The Wisdom of Yoda

I've been attending a monthly video conference series on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) organized by our district's school psychologist for parents and staff who have kids or work with kids on the spectrum. Our current video is done by Dr. Jed Baker, author of the book No More Meltdowns: Positive Strategies for Managing and Preventing Out-of-Control Behavior. The conference we've been watching is called Social Skills Training and Frustration Management and is geared for kids with ASD. We've watched two out of three of the parts and so far I've taken a lot of information in from the video. But the one thing that "sticks" with me is a quotation that Dr. Baker uses that is extracted from the great Master Yoda himself.

Fear leads to anger,

which leads to hate,

which leads to suffering.

This is the path to the dark side.

This message can apply to those with ASD as well as those who know them.  The autistic person can have the fear, leading to the dark side. Or society can have the fear of an autistic person, leading to the dark side. Of course, bullying is part of the dark side, and can be caused by fearing the autistic child.

I'm going to be attending a conference next week in Albuquerque that has three different speakers talking about autism and the social skills and communication problems that people with autism and Asperger's Syndrome have.  The first speaker is Dr. Temple Grandin, a very well-known woman on the spectrum who has written books about her life.  I can't wait to hear her perspective on things.

~~~~~~~~~
Neat