeley had two sets of Adult Panels so that students can better understand and interact with individuals on the spectrum. Why Adults - because many still think that autism magically goes away in adulthood.
Thank you, panelists, for talking about your experiences and the Q and A. The class benefitted from the experience of hearing from you.
Big Shout out to Ari Yovel, David Teplitz and Nathaniel Major from our first panel on 10/23/19
Another Big Shout out to Brazos Donaho, Brian Liu and Emma Hoy from our second panel on 10/30
Prof Pedro Ponce
11/6: Our Guest Speaker today from Mexico spoke on the use of Robots with autism
The Last Class of the Semester
12/5: Last 1:59 Autism DeCal Class (Psych 198) for this semester with 25 students. I had a fantastic time prepping materials and teaching this group of students.
From fellow teacher Devina and me. Thank you. You guys were a great class.
I hope you all will be an ally and continue to engage with the autism community in some form throughout your life.
Kroeber Hall
The class was held in Kroeber which is home to the Anthropology Museum
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| A student shows the protest banner she will be marching with right after class |
What did you like about this class? What was the most interesting thing(s) you learned from this experience?
- I liked the wide lens used to give awareness of ASD
- I loved how it was such an open and respectful place to discuss this topic. I thought the guest speakers were very interesting. Learning about their personal stories was the best part.
- I really enjoyed the Adult Panels! I found it interesting to gain insight into neurodivergent brains and lifestyles.
- I liked how all information was talked without the setting being uncomfortable as this may be a touchy subject or new to some people.
- I loved the ASD panels, it brought faces and real-life experiences to the disorder. The overall learning of the class was engaging. I
- I really liked all the different speakers you brought in, and I thought the curriculum was really interesting. I learned a lot about autism being a spectrum, which I wasn't aware of before.
- i liked the guest speakers
- Speaker panel, I liked learning about the different struggles that people with autism face given other disorders, life experiences, etc.
- I loved this class. I went into it not really knowing much about ASD and I feel like I've learned a ton! I loved hearing different experiences from different adults with autism and how their life has played out with ASD.
- I liked the speaker panels--the most interesting thing I learned was about the different ways people with ASD coped with their differences.
- I really enjoyed the guest speakers which were also on the spectrum.
- What I liked about this class is all the different guest speakers we had and especially that a panel of adults on the spectrum was included. The most interesting thing I learned from this experience is how society can adapt to ASD instead of the other way around as well as the new technology that is being produced to help people on the spectrum.
- Direct interaction with people with ASD
- The panels and hearing the stories of people who face these challenges. I also like how honest everything we learned.
- I enjoyed the opportunity to hear from a wide range of guest speakers on a variety of topics. The most interesting thing I learned was the fact that so many different factors play a role in how autism is stigmatized and seen as.
- I truly enjoyed my time in this class! I learned so many compelling things about ASD, including the struggles of the intersectionality of ASD with other marginalized identities.
- Speaker panel, I liked how we learned about autistic individuals' struggles given their different life experiences, other disorders they had, etc.
- Hearing people with ASD speak
- All possible ways in which ASD can exist. I think I have a much better understanding of the disorder now. I loved how many different people we have seen and read about, it was eye-opening.
- I really enjoyed how enlightening and open this class was it felt so wholesome and meaningful to learn about ASD, the different ways it affects people and the different ways it may be helped.
- I loved how the class gave me a strong foundational understanding of ASD. Additionally, the guest speakers were absolutely amazing, from the professors to those who are on the spectrum, all of them were very informative and great to hear from.
- I liked the guest speakers. The articles were extremely interesting. The most interesting thing was learning about intersections.
- It is good that this class invited many guest speakers, which enable me to learn from many perspectives rather than one aspect. I really like the seminar we had with autistic students
- There's nothing I can think of to change the course.
- Have more adult panels if possible or guest speakers on ways we can get involved
- I found the speakers all very helpful, especially the panelists when we could ask questions
- I wouldn't change much about the class! I thought all the class content was very refreshing and insightful.
- Thank you so much for offering this class. I truly really enjoyed it.
- Thank you!
- Hari and Devina both did an amazing job teaching this class. I learned so much more than I imagined and I really enjoyed it. I've recommended this to my friends and the knowledge that I''ve gained from this will be carried with me throughout life! Thank you!!
- thank you so much!!
