Differences and Similarities

On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of last week, I attended the Autism Society conference which was held here in New Orleans.  While I learned quite a bit, earned continuing education units, and enjoyed the conference, there were moments when I was aware that I am working in a very different environment than the other professionals attending.  One speaker mentioned how before 1975, when the law was changed, there were children with autism and other disabilities that were not allowed to go to school; only after whispering to my friend that it is still like that in Haiti, did I feel a wave of sadness for children whose disabilities cause them to be excluded from having their educational needs met.  During a session I attended the presenter told us which services a child would be able to receive even if nothing else were available; of course, she was assuming (and accurately for all attendees other than me), that we were working in the United States of America.  The services she described are not a right and are rarely provided to children living in poverty in Haiti.  I chose to attend one breakout session focusing on preschool children, thinking this could h help me to advocate for a child at the orphanage who seems to have some symptoms of mild autism and also thinking that if I continue to provide support and consultation to the preschool children in Pilat they could at some point have a child  who has Autism traits.  The special educator and speech therapist who presented seemed so committed and had great strategies for working with preschool aged children who are on the Autism spectrum .  They also described classrooms with only 12 children of which no more than four have a diagnosed disability, and where there are a variety of adults collaborating in the classroom including special and regular education teachers, multiple teachers' aides, speech therapist, and once a week an occupational therapist.   While I was impressed by the work that they do, I wondered how would anyone even try to implement their strategies in a Haitian kindergarten classroom where there are often more than 50 children with only one teacher and maybe an assistant, where educators typically would typically not have any special education training or experience?  I did get a sense that those in the United States who are on the Autism spectrum who are born into wealthier better-educated families probably have better outcomes in life and greater possibilities; the discrepancy is even greater when we consider the situation from a global perspective.  I am grateful that I attended and learned a lot, grateful that I was able to spend time with a friend who was in town for the conference, and grateful that so much work is being done to improve the lives of those with Autism; may the work soon somehow also benefit those living in places like Haiti too.

Sometimes I think coming to Louisiana before I head north to Rhode Island makes a lot of sense.  There are commonalities between Louisiana and Haiti that are very different from New England (where my family lives.) The architecture in the French Quarter of New Orleans is remarkably similar to that of downtown Cap Haitian, for example.  Yesterday when I drove to the town of Opelousas to visit many of my Marianite sisters (it was great to see ya'll!), I passed sugar cane fields.  Louisiana and Haiti are the only two places I know of that eat mirliton/militon (a vegetable)  and call it that.  Of course too, there are banana trees and hibiscus flowers.  So while at times I feel like when I am in Haiti I am in a different reality, there are similarities too.  The similarities often make me smile; like this little lizard who greeted me in the backyard today.