By ALISON LEIGH COWAN
Published: December 14, 2007
MONTVILLE, Conn. — Children at the Oakdale School here in southeastern Connecticut returned this fall to learn that their traditional recess had gone the way of the peanut butter sandwich and the Gumby lunchbox.
No longer could they let off their youthful energy — pent up from hours of long division — by cavorting outside for 22 minutes of unstructured play, or perhaps with a vigorous game of tag or dodgeball. Such games had been virtually banned by the principal, Mark S. Johnson, along with kickball, soccer and other “body-banging” activities, as he put it, where knees — and feelings — might get bruised.
Instead, children are encouraged to jump rope, play with Hula Hoops or gently fling a Frisbee. Balls are practically controlled substances, parceled out under close supervision by playground monitors.
The traditional recess, a rite of grade school, is endangered not only in the Oakdale School here in Montville, a town of 18,500. From Cheyenne, Wyo., to Wyckoff, N.J., recess — long seen as a way for children to develop social competence, recharge after long lessons, and resist obesity — is being rethought and pared down.
In the face of this, a national campaign called Rescuing Recess, sponsored by such organizations as the Cartoon Network, the National Parent Teacher Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Education Association, has taken hold at many schools where parents and children fear that recess will go the way of the one-room schoolhouse.
At Oakdale, Mr. Johnson finally relaxed some prohibitions after a parade of parents complained. Now, twice a week when a parent or grandparent is present, fourth and fifth graders are allowed to play a modified version of kickball as long as the score is not kept. Many parents are still not satisfied, however, saying that such coddling fails to prepare children for adulthood.
“Life is competitive,” said Shari Clewell, the mother of a fifth grader. “Kids compete for attention. They compete for grades. You compete for a job. You compete from the time you’re little all the way to the end.”
Pretending otherwise is pointless, she said. “They’re kids. They are competitive. They can play jump rope and jacks and make it competitive.”
But the principal is determined. “I’m honestly one of the most competitive guys in the world, having coached sports for a long time,” said Mr. Johnson, who has coached youth basketball and softball. “But I honestly don’t believe this is the place for that.”
Acknowledging that the changes caused “quite an uproar,” he defended his policy as a way to build skills and camaraderie rather than competition and conflict, and said that it had nothing to do with insurance costs. He said he had seen too many recesses where children “want all the good kids on one side and they want to win at all costs, and kids are made to feel badly.”
Children are still encouraged to move about, he said, and are free to walk the grounds with the school nurse, or depending on the day, sing in the chorus, play chess or pick up litter. And he insisted that children could still play competitive games in their weekly gym classes or in extracurricular programs.
But Ms. Clewell was dismissive of the alternatives. “I’m not having my son pick up trash around the school,” she said. “This is recess.”
For now, the superintendent of schools, David Erwin, has not intervened in the dispute, although he acknowledges that the public outcry has caught his eye.
Connecticut is one of only a handful of states that require some type of break, or recess, but its law does not spell out how long they should be or what pupils should be doing. Because of the free hand that schools have across the country, some pinch minutes once used for recess to prepare students for standardized tests. Others, citing liability concerns, have banned sports like dodgeball, where children are the targets.
In Cheyenne, Wyo., one school has banished tag from the playground as being too rough but allows other contact sports, like touch football. Several schools in Colorado have banned tag for the same reason.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Campaign on Childhood Mental Illness Succeeds at Being Provocative
By JOANNE KAUFMAN
We have your son. We will make sure he will no longer be able to care for himself or interact socially as long as he lives.
— Autism
SO reads one of the six “ransom notes” that make up a provocative public service campaign introduced this week by the New York University Child Study Center to raise awareness of what Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz, the center’s founder and director, called “the silent public health epidemic of children’s mental illness.”
Produced pro bono by BBDO, an Omnicom agency that worked on two previous campaigns for the Child Study Center, the campaign features scrawled and typed communiqués as well as simulations of classic ransom notes, composed of words clipped from a newspaper.
In addition to autism, there are ominous threats concerning depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Asperger’s syndrome and bulimia. The campaign’s overarching theme is that 12 million children “are held hostage by a psychiatric disorder.”
