About the Author
Laurel Falvo (formerly known as Laurel Hoekman) is the Executive Director of The Gray Center for Social Learning and Understanding. She graduated from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Previously, she taught first grade at Hudsonville Christian School. In addition to her work with the Gray Center, Laurel is associated with Early On of Kent County, serving on the Local Inter-Agency Coordinating Council.
Laurel and her husband Steve have two sons and a daughter.
Laurel is the author of The Good Food Cookbook For Gluten-Free and Casein-Free Diets, and a co-editor of The Social Stories™ Quarterly. She has most recently authored and produced ASD to Z: Basic Information, Support, and Hope for Individuals Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Laurel has been endorsed by The Gray Center and Carol Gray to provide Social Stories(TM) trainings. She also presents frequently on topics such as social understanding, the autism spectrum, and finding ways to enable those with disabilities to use their gifts as members of a church. (Click here for a list of presentations available). Most recently she has developed (and is available to speak on) “The Social Response Pyramid(TM).” Details are available for that educational tool at www.thegraycenter.org.
Contact Laurel by e-mail at laurel@thegraycenter.org. Sign up to receive her weekly SUN News e-mail newsletter at www.thegraycenter.org!
4 comments so far
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I am confused. From reading your articles….Of course understanding the other person is helpful and sometimes very important. But is the Gray Center seeing Autism as a ‘lack of understanding’ perhaps inherited, or is it promoting more understanding of autism from the parents? And are you inclined to believe it is partly genetic? Thank you. LH
Autism is sometimes referred to as a “social cognitive disorder.” Individuals with this diagnosis struggle to “read” social cues and conventions; to gain accurate social information from their interactions with others. Research continues to be conducted so that we can better understand the role that genetics and the environment play in a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Current research points to the presence of several “subtypes” of autism, each of which may be caused by a different genetic combination and/or environmental factor(s).
At the Gray Center, we recognize that an oversimplified look at ASD indicates that they have a “social disability”–that they are lacking the ability to interact successfully without interventions. However, our “social understanding approach” states that in order to have a “social interaction” there need to be other people present. As participants in the interactions, we are both part of the problem, and part of the solution. We can increase their opportunities for successful interactions (and our own) by re-examining our own words and actions, and by providing relevant social information to increase their understanding.
I hope this helps!
I am very pleased to have found this organization because I am learning about the ASD world in order to help support the many ASD families in our newly formed 2E Network (Los Angeles). I understand and can appreciate the organization and its mission to help individuals with ASD. However, reading this response leaves me feeling a little uncomfortable. I’m detecting a vibe of “we” and “they” which encourages me to ask the question “Who is it that has the social disability? Is it “they” who have ASD, or is it “we” who are unable and sometimes unwilling to understand “them”? I agree with the mission of increasing social opportunities for both groups, and hope that “we” can encourage the rest of “us” to join in “their” world for a better understanding of “them”, so that “we” and “they” can become “us”. Thanks for all that you do.
Thank you for your comment. I hope you’ll take time to read more on this blog. I believe you’ll find that I feel strongly that people are too quick to blame those with ASD for a break-down in interactions (or to assume that they are the ones with a “disability”). As I indicated above, we need to re-examine how we interact with others to discover how our perceptions, expectations, feelings, etc. (or “My Context, as found in my “Social Response Pyramid(TM)”)influence our interactions, and often lead to breakdowns in communication and interaction. There are many things that people with ASD excel at, that the rest of us could learn from. I hope you will feel affirmed in your views as you continue to read what I’ve written on this blog. Thanks for joining us, and best wishes in your work!
Laurel Falvo, CFLE, Certified Family Life Educator