As someone with an autistic sibling I find feel-good articles like these immensely frustrating to read.
As you read them, just keep in mind that there is no agreed-upon definition of "autism" or "Asberger's Syndrome". (Nor does autism exist on a defined one-dimensional spectrum, contrary to popular belief.) Each individual is wildly different. So "severe autism" in one person might mean that person can't talk. In another it might mean they have seizures. In another it might mean they can hold a conversation but can't tie their shoes. The media tends to gloss over this major issue, and in so doing it wrongly connects many poorly-understood discrete neurological disorders.
The upshot is that even though it may be great that this particular individual benefits from Coursera, the vast majority of "autistic" individuals I have come across are not capable of processing anything that might be taught in a college-level course. Coursera cannot help them, although perhaps some more basic technologies might.
For those interested, my father has written about these general points here:
- Autism and the Media
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neil-s-greenspan/autism-and-th...
- Conceptualizing Autism: "Cloud" vs. "Spectrum"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neil-s-greenspan/autism-concep...
- Major Obstacles for Adults with Autism
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neil-s-greenspan/understanding...
As you read them, just keep in mind that there is no agreed-upon definition of "autism" or "Asberger's Syndrome". (Nor does autism exist on a defined one-dimensional spectrum, contrary to popular belief.) Each individual is wildly different. So "severe autism" in one person might mean that person can't talk. In another it might mean they have seizures. In another it might mean they can hold a conversation but can't tie their shoes. The media tends to gloss over this major issue, and in so doing it wrongly connects many poorly-understood discrete neurological disorders.
The upshot is that even though it may be great that this particular individual benefits from Coursera, the vast majority of "autistic" individuals I have come across are not capable of processing anything that might be taught in a college-level course. Coursera cannot help them, although perhaps some more basic technologies might.
For those interested, my father has written about these general points here:
- Autism and the Media http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neil-s-greenspan/autism-and-th...
- Conceptualizing Autism: "Cloud" vs. "Spectrum" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neil-s-greenspan/autism-concep...
- Major Obstacles for Adults with Autism http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neil-s-greenspan/understanding...