Intro to the D.M. Nisson, PhD Person-Centered Planning Success Story

So, what's the big deal? Many colleges are welcoming "autistic" students into their programs, right?

What's different about the story of David M. Nisson, PhD?

Actually, the difference is quite significant!
Autism is on a spectrum, but a lot of people don't realize this. So, most of the college programs are only set up to help "ASD" students who function independently at the mild end of the spectrum (Level 1), and exclude those Level 2 and 3 students with classic autism who require protective supervision. But, that fact didn't stop me from backing my son's dream, nor did it scare off the boldly open minded team at UC Davis Physics and Astronomy.

Because most parents are unable to locate the resources to do as I did, David is the first American diagnosed by the late Dr. Darold Trefffert with aide-dependent, Level 2-3 "Savant Syndrome Autism" to earn his doctorate in physics from a top ranked United States university. I am Mary Nisson -- the mom who helped him get it done. During the years I spent at David's side while he studied at UC Davis, I recorded this blog. To begin at the beginning, scroll down to 2009 and enjoy reading!  🎓 😊

Curious how our partnership succeeded?

The key was to 

[A] Reduce David's stress level and,

[B] Keep David's genius free to focus on his schoolwork and research, by letting me "sweat the small stuff" (that is often the cause of autistic students dropping out). 

So, while David was a lower division undergrad student at the respected Cosumnes River College (CRC) in Sacramento, California, and later upper division and grad school student at the world-renowned UC Davis Department of Physics and Astronomy (UCD), 

I:

• provided him basic Protective Supervision from such dangers as cars in parking lots and chemicals in laboratories; 🚗🚗 ⚛️

• advised and troubleshooted with counselors, professors and other staff in how to accommodate David’s unusual classroom communication and health-related needs; 

• served as David’s career, academic and Social Skills Coach
• 
  
• furnished financial aid advice and FAFSA instruction, executive level Secretarial and Personal Assistance, and more. 

These were a few of the supports that I provided so that David was able to produce scientific work good enough to receive scholarships, fellowships and grants to fund his bachelors and masters degrees.  ＄＄  🎉

Ready to follow in my footsteps?

As I said earlier, even with the new Self Determination Program and Person Centered Planning, most parents won't be able to follow in my footsteps all the way to the top of "the mountain", but I hope some can at least make it partway. 

Humanity and the planet upon which we depend need us to provide profoundly disabled, IHSS-requiring students an academic curriculum to prep for college so that we can access the potential in every potential scientist’s mind!  🌎 

My books are on the way; in the meantime, head back to the posts in 2009 and start reading. And, please feel free to ask me questions in the "comment" section, or to email me at: 

ddfp.planning@ gmail (dot) com.

                                                                                                                               

David's Website

Just a reminder that David Nisson's homepage is at:

http://student.physics.ucdavis.edu/~nisson/en/

UCD Support/Social Group

So, the latest news is that David has finally had time to attend the meetings of the Autism Support and Social Group at UC Davis. Yay! It meets at a bad time for us, so we haven't had time to go, but we finally get time this term and Dave attended while I hung out in the hallway. He really enjoyed himself, and we're happy to announce we'll head back again.

The facilitator for this group is sensitive, caring Susan Bacalman of the UC Davis MIND Institute:

http://beincharge.ucdavis.edu/staff.html       

Flying, and upcoming fellowship applications

Well, Dave and I had a great experience flying to and from Denver. http://flydenver.com/exploredia  Dave sure has come a long way (figuratively, and literally) and can now consider himself "a frequent flyer". Next big flight is Dallas-Forth Worth Airport, where we will visit nearby Lake Grapevine:

https://www.grapevinetexasusa.com/ThingsToDo/LakeGrapevine/tabid/260/Default.aspx

Congratulations, David!

Also, he passed the preliminary examination. Yay!

So now Dave's taking a regular class, attending seminars and colloquia, doing research, and applying for fellowships.

Busy!

Summer Work

Well, summer's here, so David and his physics colleagues are busier than ever at the lab. As always, I'm nearby to assist David with keeping on schedule, taking stretching breaks, lunch time, etc. I'm so glad that David is able to do science as he always dreamed.

The Lab

Well, the holidays sure passed quickly, didn't they. Happy New Year.

So now, David has time in his schedule to get serious about his laboratory work. This is tricky, because David's autism makes him a different sort of scientist to work with than the other group members. While he can focus quite well on math, physics troubleshooting, data analysis, and writing, he has trouble focusing on verbally-delivered information. Fortunately, the members of his research group are open-minded and welcoming toward David. I'm sure we'll work things out.

November

Hi All,

Where did October go so quickly?! Dave and I hope you're doing great. He's really enjoying his graduate-level courses, and looks forward to finding time to get back to laboratory work.

David has chosen a thesis for his Ph.D. How exciting!

We have much to be thankful for this holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Now That Summer's Over...

Well, Thursday was Dave's first graduate level class, a seminar in condensed matter physics. How exciting for him.

Gone are the days of Dave needing me to remain in the classroom with him to take his notes. Nowadays, I get him there on time, remind him to sit at the front (he's distracted if at the back), open his notebook, sharpen his pencil, etc. After that, he's great at taking his own notes, following the lecture, and even making haltered-but-meaningful contributions to discussions. Meanwhile, I sit outside the classroom in the hallway. I read books and journals, pray my rosary, pay the bills (yes, still writing checks) or other written chores, exercise (I walk up and down the nearby stairwell). After class, I check in with the professor to answer his/her questions about Dave's special needs, etc.

So, when I'm not praying, exercising or writing checks, what do I read while Dave's in class?

Well, of course there's The Aggie, and The Enterprise, chock full of essential breaking news. Also, I received one of those itsy-bitsy Gideon Bible-ettes from a guy outside Shields library, which squishes into my overpacked purse perfectly, between my eyeglasses and Kleenex. Then, I was reading Joan Chittister, but have taken a break to re-enjoy the Willa Cather novels, starting with "My Antonia". The story seems so much richer than when I was "a young lass". Finally, I'm reading Dr. Darold Treffert's "Extraordinary People". So, there you have it-- Dave's and my life in a nutshell. At home, he studies while I cook, clean, plan menus, etc. At school, he's in class while I read. Slowly, but surely, our little system is helping David earn his degrees.

Big Life-Changing Decisions

Wow, time has really flown by fast, so I haven't posted here in FOREVER.

First and foremost, David has decided to remain at UC Davis. Yay! He won the Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship, which is just great. And, we have excellent resources here to help me help him with his autism issues.

Second, after years of being focused almost exclusively on particle physics (at an unusually young age to decide something so specific), David has enjoyed his senior year condensed matter class so much that he's thinking about switching to that area of research. So, this summer, Dave's going to do a science project with one of the UC Davis condensed matter professors. This will help David clarify his decision-making process. Very exciting!

Happy New Year

Well,

I'm feeling frazzled by the process of watching Dave apply for graduate schools and fellowships. The easiest thing for me is to just stay here in Davis. But, is that the best thing for David?

Graduate School Applications

Look how fast we've changed our minds! So much for the rule against multi-tasking: I (who manage Dave's daily planner and schedule) will just have to make sure I keep good enough records to avoid his missing deadlines. The transcripts are the troublemakers. It can take former colleges so long to process the transcript request that the student misses the deadline for submitting them. And Dave can't upload the transcripts until he officially starts the online apps, so, here we go...keeping track of more than one app at a time.

Thanks for reading...