The public service announcements began running this week in New York magazine and Newsweek as well as on kiosks, billboards and construction sites around New York City.
“Children’s mental disorders are truly the last great public health problem that has been left unaddressed,” said Dr. Koplewicz, adding: “It’s like with AIDS. Everyone needs to be concerned and informed.”
In some quarters, however, the campaign has raised hackles as much as awareness. The Autistic Self Advocacy Network, a national grass-roots organization of children and adults, is circulating a petition asking the Child Study Center to end the campaign.
Kristina Chew, founder of the blog Autism Vox, which has a link to the petition, says that “the reaction has been mostly outrage from parents of special-needs children, autistic adults, teachers, disability rights advocates and mental health professionals.”
“It’s rallied them around one issue, and these aren’t people who normally agree about treating autism,” said Ms. Chew, who lives in Bernards Township, N.J., and has a 10-year-old son with autism. She says her blog attracts 3,000 to 4,000 visitors a day; traffic is up a third since the campaign was introduced, she said.
“It emphasizes a lot of negative aspects,” she said. “To say that autism or bulimia has kidnapped a child suggests that these conditions are part of a criminal element. I’m not saying it’s easy to have an autistic child, but it could be framed in a more positive way.”
Vicki Forman, an adjunct professor of creative writing at the University of Southern California whose 7-year-old son is blind and nonverbal, learned about the campaign on Ms. Chew’s blog and said it made her distraught. “The idea of an autistic person being held hostage is a very disturbing and backward image,” she said. “Rather than promote public awareness, this reinforces stereotypes — that there is something damaged about the autistic person, something in need of a repair.”
According to Dr. Koplewicz, the campaign was inspired by filmed conversations of parents and children talking about life with a psychiatric disorder. “These families felt their children were trapped by their disorders,” he said.
John Osborn, the president and chief executive of BBDO New York, said the effort was intended to increase the sense of urgency about the diseases and encourage conversation. “It’s tricky because there are a lot of messages in the air, particularly at holiday time. That makes it a challenge to cut through the clutter.”
BBDO’s earlier ads for the Child Study Center — which included images of a child running happily through a sprinkler and a drawing of a child caught in a maze — “were wonderful, but they didn’t get this kind of attention from anyone,” Dr. Koplewicz said. “They were too pleasant and innocuous. That’s the reason we decided to go along with BBDO.”
He was further emboldened, he said, by the reaction of focus groups of women whose children have the disorders mentioned in the ads. “Everyone who participated felt the ads were informative,” he said. “While we knew the campaign was edgy and we knew it would be harsh and upsetting, the facts of mental illness are even more upsetting.
“I am disappointed. I thought the people we’d be arguing with are the people who believe psychiatric illness doesn’t exist” or those who believe children are being overmedicated, he said.
“I thought we’d be fighting ignorance. I didn’t think we’d be fighting adult patients or the parents of patients whose feelings have been hurt.”
Susan Etlinger of San Francisco is one such parent, but she maintains that hers is “not the P.C. outcry of an offended parent.”
“It’s a legitimate claim that children with disabilities are vulnerable enough as it is,” said Ms. Etlinger, whose 4-year-old son has mild autism. “I think we need to take special care that they’re not further stigmatized. This campaign characterizes them as a series of symptoms rather than as the unique people they are.”
Bennett L. Leventhal, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago, said he understood the parents’ dismay. “We live in a world where people are still defensive about having a psychiatric illness or having a child with psychiatric illnesses,” he said. “But I think it’s a very bold campaign. I think the ads speak to the point that these are real diseases and if you don’t do something they can consume your child.”
Dr. Koplewicz said he had not considered jettisoning the campaign, but there was some discussion about dropping its two most controversial components: the autism and Asperger’s ads.
He decided to retain the ads after conferring with colleagues whose attitude, he said, “was that some people would be upset but that we should stick with it and ride out the storm.”
“We’re going to see how it goes in New York,” Dr. Koplewicz said. “If it goes well, we’re going to go to four other cities.”
