Journey through Life The experiences of a techie aspie

1
Journey through Life The experiences of a
techie aspie

• Scott M. Robertson

E-mail smrobert_at_andrew.cmu.edu AIM hppalm
2
About Me

• Currently masters student at Carnegie Mellon
  University in Pittsburgh
• Studying human computer interaction
• HCI is a multidisciplinary computer
  science-related field concerned about designing
  computing systems to support human needs and
  usability issues
• Upcoming starting a Ph.D. program at Penn State
  in late August
• Will study information science and technology
• Will be doing research on educational technology
  for students with learning disabilities/special
  needs and assistive technology for people w/
  disabilities in general
• AIM to become a college professor

3
CMU
Photo by Sebastian Stueker
4
Penn State
Provided by psu.edu
5
Family

• 2 siblings
• Older brother (Jeff)web page developer at ABC
  News Online in NYC
• Older sister (Lori)special education teacher at
  school for students with learning disabilities
  (Lab School) in Washington, D.C.
• Parents run small engineering business that
  manufactures heaters for machines (ex. cooking)
• Parents have 2 yr old poodle called Sam
• Named after Uncle Sam since we got him in
  November of 01 2 months after Sept. 11
• Hes the greatest when I do get to see him

6
Pets make good friends
7
Growing Up

• Grew up in Wayne, NJ
• town of about 55,000 ppl. in northern part of
  state
• my familys house is in a private lake community
  called Pines Lake
• Born in Chilton hospital
• in Pequannock (where Derek Jeter was born)

Photo by Lynn Brescia
8
Early years

• Did not talk much until age 3 ½-4. Then came out
  in full sentences
• Very delayed motor skills
• Did not walk until age 2 ½
• Did not enjoy interacting w/ ppl.
• Did not make eye contact
• Did not like to smile or pose for pictures
• Hated haircuts

9
Elementary School

• Mainstreamed in elementary school
• Labeled as neurologically impaired
• Not diagnosed w/ autism, so they used this label
• Received pullout services for OT, PT, speech,
  resource/skills room
• Did well academically but had few friends
• One best friend named Ziggy
• We still keep in touch

Provided by wayneschools.com
10
Middle School The Evil Empire

• Sixth grade at the local middle school was
  uncomfortable
• Got all As in classes but picked on teased
  constantly
• Stopped liking school
• became very unhappy
• Parents didnt know what
• to do

11
Private School Helps

• My parents enrolled me in a private school called
  Morristown-Beard School in Morristown, NJ for 7th
  grade
• 30-minute drive meant about a 45 mins-1hr. bus
  trip each way every day
• Still had trouble making friends but teasing
  largely stopped and I liked school again

12
MBS
Provided by Morris County Online
13
MBS (Cont.)

• I spent 6 years at MBS (7th thru 12th)
• Co-editor-in-chief of yearbook senior yr.
• Ironically named most shyest as the editor
• French
• 5 years of French mostly because of flair for
  writing and grammar
• Exchange trip junior yr
• 3 weeks in France w/ a host family then hosted
  my exchange student
• Inducted into French Natl. Honors Society
• Inducted into Cum Laude Society junior yr.

14
Special Interests-gtJobs

• My special interest is computers
• Ive been messing around w/ computers and
  software since my Grandpa took me under his wing
  when I was 8
• Earth science teacher in H.S. taught CS1 jr. yr.
• Fostered my love for programming software
• Went on to also take CS2 senior yr.
• Chose to major in computer science in college

15
RPI A good fit

• College advisor in H.S. suggested RPI as a good
  fit for me
• RPIRensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY
• Has good LD services
• Good engineering computer science programs
• Applied early decision to RPI in October
• Accepted in December

16
Bump in the Road

• In the summer of 99 my mom sent to RPIs LD
  services office the IQ test I had taken to get
  the SATs w/ extra time
• Was not classified as LD at MBS, so needed this
  for documentation
• The LD services director believed I would flunk
  out first semester
• My IQ tests much lower than my real intelligence
• My mom cried at the news
• I had nowhere else to go since I had been
  accepted early decision

17
Bump in the Road (Cont.)

• My mom convinced the LD services director that I
  could make it through
• I got straight As through my first year ½
• In fact I received As in all but one class during
  my time at RPI (I got a B in Modules of
  Computation)

18
RPI My Home for 4 yrs
Photo by Dustin Kirk
Photo by Scott Robertson
19
The Little Professor Syndrome

• While taking class called Minds machines
  freshman yr, read a book called Mindblindness by
  Dr. Simon Baren-Cohen of Cambridge
• Research for a paper on the book led me to
  realize I had Aspergers Syndrome
• Explained so much in my life
• Others out there just like me

20
Clubs for spare time

• In beginning of sophomore yr. I joined student
  newspaper (The Polytechnic) as a staff writer for
  news section
• News coordinator for most of semester then an
  editor thereafter
• 2 semesters Associate News Editor
• 2 semesters Features Editor
• last semester Contributing Editor (third in
  charge)

21
The Poly

• The Poly become second home of sorts
• I had office keys so I could study there and come
  go as I pleased
• Made many good friends
• Interviewed 100s ppl. for stories
• Administrators, staff, coaches, students, local
  citizens
• Good for developing better sense of ppls
  viewpoints

22
Graduation (May 03)

• Worried about tripping at commencement but did
  just fine
• Graduated Summa Cum Laude (3.96 GPA) w/ B.S. in
  computer science minor in human factors
  psychology
• Faculty procession gave me congratulations as
  they left since most knew me from Poly interviews
• Sad to leave RPI but needed to move on

23
HCI program

• HCI program focuses on group work
• Very difficult because requires complex social
  communication skills
• Exponentially harder than one-on-one interaction
• I see it as a challenge to improve on my social
  skills
• Done well so far in masters program

24
My Teaching

• Autistic Support Class
• On Fridays I teach at an autistic support class
  at Langley H.S. in Pittsburgh
• We discuss social skills and work on activities
  of interest to them (ex. photography)
• Summer Computing Workshop
• Im a staff instructor at the computing workshop
  at Carnegie Mellon for young students with
  cognitive disabilities
• I teach computing and writing skills to the
  students
• Kids are really great at both fun to work with

25
College Students w/ ASDs

• Achieving in Higher Education w/ Autism
  Developmental Disabilities (AHEADD) is a new
  initiative to provide non-academic supports for
  students w/ AS/HFA at universities colleges in
  Pittsburgh
• We have a grant from the Pennsylvania State Dept.
  of Education
• CMU will provide meeting space
• We will start assisting students in September
• I hope to promote the model nationwide

26
Contact Me

• E-mail smrobert_at_andrew.cmu.edu
• AOL IM hppalm
• Cell [phone]

27
Questions?