Why Did I Choose This Topic?

This issue is important to me because I have grown up visiting classrooms that my father taught in. He is a LABA & BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst). Through his work over the years, I have met and been inspired by such friendly and bright people.

Yet these people are also ones who face bullying and may grow up in a world that doesn’t accept them for who they are or give them the tools they need to succeed.

I chose to focus on how society treats those with ASD because of the roots back the mental institutions. It emerged as my issue when I researched Dorothea Dix during my freshman and sophomore years. I saw how she helped advocate for mental health issues.

Dix’s work helped to create a better world, pave the path to fighting this injustice, and bettered lives for people who had previously been so neglected and looked down upon.