The beginning of an annotated bibliography

Experiment 1: Dance

Sealy, Lori. “My Answer to the Question 'What Does Autism Feel Like?'.” The Mighty,

  Mighty Proud Media, Inc, 21 Apr. 2016, themighty.com/2016/04/what-does-     autism-feel-like/.

In this post, contributor Lori Sealy explains what it feels like from her point of view to be experiencing autism. By comparing the disability to a frayed wire in a television set, the reader is able to grasp more of an understanding about what is going on inside her brain, although she ultimately claims that words will never be able to describe her experiences.

Using this post is really important for my experiment, as I am dancing from the point of view of someone with autism. I can’t rely solely on experts and doctors for accounts of what autism is because in the grand scheme of things, they don’t actually know. In order to achieve credibility, there is no better knowledge to use than the experiences of someone who goes through the struggles of autism every day. There are specific parts of Sealy’s piece that I use in my dance to correctly convey the experiences that someone with autism might have. For example, it is important to demonstrate the intense sensations that Sealy herself describes feeling. She explains that clothes and bedsheets can hurt, so I incorporate this idea in my choreography to accurately portray the overstimulation that is common in people on the spectrum.

Hughes, Nathan. “Exploring the Positives and Benefits of Autism .” The Positive Side of   Autism, Stages Learning Material, 4 Aug. 2016, blog.stageslearning.com/blog/the-   positive-side-of-autism.

In this blog post, Nathan Hughes, an author with Aspergers, lists four positive things about autism. He explains that although being on the spectrum has its difficulties, it also comes with gifts. Attention to detail, expertise in special interests, a different world view, and the ability to teach others are all things that he claims are benefits that autism brings to its carriers.

I love this blog post because, like Nathan, I enjoy paying attention to the benefits that autism brings. I wanted to use the same purposeful message that he presents in his article in the experiments I create because I respect and agree with his statement. Although I don’t know how well I can work in his four points specifically to my experiments, I will utilize his positive view of the autism spectrum to create experiments that have a similar tone. For example, in the dance that I create, I incorporate small movements that represent the attention to detail that someone with autism has. I hope that the resounding message for my experiments will be as positive and adoring as Nathan’s blog post.