We have your son. We will make sure he will no longer be able to care for himself or interact socially as long as he lives.
— Autism
SO reads one of the six “ransom notes” that make up a provocative public service campaign introduced this week by the New York University Child Study Center to raise awareness of what Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz, the center’s founder and director, called “the silent public health epidemic of children’s mental illness.”
Produced pro bono by BBDO, an Omnicom agency that worked on two previous campaigns for the Child Study Center, the campaign features scrawled and typed communiqués as well as simulations of classic ransom notes, composed of words clipped from a newspaper.
In addition to autism, there are ominous threats concerning depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Asperger’s syndrome and bulimia. The campaign’s overarching theme is that 12 million children “are held hostage by a psychiatric disorder.”
The public service announcements began running this week in New York magazine and Newsweek as well as on kiosks, billboards and construction sites around New York City.
“Children’s mental disorders are truly the last great public health problem that has been left unaddressed,” said Dr. Koplewicz, adding: “It’s like with AIDS. Everyone needs to be concerned and informed.”
In some quarters, however, the campaign has raised hackles as much as awareness. The Autistic Self Advocacy Network, a national grass-roots organization of children and adults, is circulating a petition asking the Child Study Center to end the campaign.
Kristina Chew, founder of the blog Autism Vox, which has a link to the petition, says that “the reaction has been mostly outrage from parents of special-needs children, autistic adults, teachers, disability rights advocates and mental health professionals.”
“It’s rallied them around one issue, and these aren’t people who normally agree about treating autism,” said Ms. Chew, who lives in Bernards Township, N.J., and has a 10-year-old son with autism. She says her blog attracts 3,000 to 4,000 visitors a day; traffic is up a third since the campaign was introduced, she said.
“It emphasizes a lot of negative aspects,” she said. “To say that autism or bulimia has kidnapped a child suggests that these conditions are part of a criminal element. I’m not saying it’s easy to have an autistic child, but it could be framed in a more positive way.”
Vicki Forman, an adjunct professor of creative writing at the University of Southern California whose 7-year-old son is blind and nonverbal, learned about the campaign on Ms. Chew’s blog and said it made her distraught. “The idea of an autistic person being held hostage is a very disturbing and backward image,” she said. “Rather than promote public awareness, this reinforces stereotypes — that there is something damaged about the autistic person, something in need of a repair.”
According to Dr. Koplewicz, the campaign was inspired by filmed conversations of parents and children talking about life with a psychiatric disorder. “These families felt their children were trapped by their disorders,” he said.
John Osborn, the president and chief executive of BBDO New York, said the effort was intended to increase the sense of urgency about the diseases and encourage conversation. “It’s tricky because there are a lot of messages in the air, particularly at holiday time. That makes it a challenge to cut through the clutter.”
BBDO’s earlier ads for the Child Study Center — which included images of a child running happily through a sprinkler and a drawing of a child caught in a maze — “were wonderful, but they didn’t get this kind of attention from anyone,” Dr. Koplewicz said. “They were too pleasant and innocuous. That’s the reason we decided to go along with BBDO.”
He was further emboldened, he said, by the reaction of focus groups of women whose children have the disorders mentioned in the ads. “Everyone who participated felt the ads were informative,” he said. “While we knew the campaign was edgy and we knew it would be harsh and upsetting, the facts of mental illness are even more upsetting.
“I am disappointed. I thought the people we’d be arguing with are the people who believe psychiatric illness doesn’t exist” or those who believe children are being overmedicated, he said.
“I thought we’d be fighting ignorance. I didn’t think we’d be fighting adult patients or the parents of patients whose feelings have been hurt.”
Susan Etlinger of San Francisco is one such parent, but she maintains that hers is “not the P.C. outcry of an offended parent.”
“It’s a legitimate claim that children with disabilities are vulnerable enough as it is,” said Ms. Etlinger, whose 4-year-old son has mild autism. “I think we need to take special care that they’re not further stigmatized. This campaign characterizes them as a series of symptoms rather than as the unique people they are.”
