Autism DeCal at UC Berkeley
The DeCal is Up
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TGHaMNI3SFH6wDxvfalDvhXZxoCP3C0D/view?usp=sharing
Week 1
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| With fellow student co-teachers Julianna, Diana and Devina |
One point which has been highlighted in my Disability Studies classes and discussed at the RadMad Disability Lab just last week was how many places in the campus had physical accessibility issues. Dr. Kripke also drew attention to how a wheelchair user would not be able to present in this class.
This classroom has a stepped down auditorium type seating inside, leading down to the stage. You can get into the Moffit Library building and down to the 1st floor via elevator. But wheelchair user would have to stay back on the top row near the door of the classroom, they could not come down to the stage to present. That means that that a panelist I was going to invite to participate in our ASD adult panel will not be able to as she is a wheelchair user!!
Rachel Kripke-Ludwig joined us in class today. Rachel goes to Open Mind School and points to a letterboard to communicate as she is a non-speaking autistic. It is good for the students to see all profiles of autism - how else will they understand what Autism is?
Week 4 & 5 - ASD Panels
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| 1st ASD Adults Panel - Reid, Nate, Emma and David |
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| 2nd ASD Adult. Panel - Ari, Brazos, Brian and Esperanza |
3/11: Another marvelous talk by Prof Steve Hinshaw at our Autism Decal class today on Stigma and Autism. In the last 2 semesters, (to my knowledge) at least 2 students have switched their major to Psychology, after hearing him speak at the 1:59 ASD class. Prof Hinshaw drew both on his own personal experiences as well as his work in the Mental Health, ADHD and Stigma fields.
Last week, the university was 'encouraging' classes be offered online and that became mandatory as of yesterday. We all received emails with different options to do online delivery and our team decided to go with ZoomPro as we thought that would be more interactive and work well for both our internal and external speakers.
Of course we ran into glitches in getting the ZoomPro account set up - apparently the demand was huge from the faculty itself, and they had not taken into account that undergraduate student instructors would need ZoomPro too. Luckily our Psych dept advisor, was able to help us resolve this and we should be set with ZoomPro accounts for next week. For this week, Prof Hinshaw, who is the faculty sponsor for this class, graciously hosted the class using his faculty ZoomPro account.
It certainly did feel different doing the class remotely. Still it went off pretty well I think.
Week 8 - Igor Silva
3/18: Igor Silva was the guest speaker at our Autism Decal class today to speak on "Autism as Superpower." Igor is a fellow autistic and international law student at Berkeley Law. Right off the bat, his passion for autism activism came through as he drew attention to the importance of political identity for the "autism movement", celebrated the accomplishments of autistics like Greta Thunberg and pointed out parallels to other movements like climate change, women's rights movement, LGBTQ movment etc.
I think the talk enabled the students in the class to think of autistics as beyond just a group that faces mixed levels of everyday challenges with social-communication, sensory processing issues etc.
And of course given our current online instruction due to the coronavirus, it was all via zoom.
(Check out Igor's website https://igorpereira.com/)
4/1: It's been an unsettling two weeks with the exponential growth curves of the coronavirus. We were back this week with a parent panel. Joining us were Christine, Denise, Nicole and Sarika to speak of the complex experiences of parenting autistic individuals, a task that does not end even in adulthood. We appreciate their being able to take the time in the middle of this pandemic which adds extra stressors not only for them but also in the care and mental health of the autistic member of their household.
Here is a video of our parent panel and what they had to say
This course has been one of the most eye-opening courses I have taken so far.
I wanted to give a big thank you to Hari and all of the facilitators. I try to take a decal every semester... This decal was very well run and educational, I feel like I learned more from it than any other decal I’ve taken at Cal.
After having been in several UC Berkeley psychology courses with Hari, and reading his writing in the Daily Cal and on his blog, I knew I wanted to take this course. I am so grateful to Hari, Devina, Juliana, and Diana for cultivating such a meaningful space for neurotypical and neurodivergent individuals alike—all of whom arrived in the classroom with a different relation to and understanding of autism—that left an enormous impact on me. From organizing thoughtful panels filled with amazing individuals (from college students to parents to professionals...all were remarkable!), to generating thought-provoking discussions on bCourses and in course assignments, to openly welcoming anonymous questions in every course, you all did a tremendous job at facilitating a class environment that was as comfortable as it was informative.... I am so honored to have been a part of this course—logging onto the Zoom calls and seeing each of your faces has been huge in not only my learning, but also my wellness. Each of you makes me feel so inspired, and I am fortunate to have been taught by you.
I enjoyed hearing Hari's inspirational story because it really reflects just how little society knows about ASD...
This course was such a fun addition to my semester,
Another aspect of the course I liked was that it was taught by a person with autism. Hari could teach us about a particular topic while adding in his own experience, which made the class so much more interesting than typical psychology classes.
In this course, I learned many new things and got to see a whole new perspective as I didn’t know much about autism.
For any Cal student, I would definitely recommend this Decal. For me, this course was a blessing and helped me better understand what is autism.