- Thank you for your hard work in helping us to understand more about ASD and be better proponents for change in our communities.
- The class was very insightful overall and has given me a better general understanding of ASD
- Thank you very happy to have taken this class good luck with finals!
- Thank you so much for teaching this course; it is such a unique decal and it opened my eyes to so many aspects of ASD that I would otherwise have never known about.
- Great class!
- Thank you!
- I am so happy I got the chance to take this class.
- I am so happy I got the chance to take this class. I’ve told all my friends and family about how cool, interesting, and wholesome this class is.
- Overall I am happy with my decision to have taken this class and learned so much from the speakers and you, the facilitators, because other than just learning about ASD and how to advocate for them I also simply learned lessons on how to be a more decent human being. I learned that you don’t necessarily have to change someone's behaviors, but can learn to adapt yourself around them because we live in a world that is used to the neurotypical and although there are people who are different, they are not in the wrong.
- Overall, this course opened my eyes to aspects of ASD that I would have otherwise never learned. It was also such a unique opportunity that the class was co-facilitated by someone on the spectrum himself. Going forward, I hope to increase awareness on ASD, even if it means taking small steps like simply talking to my friends and family about what I learned from this decal.
- I found this class really inspiring because it covers a wide range of topics regarding ASD, which enables me to understand this spectrum from diverge and even conflicting perspectives. Even though the multiplicity of views sometimes raise dissonance in my mind, because it is always hard for me to find a “correct” answer to lean on, I think this is a right way to approach a psychological disorder: emphasizing its complexity rather than trying to simplify it.
- Another part of this class that influenced my ideas a lot is the seminars we had with students on the spectrum. By having sweet little conversations with Hari, Igor, and many other excellent people, I think I confirm my belief that people who have been categorized into a group may vary more greatly within individuals than vary between groups.
- This semester I signed up for a class in a topic that I had heard of but really did not know much about or completely understand. From the very first day I went to class I started to understand and learn what the Autism Spectrum Disorder is and that it can affect any one in manifest in many different ways. I learned that Autism is a spectrum and that therefore each individual has their own unique experience with what they go through. This spectrum is very dynamic and can come along with other comorbidities which keep influencing how different each individual's journey is and how challenging living with autism is or with autism and other conditions...Going to this class was what I looked forward to most because I was learning and hearing real stories and everything that was talked about matters. It matters more than any book I could read or anything I could google actually being there and hearing real people talk about their experience and how they are trying to help this community.
- I also appreciated finally understanding how the Autism Spectrum and other spectrum disorders was elucidated visually for me in the beginning of class. I had been working with people on the Spectrum for years, and had previously thought that I had understood the Spectrum much more than I actually did. For example, I did not understand that each member of the Spectrum displays challenges in each category of the Spectrum, but in different degrees of impact. This was critical for me to understand and very eye-opening to learn.
- When I first walked into that Krober classroom in September, I had no idea that I would learn so much about Autism in such a meaningful and enlightening way. I walked into an a topic that was unknown to me, and stepped into a new community that is now very dear to me. All of this was unknown and I know so much want to learn more. I am thankful to have learned through professionals and others that have autism. The information they shared and the vulnerability they should was amazing.
- Communicating is a necessity for people. It may be difficult for people with minimally verbal autism, but despite that, current technology allows minimally verbal people to communicate and acquire social skills.
- Being enrolled in Hari and Devina’s autism spectrum disorder class shifted my mindset on the way I view autism and has made me a much more informed individual. Minimally verbal, “high functioning,” Asperger’s syndrome, savant syndrome, etc. autism is such a broad and beautiful spectrum. Autism doesn’t look or is supposed to be a certain way, it’s a spectrum, yet the labeling and treatment from society are usually all the same. The stigma and harsh treatment from society generally intrigued me because of how shockingly inconsiderate people can be.
- I did not know what to expect when I signed up for this course. I have learned so much about the ASD community and ASD itself. It has been so amazing to be taught by both Hari and Devina, and all of the guest lecturers and panelists that have spoken with us.
- I deemed the representation of non-verbal people with Autism essential to this course, as I felt that teaching others to presume competence could, quite literally, change the life of the non-verbal person.
- As a computer science and cognitive science double major, one of my favorite topics we learned about in this course was how technology can be used to help people with special needs.
