Running head: SERVICE LEARNING REFLECTION
Service Learning Reflection
John Mitchell
Ivy Tech Community College
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The Environment
I have been spending some quality time with my nephew, who is diagnosed with
aspergers syndrome and maybe an emotional disorder. According to the textbook, asperger
syndrome is one of five autistic spectrum disorders: a milder form of autism without significant
impairments in language and cognition; characterized by primary problems in social interaction
(Hallahan, Kauffman, Pullen, 2015) The environment at his house is relatively normal and his
room is very messy but having experience being a sixteen year old myself, his room was still not
out of the ordinary. I could tell he was obsessed with video games and he had them all over the
floor, where I could not walk into his room without stepping or crushing a video game disc.
According to the textbook, children with ASD are likely to spend about twice as much time than
their typically developing peers engaged in watching television and playing video games and
their video game usage is more likely to become impulsive (Hallahan, Kauffman, Pullen, 2015).
The house was messy but I didn’t realize, until I was really focusing on what was lying on the
floor, that it seemed like the every room in the house was his personal bedroom. I talked to my
sister and she explained to me that she lets him put his things where he pleases because he will
throw a tantrum and it is a battle that she surrendered too a few years ago. According to the
textbook, children with autism can become upset by any change in the environment (something
out of place or something new in the home or classroom) and this could be the reason to my
nephew throwing tantrums and not wanting to clean up his items (Hallahan, Kauffman, Pullen,
2015).
My nephew has no siblings and his mother divorced the father because he abused her so
there is not much of social interaction happening inside that home. His mother told me that she
encourages him to go outside and try to interact with other people his age but he choosing to be
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isolated inside his bedroom or house. I asked him if he likes school and he told me he hated it.
He said many students on a daily basis bully him on the bus and in the classroom. I don’t justify
bullying in any way but I have a feeling it is because of his social cues and skills. He doesn’t
understand body language and doesn’t know when I am telling a joke or not. I am a very
sarcastic person and I knew right away that I shouldn’t be sarcastic with him because he doesn’t
understand and I could unintentionally hurt his feelings. He can hold a conversation but only
over a few topics: video games, superhero movies, dinosaurs, and most of all, sharks. He is
obsessed with sharks and can talk your head off about sharks. According to the textbook, another
characteristic frequently seen in autism and related disorders is extreme fascination or
preoccupation with objects and a very restricted range of interests. Children with autism might
play ritualistically with an object for hours at a time or show excessive interests in objects of a
particular type (Hallahan, Kauffman, Pullen, 2015).
Routines, Body Language, And Overall Demeanor
Every visit with my nephew was very routinic because I would show up and he insisted
that we play video games, watch a movie, which was usually Jaws, Deep Blue Sea, or The
Avengers, and for the rest of the time we would discuss non-stop about action movies,
superheroes, or animals (mainly sharks). I suggested going outside to do something active or
productive but he always quickly turned it down. His fatigue was another issue that caught my
eye because he was excessively skinny. He didn’t have one ounce of fat or muscle on his body
and I spoke to his mother privately about it. She informed me that it had a lot to do with his
medications. He was prescribed to Addarall, an anxiety medicine, and a depressant. I knew the
Addarall was to help him calm down because he was very wired especially when he spoke, turn
the channels on the television very fast, and the way he would be constantly be moving even if
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he was sitting down. His body language was very unorthodox because he had very poor posture
and eye contact. There is no doubt in my mind that he has aspergers. According to the textbook,
an early warning sign of ASD is poor eye contact and later warning signs are impaired ability to
make friends with peers, stereotyped and repetitive social skills, inflexible adherence to specific
routines or rituals, and many others, which is related to what he mentioned about being bullied at
school (Hallahan, Kauffman, Pullen, 2015).
