“Every little thing is gonna be all right.”
When Chester Lindeman, a sophomore at LHS, sings the famous words of Bob Marley, they carry extra meaning when included in a new two-part video about autism shot at Lawrence High.
Jessica Pittel, a senior at the University of Kansas, filmed “Autism in High School” as a multimedia project on a social topic for her photo-media class. Pittel, who has a cousin affected by autism, had multiple motivations to do a video about autism.
“I feel a lot of things out there make autism look like a negative thing that needs to be cured,” Pittel said. “I wanted to look at it for what it was, to understand it. I am very close with my aunt and uncle, and I see the struggle and joy they have with raising my cousin, and I wanted to do it for them.”
When Pittel was looking for sources to interview, she came across apathetic responses until she met Jake Thibodeau, special education teacher at LHS. For Thibodeau, it was an exciting opportunity to shed a different light on his students.
“I think sometimes it gets lost in the fact that they are individuals, and they are not just a disability,” he said. “I really wanted for them to be showcased in a light that shows them as individuals and really cool people, which they are.”
Filming began with an extensive interview.
“First time I went, I talked to Jake,” Pittel said. “First thing I noticed was that he was really passionate. I felt that when I met the para-educators too. I really liked the passion that the teachers had for the kids. You can tell they really care.”
Over the course of a month, Pittel joined the special education class on community-based instruction activities and individual students on extra-curricular activities. She also followed Victoria VanAlstine, a junior in the LHS autism program, through her classes.
“I really loved the kids,” Pittel said. “They are really, really nice, and I got to know them and their personality, and I had better understanding of autism at the end of it and better understanding of kids who have it.”
Uploaded on Dec. 13, the two-part, 17-minute video is now available on YouTube. Part one explains what autism is, and part two shows LHS students with autism, such as VanAlstine.
Thibodeau said the video succeeded in showing his students as individuals and has drawn positive responses.
“Anybody that asks questions about what autism is and what I do, I always tell them about the video and to check it out,” Thibodeau said. “I didn’t know how it was going to be received, but it’s awesome.”
Pittel received an A for the video as well as praise from her classmates and her professor. Hundreds have watched the video online, and Pittel said she hopes LHS students will watch it, too.
“They probably see those kids all the time at school but probably don’t know much about them,” she said. “I want people to hopefully better understand autism and reach out to people with autism. It would probably brighten up their day if you took time to have conversation with them or get to know them because they are just like you and me.”
Thibodeau reminds students that people with autism are individuals — not a disability.
“Autism is something that they are living with. It doesn’t make their whole being,” he said. “They are whole individuals who have dreams and desires and wants and expectations that we all have so please afford them their right to have those.”
VanAlstine also asks classmates to watch the video.
“Lot of people are different in so many ways and there are a lot of people in the school with a disability, especially autism,” VanAlstine said. “I want students to understand and show respect.”
“Every little thing is gonna be all right.”
When Chester Lindeman, a sophomore at LHS, sings the famous words of Bob Marley, they carry extra meaning when included in a new two-part video about autism shot at Lawrence High.
Jessica Pittel, a senior at the University of Kansas, filmed “Autism in High School” as a multimedia project on a social topic for her photo-media class. Pittel, who has a cousin affected by autism, had multiple motivations to do a video about autism.
“I feel a lot of things out there make autism look like a negative thing that needs to be cured,” Pittel said. “I wanted to look at it for what it was, to understand it. I am very close with my aunt and uncle, and I see the struggle and joy they have with raising my cousin, and I wanted to do it for them.”
When Pittel was looking for sources to interview, she came across apathetic responses until she met Jake Thibodeau, special education teacher at LHS. For Thibodeau, it was an exciting opportunity to shed a different light on his students.
“I think sometimes it gets lost in the fact that they are individuals, and they are not just a disability,” he said. “I really wanted for them to be showcased in a light that shows them as individuals and really cool people, which they are.”
Filming began with an extensive interview.
“First time I went, I talked to Jake,” Pittel said. “First thing I noticed was that he was really passionate. I felt that when I met the para-educators too. I really liked the passion that the teachers had for the kids. You can tell they really care.”
Over the course of a month, Pittel joined the special education class on community-based instruction activities and individual students on extra-curricular activities. She also followed Victoria VanAlstine, a junior in the LHS autism program, through her classes.
“I really loved the kids,” Pittel said. “They are really, really nice, and I got to know them and their personality, and I had better understanding of autism at the end of it and better understanding of kids who have it.”
Uploaded on Dec. 13, the two-part, 17-minute video is now available on YouTube. Part one explains what autism is, and part two shows LHS students with autism, such as VanAlstine.
Thibodeau said the video succeeded in showing his students as individuals and has drawn positive responses.
“Anybody that asks questions about what autism is and what I do, I always tell them about the video and to check it out,” Thibodeau said. “I didn’t know how it was going to be received, but it’s awesome.”
Pittel received an A for the video as well as praise from her classmates and her professor. Hundreds have watched the video online, and Pittel said she hopes LHS students will watch it, too.
“They probably see those kids all the time at school but probably don’t know much about them,” she said. “I want people to hopefully better understand autism and reach out to people with autism. It would probably brighten up their day if you took time to have conversation with them or get to know them because they are just like you and me.”
Thibodeau reminds students that people with autism are individuals — not a disability.
“Autism is something that they are living with. It doesn’t make their whole being,” he said. “They are whole individuals who have dreams and desires and wants and expectations that we all have so please afford them their right to have those.”
VanAlstine also asks classmates to watch the video.
“Lot of people are different in so many ways and there are a lot of people in the school with a disability, especially autism,” VanAlstine said. “I want students to understand and show respect.”