Bennett L. Leventhal, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago, said he understood the parents’ dismay. “We live in a world where people are still defensive about having a psychiatric illness or having a child with psychiatric illnesses,” he said. “But I think it’s a very bold campaign. I think the ads speak to the point that these are real diseases and if you don’t do something they can consume your child.”
Dr. Koplewicz said he had not considered jettisoning the campaign, but there was some discussion about dropping its two most controversial components: the autism and Asperger’s ads.
He decided to retain the ads after conferring with colleagues whose attitude, he said, “was that some people would be upset but that we should stick with it and ride out the storm.”
“We’re going to see how it goes in New York,” Dr. Koplewicz said. “If it goes well, we’re going to go to four other cities.”
Skater with Autism Will Perform at 'The Music of Seal on Ice'
Teenager figur skater Krista Kellner, who has autism, will take to the ice for a solo performance as part of “The Music of Seal on Ice,” which benefits Autism Speaks. Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Seal will perform live during this one-time-only music and skating production, while a cast of skaters including Olympic Gold Medalists Kristi Yamaguchi and Brian Boitano, plus many other world and national champion skaters, interpret the music on ice. The event will take place on Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. and will be televised nationwide on NBC from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST on New Year's Day. $5.00 from every ticket sold will be donated to Autism Speaks.Ice skating helped Kellner discover her competitive spirit and strengthened her confidence in learning to live with autism. At a young age, Kellner was frightened of large crowds, but she has now proudly performed two solo performances in front of 2000 people. “The Music of Seal on Ice” will be her third and largest performance.Her parents Dave and Maria Kellner say “the focus and discipline of skating helped her to focus better while studying for school.” While Kellner has struggled in other areas of her life, she excelled at ice skating and learned to apply that same hard work and dedication to school and music study, achieving an A- average.Kellner's coach, Elizabeth O'Donnell, is the founder of Gliding Star, a leader in adaptive ice skating for people with physical, mental, emotional or multiple challenges. O'Donnell began teaching adaptive ice skating in 1976 in Buffalo, N.Y. O'Donnell began working with Kellner when she was three years old.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Educational Advocacy for the Child/Adolescent with AD/HD
Presented by
Susan J. Deedy, Esq.
Date: Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Time: 8:00pm
Location: The Courtyard by Marriott
Location: The Courtyard by Marriott
5000 Express Dr. South, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779
(Take L.I.E. Exit 60 to Service Road)
Suggested $5 donation for non-members.
Susan J. Deedy, Esq.
Date: Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Time: 8:00pm
Location: The Courtyard by Marriott
Location: The Courtyard by Marriott
5000 Express Dr. South, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779
(Take L.I.E. Exit 60 to Service Road)
Suggested $5 donation for non-members.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Books: Seeing Yourself in Autism
By most standards, John Elder Robison has led an interesting life. He created smoking guitars and other special effects for the rock band Kiss, worked on video games for a toy company and was featured in a best-selling memoir written by his brother, the author Augusten Burroughs.
But what is surprising about Mr. Robison is that he unknowingly lived most of his life on the autism spectrum. It wasn’t until his 40’s that a psychologist friend suggested he might have Asperger’s syndrome, a disorder often considered a high-functioning form of autism. People with Asperger’s usually have average or above-average intelligence, but they lack the intuitive ability to read social cues and find it difficult to make friends and form relationships. Characteristics of Asperger’s include difficulty maintaining eye contact and a single-mindedness that can be odd and frustrating but also act to fuel creative genius.
After his brother featured him in the memoir “Running with Scissors,” Mr. Robison became a source of fascination among his brother’s fans. At book readings, adults with Asperger’s and parents of children with the diagnosis would approach Mr. Burroughs with questions about his brother. “Aren’t there any proper books for these people?” Mr. Burroughs wondered.
Now there is. With his brother’s encouragement, Mr. Robison has penned his own best-selling memoir about life with Asperger’s. The title, “Look Me in the Eye,'’ refers to the countless times teachers, parents and other adults demanded eye contact from him as a young child. But “Look Me in the Eye” isn’t a tragic tale. It’s an entertaining, provocative and highly-readable story by a great storyteller who happens to have Asperger’s.
