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On Campus News
Creative Writing Class Inspires Student to Blog on Autism
By StudentFilmmakers.com
posted Jul 3, 2013, 11:04 |
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When Lisa Quinones went to City College’s commencement exercises last
month, she had to “fight back tears” when her dean talked about
overcoming hardships and obstacles. Ms. Quinones, a legal secretary from the
Bronx, had just spent the last five years working toward her MFA degree in creative
writing while dealing with the challenges of raising a child diagnosed with
autism spectrum disorder.
With encouragement from one of her professors, two years ago she began blogging
about her experiences. Her blog, AutismWonderland, has earned her recognition
as a top Latina health blogger from Latinos in Social Media, and Babble.com
ranks it among the top 30 autism blogs. In addition, she now has more than 4,000
followers on Facebook and Twitter combined.
Being the parent of a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder is like
falling down the rabbit hole like in Alice in Wonderland, she contends. “When
my son was diagnosed, I had no idea what autism was about. It was like entering
another world, but once I got accustomed to it I no longer feared it.”
The top of the blog displays a caricature of her dressed as Alice that her brother,
Jason, drew.
Ms. Quinones’ son, Norrin, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder
when he was 2 ½ years old; two weeks before she received her bachelor’s
degree from Lehman College. Since then, she has spent a great deal of time learning
about special education law and resources available to special-needs children
and finding the right schools for him.
“You become part of this committee with special ed teachers and school
district administrators,” she explains. “You are entrusting your
child’s educational needs to strangers who never met your child and determine
what he or she needs by looking through an evaluation. Unless you can advocate
for your child and know how to obtain resources, it is very easy for a child
to get lost in the system.”
Many parents quit their jobs because the demands of raising a child diagnosed
with autism spectrum disorder, she notes. She considers herself fortunate to
have a job with the flexibility to do what she has to for her son.
Among the challenges she faced was getting her son transferred to a different
school after she was unhappy with the one he was assigned to. “You can’t
just go to the Department of Education and move him. I had to fill out forms
and meet with district officials and get their approval.”
Despite everything going on in her life, Ms. Quinones was still able to carve
out time to work toward her master’s degree. “I knew I could only
go to school one night a week, so I only took classes on Tuesdays and planned
my schedule based on what was offered on Tuesdays,” she says.
Every night, her husband picked her up after class and drove her home from City
College. Her mother often watched Norrin when she had papers to write.
Besides taking five years to complete the degree, going one night a week posed
other disadvantages for Ms. Quinones. “A lot of people I started with
graduated two years ago,” she adds. “I knew only one other person
at graduation.”
Due to her limited schedule, she could not stay after class to linger and chat
with friends, and she couldn’t attend English department events on campus
or outside venues. To stay connected, she relied on Facebook and email, so she
could still reach out if she had a question.
She began her blog, Autism Wonderland, while taking the Writing for the Culture
class with David Groff, an adjunct professor. “He wanted his class to
put their work out there however they could, so I began blogging,” she
says, adding that she considers him a significant influence. She also credits
her thesis advisor, Professor Mark Mirsky, and Professors Lyn Di Iorio and Pamela
Laskin with helping her.
"All writers need to find their vocation – a compelling reason for
putting words down on the page,” Professor Groff says. “In our Writing
for the Culture class, Lisa found her voice and her passion. She writes with
wit, grit and determination, and she's making a real difference in her son’s
life – and in the lives of her readers."
On the Internet
•Autism Wonderland
•MFA in Creative Writing
About The City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided low-cost, high-quality
education for New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. More than 16,000
students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in: the College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences; the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture; the
School of Education; the Grove School of Engineering, the Sophie Davis School
of Biomedical Education, and the Colin L. Powell School for Civic and Global
Leadership.
Set on a striking, 35-acre hilltop campus in upper Manhattan, CCNY has produced
more Nobel laureates than any other public institution in the United States.
The College has been touted as one of the Best Colleges in the United States
as well as one of the Best Value Colleges by the Princeton Review, and ranks
among U.S. News’ top regional universities.
Resources:
www.ccny.cuny.edu
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