A message from the creator
Hello and welcome! My name is Allison and I am a senior at Pomona College majoring in neuroscience. I like walks, crunchy peanut butter, and I used to be scared of children. That's where my story begins.
Being around children, let alone reinforcing positive behavior in them, used to frighten me. I always feared mishandling or exacerbating a crying child. Yet I somehow continuously found myself in situations with children. When I joined Vanderbilt's Music Cognition Lab for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other linguistic impairments in the summer of 2019, I was incredibly nervous. I could not act normally around kids - how could I handle the complexity of working with autistic children or serious developmental disorders? It was too late to change labs so I stuck with it. I realized I could use my background in behavior and flute playing to my advantage in our ASD music therapy class.
In the following weeks, I struggled but was bolstered by the smiles on the faces of children and their parents. I slowly learned to communicate at a level each child could understand and observe a child’s nuanced behavior. I came to appreciate the lifelong support and impact I could provide as well as learn my position as an advocate for those with ASD and other disabilities. After that summer, I sought out more opportunities to work with neurodiverse groups, such as a summer camp for AD/HD and ASD diagnosed children. I knew I wanted to incorporate developmental disabilities into my thesis and literature review to explore this subject from both a humanistic and a neuroscientific perspective.
While writing my literature review on sensory response in ASD, I noticed that the challenges autistic individuals faced, such as sensory demands or information complexity, were always contextual to a society designed for non-disabled people. I was quite drawn to articles about the same challenges autistic individuals and other disabled individuals faced when navigating healthcare and their wellbeing. For my project thesis, I knew I wanted to further dissect the conversations, or the lack thereof, surrounding disabilities and the neurodiversity movement specifically within health care. As I plan on attending medical school in the fall, I also hope to gain new understanding and awareness regarding how I can advocate for my future neurodiverse patients and challenge the ableist narrative in medicine. I want to create a space for and call attention to much-needed deliberation and initiation regarding the insufficient recognition and respect of neurodiversity within healthcare.
I have always enjoyed aspects of design and playing with colors, even wanting to be an interior designer when I was younger. However, this has been a facet of myself that I have neglected to explore in college. Through this interactive website, I hope to learn more about design and weave artistic and humanistic elements into an overlooked, traditionally science-based topic.
Finally, I would also like to acknowledge my privilege in learning about disability. I myself have struggled with a mental disability and continue to grapple with its repercussions. I know I can not speak on behalf of all individuals who identify as disabled as or know everything about the diverse disability experience. Rather, I hope to amplify our voices and needs. I aim to make this website accessible to as many community members as possible.
Being around children, let alone reinforcing positive behavior in them, used to frighten me. I always feared mishandling or exacerbating a crying child. Yet I somehow continuously found myself in situations with children. When I joined Vanderbilt's Music Cognition Lab for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other linguistic impairments in the summer of 2019, I was incredibly nervous. I could not act normally around kids - how could I handle the complexity of working with autistic children or serious developmental disorders? It was too late to change labs so I stuck with it. I realized I could use my background in behavior and flute playing to my advantage in our ASD music therapy class.
In the following weeks, I struggled but was bolstered by the smiles on the faces of children and their parents. I slowly learned to communicate at a level each child could understand and observe a child’s nuanced behavior. I came to appreciate the lifelong support and impact I could provide as well as learn my position as an advocate for those with ASD and other disabilities. After that summer, I sought out more opportunities to work with neurodiverse groups, such as a summer camp for AD/HD and ASD diagnosed children. I knew I wanted to incorporate developmental disabilities into my thesis and literature review to explore this subject from both a humanistic and a neuroscientific perspective.
While writing my literature review on sensory response in ASD, I noticed that the challenges autistic individuals faced, such as sensory demands or information complexity, were always contextual to a society designed for non-disabled people. I was quite drawn to articles about the same challenges autistic individuals and other disabled individuals faced when navigating healthcare and their wellbeing. For my project thesis, I knew I wanted to further dissect the conversations, or the lack thereof, surrounding disabilities and the neurodiversity movement specifically within health care. As I plan on attending medical school in the fall, I also hope to gain new understanding and awareness regarding how I can advocate for my future neurodiverse patients and challenge the ableist narrative in medicine. I want to create a space for and call attention to much-needed deliberation and initiation regarding the insufficient recognition and respect of neurodiversity within healthcare.
I have always enjoyed aspects of design and playing with colors, even wanting to be an interior designer when I was younger. However, this has been a facet of myself that I have neglected to explore in college. Through this interactive website, I hope to learn more about design and weave artistic and humanistic elements into an overlooked, traditionally science-based topic.
Finally, I would also like to acknowledge my privilege in learning about disability. I myself have struggled with a mental disability and continue to grapple with its repercussions. I know I can not speak on behalf of all individuals who identify as disabled as or know everything about the diverse disability experience. Rather, I hope to amplify our voices and needs. I aim to make this website accessible to as many community members as possible.