What is most remarkable about Mr. Robison’s story is that it is surprisingly easy to relate to, even if you’ve never knowingly encountered anyone with an autism disorder. Most of us haven’t toured with rock bands or created video games, but nearly everyone can relate to feeling like an outsider. Who hasn’t had a socially awkward moment or felt like they didn’t fit in?
“You may not have Asperger’s, but I will almost guarantee that you will see yourself in Asperger’s,'’ said Mr. Robison in an interview. “When they say it’s a spectrum, you have at one end people who are totally disabled by autism, and the middle people like me who are eccentric but get by fine in life. And from here on it blends seamlessly into normality. That’s why so many millions of people identify with my story.”
Reading Mr. Robison’s book will leave you with a slightly altered world view. He makes you question the logic of human emotions, telling the story of how he smiled after hearing news that someone had died. Bystanders were horrified by his insensitivity, but in his head his reaction made perfect sense. He was merely happy and relieved to know that everyone in his own family was safe.
For parents of children with Asperger’s, Mr. Robison’s story will give them hope. Despite living most of his life without a diagnosis, Mr. Robison experienced many of the milestones that define a so-called “normal” life. He got married, had a child, got divorced and remarried a second time. He enjoyed professional success long before his book was a best seller. In addition to the rock band special effects and work as a toy company engineer and manager, he now runs his own business restoring luxury cars.
By the time Mr. Robison’s story is finished, you will rethink your own definition of normal, and it may spark a new appreciation of the untapped potential behind every quirky, awkward person who doesn’t quite fit in.
But what is surprising about Mr. Robison is that he unknowingly lived most of his life on the autism spectrum. It wasn’t until his 40’s that a psychologist friend suggested he might have Asperger’s syndrome, a disorder often considered a high-functioning form of autism. People with Asperger’s usually have average or above-average intelligence, but they lack the intuitive ability to read social cues and find it difficult to make friends and form relationships. Characteristics of Asperger’s include difficulty maintaining eye contact and a single-mindedness that can be odd and frustrating but also act to fuel creative genius.
After his brother featured him in the memoir “Running with Scissors,” Mr. Robison became a source of fascination among his brother’s fans. At book readings, adults with Asperger’s and parents of children with the diagnosis would approach Mr. Burroughs with questions about his brother. “Aren’t there any proper books for these people?” Mr. Burroughs wondered.
Now there is. With his brother’s encouragement, Mr. Robison has penned his own best-selling memoir about life with Asperger’s. The title, “Look Me in the Eye,'’ refers to the countless times teachers, parents and other adults demanded eye contact from him as a young child. But “Look Me in the Eye” isn’t a tragic tale. It’s an entertaining, provocative and highly-readable story by a great storyteller who happens to have Asperger’s.
What is most remarkable about Mr. Robison’s story is that it is surprisingly easy to relate to, even if you’ve never knowingly encountered anyone with an autism disorder. Most of us haven’t toured with rock bands or created video games, but nearly everyone can relate to feeling like an outsider. Who hasn’t had a socially awkward moment or felt like they didn’t fit in?
“You may not have Asperger’s, but I will almost guarantee that you will see yourself in Asperger’s,'’ said Mr. Robison in an interview. “When they say it’s a spectrum, you have at one end people who are totally disabled by autism, and the middle people like me who are eccentric but get by fine in life. And from here on it blends seamlessly into normality. That’s why so many millions of people identify with my story.”
Reading Mr. Robison’s book will leave you with a slightly altered world view. He makes you question the logic of human emotions, telling the story of how he smiled after hearing news that someone had died. Bystanders were horrified by his insensitivity, but in his head his reaction made perfect sense. He was merely happy and relieved to know that everyone in his own family was safe.
For parents of children with Asperger’s, Mr. Robison’s story will give them hope. Despite living most of his life without a diagnosis, Mr. Robison experienced many of the milestones that define a so-called “normal” life. He got married, had a child, got divorced and remarried a second time. He enjoyed professional success long before his book was a best seller. In addition to the rock band special effects and work as a toy company engineer and manager, he now runs his own business restoring luxury cars.