- The first thing I would like to say is I am so proud of UC Berkeley for its acceptance for people with different living conditions and backgrounds. I am so privileged to get to learn about people from all walks of life.
- Another thing I learned was what Autism looks like. Growing up, I have never met a person on the spectrum before. This class was the first time I have been in a room with people on the spectrum.
- This decal has been extremely insightful and informational.
- All in all, I’m so happy I’ve taken this course and learned so much information about ASD and the different forms it takes on. It’s so interesting now when watching films with characters with ASD because I’m even a little closer to understanding the life of someone with ASD and trying to see the world from their perspective. I’m ecstatic to share all this new knowledge with friends, family, and peers around me. Thank you!
- I was very excited about this DeCal and I’m glad I took it before graduation. It definitely allowed me to understand the ASD a lot better. It made me realize how stigmatized the subject was, and I already took a step in the right direction by discussing it with several of my friends living here at Berkeley, and one of them is already signed up for next semester. I’m glad I was able to meet other individuals on the spectrum to see for myself how broad it actually is, and how unique every single one of them was. I have to admit that I was not as open-minded before and all of the lectures brought insight about the world of ASD.
- They say college is all about knowledge and experiences, and this experience is definitely one of the most valuable ones I could have learned here at UC Berkeley.
- My plan is to go to grad school for occupational therapy after I graduate from Berkeley. Before this decal I thought the most important part of therapy was the early intervention. I didn’t realize how many people on the spectrum get dropped of resources after high school. Seeing this lack of resources has made me want to look into occupational therapy for older adults not just young children.
- I knew very little about Autism prior to this class, but now I understand much more about what those on the spectrum have to go through. I feel like I can have a better attitude towards those with Autism and have more patience as I now know that many of the stigmas and misconceptions towards A.S.D. are false. As a result, I feel like this class has made me an overall better person. Many people do not know a whole lot about A.S.D., but thanks to this course I feel like I am capable of sharing my knowledge to people I know and help eliminate those negative stigmas towards Autism.
- Thank you so much for teaching this course it has been an extremely valuable learning experience in a very welcoming environment. It was an honor. being in this class and learning from you both :)
- I would like to thank Devina and Hari for the interesting Decal!
- I didn’t understand that not only was autism a spectrum in terms of variety, it also could present in many different ways. For example, Hari is super smart and a functional college student, but also non-verbal. Autism looks different in every person.
- Thank Hari and Devina for organizing this decal. It was really well done, and I learned so much in just 1.5 a week. It helped me realize how interested I am specifically in psychology and understanding disorders, and this class has motivated me to get more involved in the future. Listening to speakers really made me understand how much interesting working is being done in this field currently and has affected my options as I’m looking for a full-time career next year. I took this course, because I recognized Hari from his Daily Californian articles, and I’m so glad I was able to learn from him this semester.
- This semester has taught me a lot. I have fully enjoyed this decal as I find it being one of the most applicable courses I have taken in a long time. I have always known that I have wanted to work with kids and people, but never have felt a direct certainty on what exactly that meant. With the help of this decal, the instructors, fellow classmates, and the speakers I have realized that I want to continue a journey with others who are exploring the autism spectrum and those, themselves, who have an ‘austistic’ identity.
On a scale of 1 to 5, how effective is Hari as an instructor?
How can Hari improve?
- He is also great! Always attentive and answer all emails and even in person always helps!
- Hari is so inspiring and I loved his funny comments!
- Hari was awesome at emailing us and guiding us through the speakers and their backgrounds before we met them. Also at reminding us about upcoming deadlines!
- Hari occasional feedbacks are very great and insightful. He really made an impression on me
- Letting us work together a little more.
- He can try to write more articles.
- I hope we can have more conversations with him and learn more about him
- I am so glad I took this course. Hari is such an inspirational person. I am so honored to have learned from someone so intelligent and unique.
- I never completely understood the concept that autism in non-linear until this class. I had always referred to people with autism as “higher or lower functioning” but I now know that is completely false. Hari has also given me a completely new perspective on non-verbal autistics. I never thought about the fact that the motor-cortex is nowhere near connected to thought- processing in the brain. I think it’s important that every non-verbal autistic has a change to learn something like typing or another form of communication so they can communicate their thoughts. I have learned so much from this class and it has been so interesting! Thank you!!
Class Profile by Major and Year
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