Hi Everyone,
I, Michael Lettman, would like to share the long-time relationship I've had with a great teacher from my 3 final school years with P373K.
Her name is Ms. Heather Lifland, who used to work as a transition teacher for P373K Brooklyn Transition Center & she was the one who convinced Michael Lettman to start doing a project on autism in the first place, which became one of his future goals. So I guess you can say that it was because of Ms. Heather Lifland that the project known as "Living with Autism by Michael Lettman" was born.
We've had a close bond & went through much for a long time as student & teacher, which is why I'll be sharing our experiences with you. Ms. Heather Lifland herself has also worked with me on this since she's been a big help to me for a long time. We created very long videos based on the parts of our relationship which are all my 9th video of my project on autism. She'll be describing our statements from our videos to all of you. My 9th video was so long that we needed to split them into 4-part videos & we hope you'll enjoy what we put together based on the evolution of our relationship.
Part 1 (by Ms. Heather Lifland)
During the first segment, Michael and I discussed how he developed over the 3 years he was with me as a student. Michael needed to understand rules and boundaries appropriate for a work environment. We established specific techniques that we could easily communicate to him when he displayed a behavior that wasn't appropriate. Michael & I learned how to use simple strategies to teach him appropriate social behavior.
We also discussed how difficult it was for him to handle change especially when the changes are so large. Such as being in a new environment for his Volunteer Experience and what life would be like after graduation.
Michael taught me how to utilize language in different ways so that he can understand what his life is going to be like when he gets older and to establish appropriate rules and boundaries.
This was our Part 1, Please Enjoy!
Part 2 (by Ms. Heather Lifland)
This segment mostly discusses rules, boundaries, and consequences. First we had to teach Michael what the rules were about tone of voice, personal boundaries, offensive phrases, and understanding his role in the Head Start classroom with regard to parents and discipline.
Once we were able to establish which behaviors needed to be addressed, our staff had to learn why he displayed those behaviors so that we can decide on specific strategies to reduce them. It was very important for everyone who worked with Michael to understand that his intentions were positive and that he needed support to communicate with people in a way that represented how he actually felt inside.
With regard to consequences we were clear about what the rules and procedures are at the Head Start and matched consequences to reduce unwanted behaviors and to maintain safety at all times. In the end Michael utilized some of the consequences that we implemented independently so he can increase his skills. The saying, "make sure the consequences fit the misbehavior" was very effective with Michael. Now when he has an unwanted behavior that he wants to work on he decides what would be an effective consequence. Therefore, Michael learned that consequences can be positive.
This was our Part 2, Please Enjoy!
Part 3 (by Ms. Heather Lifland)
We learned that in order for anything to be addressed with Michael we needed to establish a positive relationship that had a deep basis in trust. Building trust caused us to be able to develop positive effective communication on both ends.
Change can be especially difficult for Michael and when he has to deal with change he has trouble trusting people. We in turn had to have deep patience so that we can help him learn how to communicate, listen, and want to increase his efforts to be an integral role at the Head Start.
After trust we made it clear that change can occur without as much fear as long as you plan for it and understand the reasons behind the change. Once that was done Michael started to slowly crave change.
This was our Part 3, Please Enjoy!
Part 4 (Final) (by Ms. Heather Lifland)
This segment is about how Michael and I learned from each other. Michael learned how to trust people and accept change slowly. He learned that once I have a student they are always a student. He learned that he will not be abandoned and that if he needs help that he has a support system. I learned what it feels like to have autism, how to communicate in different ways, and through my experience with Michael he gave a voice to those who cannot verbalize.
This was our Final Part, Please Enjoy!
2023 = The Graduation of Michael Lettman's College Life
Many years went by & we didn't mind staying in touch with each other as it was so nice of my former high school teacher to attend my Graduation from AHRC NYC's Melissa Riggio Higher Education Program at Kingsborough Community College.
Praise Heather Lifland: Never EVER expected to be awoken very early to be requested into coming by my old high school (P373K) to receive unbelievable news about the official passing of my beloved former high school teacher, Ms. Heather Lifland. Which is why I immediately had to do a tribute video for her & vow to do more with the project ("Living with Autism by Michael Lettman") that she motivated me to start in the 1st place + I'm grateful to the staff for informing me in-person since (as they described) it was better for someone like me to know about it sooner than later (& in-person instead of through any device).
This is my tribute for Ms. Heather Lifland as she's resting in heaven!
From my Perspective
I would like to say that building trust & understanding each other is the key to success. If you're very close to a teacher or student who means a lot then you could be around each other for a while. The more you could learn from each other the better it can get for each other then maybe you'll care for each other as well. I hope you all understand a true close bond between student & teacher (even after their passing).