By the time Mr. Robison’s story is finished, you will rethink your own definition of normal, and it may spark a new appreciation of the untapped potential behind every quirky, awkward person who doesn’t quite fit in.
College Transition Programs Launched for Students with Autism
Newswise — Dr. Laura Klinger well remembers the first time she met an adorable preschool child with Asperger’s syndrome soon after joining The University of Alabama in 1993 as a clinical psychologist.
This child, said Klinger, was one of the first she evaluated in her role as the founder and director of a UA research clinic specializing in autism and related disorders. Since Klinger’s arrival at UA some 15 years ago, the number of diagnosed cases of Autism Spectrum Disorders (which includes autism, Asperger's syndrome and pervasive developmental disorder) worldwide has exploded, the disorders have received widespread media attention, and Klinger has evaluated and provided therapy services to hundreds of children.
As for the child? Well, this child enrolled this fall as a freshman at The University of Alabama.
Klinger said she didn't initially envision the UA clinic expanding its services to adults, but as the child and the thousands of others, nationwide, with an autism spectrum disorder began reaching college age, she saw an unmet need.
Through a one-year grant awarded Klinger from the Alabama Council for Developmental Disabilities, UA developed and launched, this year, a college transition program, known as UA-ACTS, for students with an autism spectrum disorder, or ASD. Three freshmen are enrolled in the program. Klinger envisions the UA program becoming self-sustaining and eventually expanding to serve up to 16 students.
The grant enabled UA to hire Dr. Sarah O'Kelley, a postdoctoral clinician, in a half-time position to develop and lead the college transition program.
Difficulties in social interaction - including knowing how to make friends - poor conversation skills, and obsessive interests are characteristics of people with autism spectrum disorders. Individuals with an ASD have IQ scores from the range of mental retardation to giftedness. Those with average IQ's or higher have the academic skills necessary for success in college, Klinger says.
College life is, for many, the near ultimate social interaction challenge, and it's faced, for the first time, without parental supervision. For children with the disorder, it's particularly taxing.
“These students are given more independence than they have ever been given before,” Klinger says. "They really want to be just like any other freshman on campus.”
Students in the program, who must first be admitted into UA on their own merits, are assigned graduate level therapists/mentors to assist them in navigating the challenges of college life. During both individual and group sessions, the students are guided in such areas as improving interactions with instructors, building and managing relationships with college peers, including roommates, managing time and improving daily living skills. The students are also monitored for signs of high anxiety and depression, challenges faced by many with an autism spectrum disorder.
The UA-ACTS program coordinates services with UA's Office of Disability Services. UA instructors and Residential Life staff are educated on some of the challenges faced by people with ASD in the college environment.
The magnitude of students entering college world-wide with ASD is a testimony to the success of early intervention programs, Klinger says. In times past, college would not have even been considered an option for many similar students, she says. Others would have found the road rocky.
“For the most part, they don't do very well,” Klinger said of previous generations of students attending college with ASD. Some, of course, overcame the obstacles. Klinger hopes the program can give current students a needed boost.
In addition to growing the program, an important goal is to raise scholarship funds to assist the families of future students in paying the program's $3,000 a semester fee.
Despite the growing demand, only a handful of such programs exist nationwide. One of O'Kelley's first tasks was to evaluate existing programs and attempt to incorporate some of the best elements from each into the UA program.
“We're getting calls from all over the country,” Klinger said.
This child, said Klinger, was one of the first she evaluated in her role as the founder and director of a UA research clinic specializing in autism and related disorders. Since Klinger’s arrival at UA some 15 years ago, the number of diagnosed cases of Autism Spectrum Disorders (which includes autism, Asperger's syndrome and pervasive developmental disorder) worldwide has exploded, the disorders have received widespread media attention, and Klinger has evaluated and provided therapy services to hundreds of children.
As for the child? Well, this child enrolled this fall as a freshman at The University of Alabama.