This was the first class discussing disability studies that I’ve taken, and I loved it. I loved how so many facets of autism were covered. I loved the guest speakers, and the fact that autistic voices really shaped this class. The DeCal format made it so that the class was casual in the sense that there was less pressure on grades. Instead, there was emphasis on building community and providing space for discussion, led by facilitators who were knowledgeable, kind, and enthusiastic about the subject matter...Thank you for all of your hard work putting on one of the most memorable classes I will take at Cal and for a wonderful semester despite the unexpected circumstances...I am really thankful to have taken this course and am thankful for all the hard work put in by Hari and the Facilitators and everyone involved from even the beginnings of this course.
It was important for me to learn from Hari’s perspective (and many of the guests invited in) what It felt like to not be able to communicate thoughts and feelings...This was my first decal and this is my last semester at Berkeley. I’m very glad I took this class. I
I think that completing this decal has been deeply beneficial to me...Overall, this decal was a great success. The facilitators were incredibly supportive and passionate about the subject. There was no stress about grades. We were just there together to learn more about autism and the community it encompasses – from those on the spectrum to their friends and family. And we learned about this in the most successful way, through conversations with people whose lives were in some way connected to autism.
I overall enjoyed the course and I hope this class and organization becomes huge. It deserves it entirely.
The course facilitators (Hari particularly) have worked extremely hard to get ASD community members to come share their research and experiences with a curious student body, and for that I am truly thankful…. I will certainly recommend this course to fellow students as ASD is a topic that needs to be shared not just with people interested in the topic, but with anyone passionate about changing the world
First off, I would like to express how grateful I am for this class...This class has opened my eyes to so many things...Hari specifically is one of my favorite things about this class. I am so honored to be in a class led by him. He is such an inspiration to me because I feel that people always want to put others down because they are different. But Hari is such an inspiration because he is pursuing a higher education degree while being nonverbal. It proves that just because someone may be nonverbal does not mean they lack the skills to communicate. Especially now with so much advanced technology, cases such as Hari’s should prove that with the proper tools, support system, and help, almost anything is possible. It is up to us to be more vocal about how we can further support the ASD community and create educational and honest dialogue that correctly re-introduces the public to ASD without creating any negative and untrue stereotypes. I can honestly say this class has changed my life. I feel so much more aware of what is going on around me having to do with ASD as well as any forms of disability. I am more conscious of language I may hear people use that is hurtful and derogatory and I will be able to correct others. I can only hope that with everything I have learned I will be able to inform others and create a less ignorant world. Thank you to Hari and the facilitators for putting together such an amazing course. I am honored to have been able to attend such an amazing class
This class has truly been a joy to take...Thank you so much to Hari for proving that it is possible to overcome many of the obstacles placed in your path...On a final note, I want to say that this class has been extremely eye-opening for me - someone who has had no previous experience with this subject. It has brought awareness to me and I have no doubt it will continue to do so in the future. I truly believe this class is an exceptional method to learning more about the spectrum
One main takeaway I value from this course is the falsity of the terms“higher-functioning” and “lower-functioning”. All of the presentations, readings, and panel demonstrated that these terms are not accurate ways of distinguishing people on the spectrum.We learned that being a person with autism who is non-verbal or who stims a lot, in no way means they are “lower-functioning” than a person with autism who is verbal or sits more still.This fact is something I really value. I think it is applicable to everyone and everything. Intelligence and capability is expressed differently in everyone...Thank you so much for a great semester.
I am so happy I took this decal because I have learned so much and it has opened my eyes to the different intersections of disabilities.
I am truly glad I took this class because Iseemed to have a pretty big paradigm shift. ..Another thing I learned from this class was the aspect of communication. Since my brother is verbal, I really only thought that there were two types of autistic people. One that is verbal and one that is nonverbal and unable to communicate at all. However, I learned that communication comes in all shapes and forms.From an iPad to a tapping system, people on the spectrum even if they are nonverbal may be able to communicate. And I think it is really important to empower those on the spectrum and give them the tools to allow them to do so.Instead of thinking that someone is unable to form an opinion for themselves we should try to stay out of their way as possible and just let them be because people on the spectrum are humans too.
Even though I had been exposed to autism my whole life, I feel like this is the first time Ihad my eyes opened.
This was a class that was much more eye opening than I initially thought it would be. As someone who did not have any prior knowledge about autism, I walked into my first class very clueless and unsure of what to expect. I am happy to say that by the end of the semester, I have learned a lot more about autism and can appreciate it much better...Overall, this was an amazing experience and I am glad that I decided to sign up for this class!
Thank you again for organizing such a great course and guide me through this wonderful journey to a new world! Hope I could make my contribution to help people with ASD enjoy a better life in the future
Having Hari as an instructor added to the course as someone with Autism; his personal experience and anecdotes personalized each lecture. .. I would gladly recommend this course to friends in the future .. I hope this course continues to grow in popularity as it has a lot of insight to offer our Cal community
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