The hidden curriculum of autism conferences

[James]

I am submitting this for open debate, and for anyone who wishes to criticize the following for any reason. This is for educational purposes, and also for awareness of any person with autism who wants to state social rules they personally would follow at an autism convention.

"The Hidden Curriculum of Autism Conferences"

James Williams

Dr. Brenda Smith Myles, professor of special education at Kansas University, as well as one of the creators of a master’s and doctoral program in autism and Asperger’s syndrome at Kansas University, has in recent years written about something called the “hidden curriculum.” The “hidden curriculum” is, in short, a fancy way to describe the nature of social skills in a given culture. It also consists of things that people know in a culture, but are not taught verbally. Somehow, they are learned “naturally.”

The term, originally coined by Dr. Richard Lavoie in the 1970s, originates from two sources. First, social skills are very complex, and thus are as complex as a curriculum. Second, this curriculum is not taught verbally, but instead is reinforced through nonverbal cues and mutual agreements among people in a society that certain things are appropriate and inappropriate. Irish humorist George Carlin, in his book “When Will Jesus Bring Out The Pork Chops?” shows even how the words in our language are even affected by our social skills. One example Carlin gives is how we describe parts of chicken at dinnertime.
In the Victorian times, he describes, chicken pieces were referred to as “drumsticks” and “tenders” because people didn’t want to use the words “breast,” “leg,” and “thigh” in public company. Yet we use the latter terms today.

Another way of defining the hidden curriculum of a culture is by defining it as a series of rules, social and personal, that are not taught, yet people are still expected to know about in a given society. As Myles shows, however, many autistic people do not learn many of these rules yet are still given the same expectations of knowing them in our society. Most schools assume you know a certain level of social skills, so they don’t always emphasize teaching them.

Of course, there are exceptions. One of them I am aware of is Westmoor Elementary School in Northbrook, Illinois, where teaching proper social skills is integrated into the school curriculum. Social skills classes is considered a “special” on par with art and music, and two social skills teachers come into each classroom from grades K through 5 and teach social skills, or what they officially call “social literacy.” Their program is called SkillSurfing, and was invented by the special ed. teachers themselves who work at Westmoor Elementary.

Myles goes further: How do you know if a hidden curriculum rule has been violated? If you see something and feel surprised that someone didn’t know better, or have ever wondered why you have to a teach a rule you thought somebody should have known better. Myles concludes: That’s how you can tell if a violation of the hidden curriculum. was made, versus the violation of a taught rule.

After learning about the concept of the hidden curriculum at an autism conference in 2006 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I soon came to realize that another “hidden curriculum” had also been under my nose all this time—the hidden curriculum of autism conferences, the places I had been going to periodically to lecture on autism. I realized that there were many social graces I had learned naturally by attending autism conferences that I had not been taught as a featured speaker at many conventions.

Therefore, in this essay, I am going to write a David Letterman-style top ten list that consists of rules I have seen and followed at autism conventions, and also when observing how autistic individuals interact with other individuals with autism at autism conventions and elsewhere.

However, I write these rules with one disclaimer: Autistic individuals are highly variable, and so are neurotypical individuals. Thus, the rules mentioned here may not necessarily apply in all situations at autism conventions, neither are they always followed. They may also be violated at times. Indeed, many autistic people often change the rules or verbally state new ones. Those who do often believe that social rules should not be hidden, and often criticize individuals without autism for not openly stating what their social rules at times. Indeed, many autistic individuals value the ability to be able to verbally state what social rules they wish to follow with their friends with autism freely, without being thought of as strange by their autistic friend. (My friends with autism discuss social rules we wish to follow with each other all the time.)

This is also not a complete list, but a sufficient list to understand the general concept: that social "unspoken" rules do exist at autism conventions, and they are sometimes different than rules in other social situations.

Top 10 Hidden Curriculum Rules You Should Know Before Attending An Autism Conference

10. People at autism conventions are often classified into six categories: teachers, paraprofessionals, parents, doctors, students, and individuals with autism. In each category, there will be speakers who represent that category. They are looking for different information, and thus will want to talk to you about different things. Make sure you know the specific professions of the people you are with before you engage them in a conversation.

9. People at autism conferences will sometimes use the term "hidden curriculum" in their discussions and in conversations. It does not refer to a written curriculum hidden in a box or in someone’s closet—it is an idiom that refers to unwritten and rarely taught social skills.

8. If you are talking to a person with autism, make sure that you talk about how you hate the school system if those are your true feelings--you will receive praise from the person with autism if you do. One exception: if a teacher or paraprofessional is nearby, do not bring up any discontent you have with the educational system unless they have openly stated their own discontent with the educational system first, know you well enough, or respect their opinions.

7. Autistic people will sometimes try to hug you or ask you to give them back massages. Allow them to hug you, and if you have time, give them a back massage. They are not looking for sex and may not be sexually attracted to you—they are just meeting their autistic need for sensory stimulation. Some autistic people need non-sexual sensory stimulation or contact in order to just function during the day. One example of this is Temple Grandin's "squeeze machine" which she would rely on to calm her down when she was stressed.

6. If you try to analyze the social dynamic of a group of people with autism based on their gender, you will not necessarily make an accurate description of the dynamic. Here are some examples showing why this is:

If you see an older autistic male interacting with a younger female this does not necessarily mean the older autistic male is a pervert. The older male and younger female may relate because they may both be autistic, and are having a nice social conversation with each other.

If you see an autistic male hanging out with a group of females that does not necessarily mean he is a womanizer. Since most autism specialists and professionals are female, the male may be in the group because he is being asked questions about how the female professionals can help other autistic individuals.

These relationships may be just as harmless as a relationship between an older female and a younger male. Other examples: an autistic male and female may share a room with each other at an autism conference—this does not necessarily mean they had sexual relations.

5. If a parent, teacher, or paraprofessional mentions that puberty or adolescence is an issue for their child or a child they work with you are free to discuss any sensitive issue you wish regarding this topic. The more sensitive the issue you are willing to broach, the more respect you will get from the paraprofessional, teacher, or parent.

4. Do not say anything in praise of the No Child Left Behind Act at an autism conference. People in the autism community unanimously oppose the No Child Left Behind Act.

3. When you are at a formal dance party at an autism convention, you may be asked to dance by people you do not know. They are trying to be nice to you. If you do not wish to dance, however, you do not have to say yes. But if you want to dance, you can say yes.

2. If two autistic people of the opposite sex call themselves boyfriend and girlfriend that does not always mean they are romantically attracted to each other. While two individuals with autism may use the word to truly define a romantic relationship they are involved in, other autistic people do not know what the word means and often consider any friends they have of the opposite sex their boyfriend or girlfriend. They may have redefined it to any friend they have of the opposite sex.

And the number one thing that you should know before attending an autism conference…

1. If you are a man, do not step into a male restroom until you are sure that it has not been changed to a female restroom for the duration of the autism conference. Women outnumber men at most autism conferences—so some convention planners will take some of the male restrooms at autism conference and make them female restrooms during the duration of the convention. At the Autism Society of Minnesota’s conference, for example, only one restroom is given to males at the hotel where it is located—with all the other male restrooms converted to female restrooms for the duration of the conference.