Sherri Fisher’s Bio
By Sherri Fisher on December 31, 2006 – 3:13 pm 2 Comments
Sherri Fisher
Sherri is a principal of three education-related businesses:
- Student Flourishing provides strength-based education management coaching for students and families.
- Flourishing Schools, in collaboration with MAPP colleagues, Dave Shearon and John Yeager, offers workshops, consulting and coaching integrating best practices in education with cutting-edge Positive Psychology research.
- Right Fit Career Design, provides executive coaching to individual educational leaders and school-based work teams.
And thanks for the thumbs up!
Hi Sherri,
I am currently starting my dissertation (to obtain an MSc in Applied Positive Psychology at the University of East London) on Positive Psychology and Autism, specifically looking at the ways children with autism use strengths. I am having trouble finding relative literature and thought you may know of some I have yet to find. I know Positive Psychology is only recently venturing into the world of special needs and special education so anything you might know of would be useful to me at this stage.
Thank you,
Chelsea
Hi, Chelsea-
That is an interesting question and one for which I do not have the answer. As a practitioner rather than a researcher, I am in the “applied” world of PP. There are numerous ways that strengths operate for good for my clients with learning issues.
In the case of autism, there is such a broad spectrum of needs that I would suggest you look at Aspergers, for example. Those students typically understand data and rules quite well and are interested in research and proof even when they have social difficulties. My students with Aspergers like strengths language and naming strengths, and looking for ways that they can be used to get a better outcome is a good fit for them.
A bit of advice: Education research is always fraught with confounds, so read those “limitations of the study” carefully. I’d love to hear more about what you discover through your study!
Cheers,
Sherri