Journey through Life The experiences of a techie aspie

Scott M. Robertson

E-mail: smrobert@andrew.cmu.eduAIM: hppalm

About Me

Currently: master’s 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

CMU

Photo by Sebastian Stueker

Penn State

Provided by psu.edu

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

– He’s the greatest when I do get to see him

Pets make good friends

Growing Up

Grew up in Wayne, NJ– town of about 55,000

ppl. in northern part of state

– my family’s 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

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

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

Middle School: The Evil Empire

Sixth grade at the local middle school was uncomfortable

Got all A’s in classes but picked on & teased constantly

Stopped liking school & became very unhappy Parents didn’t know what to do

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

MBS

Provided by Morris County Online

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.

Special Interests->Jobs

My special interest is computers I’ve 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

RPI: A good fit

College advisor in H.S. suggested RPI as a good fit for me– RPI=Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY– Has good LD services– Good engineering & computer science programs

Applied early decision to RPI in October– Accepted in December

Bump in the Road

In the summer of ’99 my mom sent to RPI’s 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

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)

RPI: My Home for 4 yrs

Photo by Dustin Kirk Photo by Scott Robertson

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 Asperger’s Syndrome– Explained so much in my life– Others out there just like me

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)

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 ppl’s viewpoints

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

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 master’s program

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:

– I’m 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

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

Contact Me

E-mail: smrobert@andrew.cmu.edu AOL IM: hppalm Cell: (973) 464-6315

Questions?