Tantrum Control
A scenario that I witnessed from the behavior of my nephew and his mother was very
interesting. My nephew started to throw a tantrum, which is not unusual with his typical
behavior, over having to go to his therapy session. He goes to therapy for his disruptive behavior,
which is why I believe he has an emotional disorder as well as aspergers syndrome. His tantrum
was consistent with screaming on the top of his lungs, pacing back and forth, and threatening to
break something of value. To be honest, I was little frightened on what I have witnessed because
I have never seen someone act that way before over something so small. The irony was his
mother’s reaction because she retaliated very calm, cool, and collective. She spoke in a very soft
voice and told him to go to his room to cool off.
After about fifteen minutes, he came down from his room a little upset and apologized to
his mother then, they left to the therapist with no issues, which was even more shocking to me. I
know if I acted like that with my parents I would be whipped with the belt, screamed at, or
grounded. I asked her how she maintains to be so nonchalant and she said it takes practice. The
therapist told her to react that way with his violent behavior because she made it clear that it was
not his own behavior, it was his disease’s behavior. Going to the therapist was something that
was new to his routine so I believe he was very resistant to that change. According to the
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textbook, a major symptom for aspergers syndrome is having repetitive/restricting behavior and
adding an additional situation can be difficult for a child to adjust too (Hallahan, Kauffman,
Pullen, 2015). The violent behavior comes from his emotional or behavioral disorder that is most
likely caused from his father’s absence and witnessing his father abuse his mother and on top of
it, his aspergers.
According to the textbook, my nephew’s therapist is correct about reacting to violent
behavior with nonviolent behavior. Punishment can actually increase aggression under some
circumstances: when it is inconsistent or delayed, when there is no positive alternative to the
punished behavior, when it provides an example of aggression, or when counterattack against the
punisher seems likely to be successful (Hallahan, Kauffman, Pullen, 2015). Aggression is most
likely a learning behavior and watching his father abuse his mother is definitely a factor.
According to the textbook, children learn many aggressive behaviors by observing parents,
siblings, playmates, and people portrayed on television and in movies. Individuals who model
aggression are more likely to be imitated (Hallahan, Kauffman, Pullen, 2015).
Relationship Between Experience And Textbook
The behavior of my nephew, my sister, and the environment were very comparable to the
textbook. His obsessive redundant ritualistic routine that he vided by every time I visited was
proof that he has been diagnosed correctly with aspergers. His mother’s response towards his
tantrums and odd behavior were positive and is the correct way to retaliate, as I mentioned
earlier. His environment was suited for him because aspergers makes you obsessed with certain
things, such as video games and movies. Repelling change is another symptom of aspergers that
contributed to his messiness and disorganization.
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What this experience made me think of was his transition to adulthood because I believe
that he will not be able to live independently, at least not for much longer than a regular person.
According to the textbook, although the outcomes for adults with autism are better than they
once were, they are still a long way from what we should hope they’d be. For example, the
majority doesn’t live independently. In many ways, their outcomes are similar to those with
intellectual disabilities, and their outcomes depend to a certain degree on their level of cognitive
functioning (Hallahan, Kauffman, Pullen, 2015).
Additional Information
The parents are not very much discussed in the text and what I noticed was important
about my experience is my sister constantly having to deal with disruptive violent behavior from
her son, especially with the father out of the picture. She loves her son very much but going
through that as a parent can take a toll on a person because if you do not have full control of your
emotions at all times then more violent behavior will have to be dealt with. For instance, she
can’t loose her patience, always respond to a violent situation non-violently, and basically forced
to have no social life. It would be difficult to have someone come to your home without
witnessing outrageous behavior. This also brings the attention to the school system because
bullying from peers and misdiagnosed or mistreated from teachers and staff is only going to
make the situation much worse.
My sister beats the odds of being a bad parent because she is strong and loves her child. I
am sure there are many parents like her but there are children with disabilities that are not treated
properly from there parents. It could be due to lack of knowledge or don’t have or want the skills
to raise a child with certain disabilities. The uniqueness of this experience is good parenting
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should be recognized because you hardly hear of that in the media or books. It takes a special
person to raise a child with aspergers and my nephew is proof.
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Reference Page
Hallahan, D., Kauffman, J., & Pullen, P. (2014). 1,2. In Exceptional learners: An introduction to
special education (Thirteenth ed., p. 195-229). Pearson, Allyn Bacon.