Klinger said she didn't initially envision the UA clinic expanding its services to adults, but as the child and the thousands of others, nationwide, with an autism spectrum disorder began reaching college age, she saw an unmet need.
Through a one-year grant awarded Klinger from the Alabama Council for Developmental Disabilities, UA developed and launched, this year, a college transition program, known as UA-ACTS, for students with an autism spectrum disorder, or ASD. Three freshmen are enrolled in the program. Klinger envisions the UA program becoming self-sustaining and eventually expanding to serve up to 16 students.
The grant enabled UA to hire Dr. Sarah O'Kelley, a postdoctoral clinician, in a half-time position to develop and lead the college transition program.
Difficulties in social interaction - including knowing how to make friends - poor conversation skills, and obsessive interests are characteristics of people with autism spectrum disorders. Individuals with an ASD have IQ scores from the range of mental retardation to giftedness. Those with average IQ's or higher have the academic skills necessary for success in college, Klinger says.
College life is, for many, the near ultimate social interaction challenge, and it's faced, for the first time, without parental supervision. For children with the disorder, it's particularly taxing.
“These students are given more independence than they have ever been given before,” Klinger says. "They really want to be just like any other freshman on campus.”
Students in the program, who must first be admitted into UA on their own merits, are assigned graduate level therapists/mentors to assist them in navigating the challenges of college life. During both individual and group sessions, the students are guided in such areas as improving interactions with instructors, building and managing relationships with college peers, including roommates, managing time and improving daily living skills. The students are also monitored for signs of high anxiety and depression, challenges faced by many with an autism spectrum disorder.
The UA-ACTS program coordinates services with UA's Office of Disability Services. UA instructors and Residential Life staff are educated on some of the challenges faced by people with ASD in the college environment.
The magnitude of students entering college world-wide with ASD is a testimony to the success of early intervention programs, Klinger says. In times past, college would not have even been considered an option for many similar students, she says. Others would have found the road rocky.
“For the most part, they don't do very well,” Klinger said of previous generations of students attending college with ASD. Some, of course, overcame the obstacles. Klinger hopes the program can give current students a needed boost.
In addition to growing the program, an important goal is to raise scholarship funds to assist the families of future students in paying the program's $3,000 a semester fee.
Despite the growing demand, only a handful of such programs exist nationwide. One of O'Kelley's first tasks was to evaluate existing programs and attempt to incorporate some of the best elements from each into the UA program.
“We're getting calls from all over the country,” Klinger said.
Research Study
ATTENTION:
CAREGIVERS OF CHILDREN DIAGNOSED
WITH
AUTISM OR RELATED DISORDER
JRA: Global Healthcare Research Services, a medical marketing research company, is inviting you to participate in a study regarding
“Autism”
Qualified respondents will receive an honorarium of $50 for participation. The telephone interview should last about 45 minutes. The interviews are being conducted December 10th through December 21st, with various times available.
If you would like more information about how you can participate in this important research project, please call 1-800-220-1070 and the reference number is 1745. Please note that this is a study-specific toll-free #; if a recruiter is not available, please leave a call-back number and your call will be returned in a timely manner. Please call Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm Eastern Time. Also, please feel free to pass on this invitation to anyone else you know who may qualify to participate.
Sincerely,
Carole Napolitano
Project Manager
JRA: Global Healthcare Research Services
CAREGIVERS OF CHILDREN DIAGNOSED
WITH
AUTISM OR RELATED DISORDER
JRA: Global Healthcare Research Services, a medical marketing research company, is inviting you to participate in a study regarding
“Autism”
Qualified respondents will receive an honorarium of $50 for participation. The telephone interview should last about 45 minutes. The interviews are being conducted December 10th through December 21st, with various times available.
If you would like more information about how you can participate in this important research project, please call 1-800-220-1070 and the reference number is 1745. Please note that this is a study-specific toll-free #; if a recruiter is not available, please leave a call-back number and your call will be returned in a timely manner. Please call Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm Eastern Time. Also, please feel free to pass on this invitation to anyone else you know who may qualify to participate.
Sincerely,
Carole Napolitano
Project Manager
JRA: Global Healthcare Research Services
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