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News- Page 3
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Glade Run to build for children with autism
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Posted by lightfoot on Sunday, February 24, 2008 (11:18:54)
By Ken McCarthy
Glade Run Lutheran Services plans to build a $3 million school that will allow it to serve children with autism, as well as consolidate about 10 classrooms that are scattered across its Zelienople campus.
The new school would complement St. Stephen Lutheran Academy on the campus, a private school that provides therapeutic programs for youngsters who have emotional or behavioral problems.
The academy, which opened in 1993, enrolls about 230 students, and has a waiting list of those interested in attending, said Cindy Shafer, director of resource development at Glade Run.
Glade Run currently doesn't serve youngsters who have autism.
Officials hope to open the new building for the 2009-10 school year, Ms. Shafer said. Ground could be broken in the spring for the building, which will be two stories high and connected to the campus' recreation center.
The Butler County commissioners in December approved a $3.8 million tax-exempt note for the Butler County Industrial Development Authority on behalf of Glade Run, which will be responsible for paying it back. Ms. Shafer said Glade Run is trying to raise money to pay for the project.
She said she was unsure how many new jobs the project would create but that additional teachers, aides and other support staff would be needed. Glade Run currently employs about 375 people.
Zelienople Manager Don Pepe said Glade Run has not yet submitted formal plans for the project, although he expects that will happen in time for the planning commission's February meeting.
The 325-acre Glade Run campus offers supervised, independent living for children starting at age 6. It also provides religious and community services, such as animal-assisted therapy and outreach programs.
pittsburgh post-gazette
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Virtual Reality Teaches Autistic Children to Cross Streets Safely
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Posted by lightfoot on Wednesday, February 06, 2008 (15:53:32)
Source: University of Haifa
The independence of children with autism depends on their receiving treatment in natural settings. One of the main problems they face is their inability to learn how to safely cross the street, a necessary skill for independent living. While acquiring this skill could greatly improve these children's independence, most of the methods for teaching street-crossing have been designed for use within the classroom, and they have been shown as insufficiently effective among autistic children.
The best way to teach children with autism skills is through repeated practice in natural settings, but the danger of learning to cross the street in a natural setting obviously prohibits this method. This is where virtual reality is very effective, as demonstrated by the research team which included Hadass Milika Ben-Chaim, then a student in the Occupational Therapy master’s program and Shula Friedrich, the principal of the Haifa Ofer School for Children with Autism as well as Profs. Josman and Weiss.
Six autistic children, ages 7-12, spent one month learning how to cross virtual streets, to wait for the virtual light at the crosswalk to change and to look left and right for virtual cars using a simulation programmed by Yuval Naveh. The children in the study showed substantial improvement throughout the learning process: at the beginning of the study, the average child was able to use the 2nd level of the software while by the end they mastered the 9th level, which is characterized by more vehicles traveling at a higher speed.
However, the research team was not looking to teach a virtual skill; they wanted to see if the children were able to transfer the skills they had mastered in a virtual environment to the real world. A local practice area with a street and crosswalk, complete with traffic signals, was used for this purpose. The children's ability to cross the street safely was tested in this area evaluating, for example, whether they stopped to wait on the sidewalk or waited for a green light before crossing. The children were brought to the practice area before and after their virtual learning. Here too, the children exhibited an improvement in their skills, following the training on the virtual street, with three of the children showing considerable improvement.
One of the study participants, 16 years old, had participated in the past in a road safety program in the school, but he was not able to learn how to cross the street safely. Following learning the skill in a virtual environment, he learned how to stop on the sidewalk before stepping into the street, to look at the color of the traffic light, to cross only when the light was green and to cross without waiting too long.
"Previous studies have shown that autistic children respond well to computer learning. In this research we learned that their intelligence level or severity of their autism doesn't affect their ability to understand the system and therefore this is an important way to improve their cognitive and social abilities," summarized Profs. Josman and Weiss.
Newswise
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+ Eastern Michigan U: New Master's Program in Autism
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Posted by lightfoot on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 (10:19:35)
Posted by Adrienne Edwards
Eastern Michigan University (www.emich.edu) is starting a new master’s degree program to train special education teachers to meet the needs of the growing number of children with autism.
Approved by the EMU Board of Regents in January, 2008, the first 20 graduates will enroll in the master of arts degree program in autism spectrum disorders in the 2008-09 academic year. Within three years, enrollment is planned to grow to 60 students.
EMU officials say the new master’s degree fills a pressing need. The number of children diagnosed with autism disorders has increased, and the state of Michigan lacks enough special education personnel who are prepared to teach them.
source: mlive.com on 1/27/08
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Autism Center holds workshops for parents
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Posted by lightfoot on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 (10:09:28)
By Times staff
The Quad-Cities Autism Center Inc., Moline, is holding a series of workshops from March through July for people in the community who have or work with children affected by autism.
Workshop 1 already is in progress, but there are three more workshop dates from which to choose.
Workshop 2 will be held March 6, 20 and April 3 and 17. The registration due date is Feb. 29. This workshop will focus on reduction of problem behaviors.
Workshop 3 will be held May 1, 15, 29 and June 12. Registration deadline is April 25. This session will focus on setting up home programming.
Workshop 4 will be held June 19 and July 3, 17 and 31. The session will focus on hands-on table teaching for children with autism.
Times for all workshops is 7-9 p.m. at the Quad-Cities Autism Center, New Hope Community Center, 2430 6th Ave., Moline.
User manuals will be provided to each participant. Registration for each workshop is $75 per person or four people for $199. However, the Autism Center has about 100 free registration scholarships currently available due to a grant from the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend.
For more information, contact Michelle Smyth at (309) 269-5653.
Quad-City Times
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Carers push PM for autistic preschool
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Posted by sylvia on Thursday, January 24, 2008 (21:08:24)
By Ilona Marchetta and Soraiya Gharahkhani
THINGS looked hopeful for carers when Kevin Rudd proposed one of six autistic-specific preschools in south-west Sydney.
But since his election as Prime Minister, speculation is mounting on whether it is a broken promise.
Bronwyn Cobcroft has a son, Colby, who is autistic.
The Ruse mother said her son was two years delayed and needed a school that could help him.
"I notice the way he acts when he plays with other children his social skills are delayed and he does not have the proper ability to cope," she said.
"He needs something that's more one-on-one.
"The place he goes to now is great but I feel guilty that the workers there are taking attention away from the other children to attend to mine."
Austism is a brain disorder that begins at childhood and affects three areas of development communication, social interaction and imaginative play.
The long day-care centres will provide critical early intervention services to local children.
A spokeswoman for the federal Department of Families and Community Services said she did not know where the preschool would be or if any areas had already been identified because the concept was currently part of a confidential budget process.
Ms Cobcroft had a message for Mr Rudd's delayed promise.
"Today would be good, mate," Ms Cobcroft said. "When I found out Colby had autism, I thought `what do I do now'."
"We've had to try and find all these services ourselves and it's been a bit like feeling your way through the dark, really."
Brisbane-based doctor James Morton said the school would focus on social interaction, play skills and communication with a high teacher-to-student ratio.
Fowler federal MP Julia Irwin said she hoped to raise the problem in Parliament. Werriwa federal MP Chris Hayes will meet with the service in coming weeks.
Compbelltown (au)
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