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.

                                                                                                                               

First Flight Recap

On July 20, 2010, I posted David's and my plan of attack to assure him an anxiety-reduced first flight. Some aspects of the plan we stuck with; others we abandoned. Here is what we did:

1. We visited the Sacramento Airport (SMF) and watched planes land and take off.

2. This was followed by reading about, and discussing, the physics and mechanics of air travel.

3. David practiced flight simulation online.

4. David then rode in a flight simulator at the Aerospace Museum of California, which replicates the experience of bad turbulence. (I rode in it too. It was fun!)

5. We phoned our nearby general aviation airport and arranged for a pilot to simply taxi David around in his Cessna, without actually taking off. The pilot was wonderful; he dispelled David's anxiety by calmly explaining the significance of sounds and flashing lights as they arose.

6. We purchased Sony Sound Isolating Headphones from Best Buy. These worked fine.

7. We made David's first flight just a little commuter trip from SFO to SMF, totaling a mere twenty minutes in the air, not including taxi.

8. We paid extra for the quick check-in through security.

9. When we made our reservations by phone, we INFORMED THE AIRLINE about David's autism, for which they were grateful.

We then did the same when we arrived at security. At the word "autism", TSA provided us our own security agent to accompany David and me through security, double checking that we had not absentmindedly left keys in our pockets, or water in our carry on baggage. How much of this was standard for autistic flyers, and how much was because I'd paid the extra fee, I don't know.

Finally, when we checked in at the airline itself (United Express), we double-checked that the flight crew had been informed of a disabled person's presence. All staff were friendly, and had David and I board before the "neuro-typical" passengers, so as to reduce the emotional stress that bumping elbows, etc, can create.

10. We got to the airport in plenty of time to use the restroom right before boarding, and to enjoy watching the tarmac dramas.

This plan worked for us. "Take what you want, and leave the rest". ~Peace and all good~

GRE Prep

So, UC Davis is back in school, David has started senior year, and all graduate application activity is on hold while Dave practices for the GRE whenever he's not doing homework. Amazingly, ETS, the private corporation that gives the GRE won't be providing David his usual accomodations. They accomodate people with LH and ADHD, but not autistic people.

I guess it's just too new for them to comprehend. ETS, (and a lot of other people too), just can't "see" savant autistic people.

Yet.

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...

Heroes

Friday, September 11, 2009

Heroes
Of course, I wasn't the first person to come along and choose to be someone's Personal Assistant. I have great heroes to emulate, role models to imitate. First, there is my friend, M. M. cares for her son who studies computer science and transports himself by wheelchair. M. runs errands, does chores, and many other tasks for her son as I do for mine.

Another role model is the famous Alicia Larde Nash, wife, then ex-wife, then wife again of schizophrenic Nobel Laureate in Economics, John Nash.

Then there's one of my favorite Personal Assistant heroes- Anna Erdos, mother of prolific mathematician, Paul Erdos. She did everything for Paul, so that he didn't have to become distracted from his important, awe-inspiring production of mathematics by mundane responsibilities. Although the term "autism" didn't yet exist in Dr. Erdos' day, there are stories that indicate he may have been on the spectrum. There's a story that shows how closely Anna cared for her son. When he was twenty-three years old, Paul visited friends in England who served tea, toast and butter. Apparently, he looked at his friends buttering their toast and announced "I think I can do that". He had never buttered his own toast, because his mom had always prepared all of his food. This story is a reminder of why it is that, after David completes his college degrees, he will then take a year or so off from science to just learn basic daily living skills.

Very important!!

David can fix himself a simple meal. Some people judge Anna harshly for taking care of so many details for so long, but this is wrong. It was a different world then. She wanted to protect her son from any sort of stress.

Of course, everyone also knows the story of another role model, Fran Peek, father of Kim Peek (upon whom the film Rain Man is based). Fran's commitment to Kim's happiness and pursuit of his Self Determination Dream provides a fine example to follow. There are many, many more wonderful Personal Assitants out there devoting their lives to someone who needs extra help. If you are one of us, and you happen upon this blog, we would love to hear your story.
Posted by Mary Nisson at 6:39 PM 0 comments
Labels: heroes