For some children, the most ordinary things sometimes prove hardest to master: pushing a shopping cart, getting a haircut, sitting down to a meal.

That's particularly true for many autistic children. For them, learning appropriate behavior - including not to scream, spit or bite - is as challenging as academics. As a result, they require a curriculum not normally found in public schools.

Three years ago, the Pompton Lakes School District answered that need with a program for autistic students in preschool through fifth grade, working with about 12 students from North Jersey. Irene Cook, administrator of the program, runs it with the strongly applied philosophy that "every child can learn."

"We just have to find out what works for each child," Cook said. "There is always a way. Sometimes you just have to try many different ways before it works, but it will always work."

The program is so successful that the Ringwood district will open a program - an extension of the Pompton Lakes design - for six students in grades 6-8 in September.

"I'm very excited about it. I see no detriments at all," Ringwood Schools Superintendent Peter Carter said. "It's a wonderful opportunity for children to receive the services they need in the public school system."

Mainstreaming the children for different parts of the day is one of the strongest aspects of the program. Depending on the level of autism, some children in the Pompton program participate in one, several or all regular classes.

"Pompton Lakes and Ringwood are to be applauded for this quality program within the districts, so that the students can be included as much as possible," said Maria Nuccetelli, Passaic County superintendent of schools. "We are encouraging more districts to start programs so children don't have to be bused out of their community."

State reports show that slightly more than half of the 3,500 autistic people ages 6-21 in the state were educated in private or self-contained public schools in 2001. But the state does not track the number of public school programs designed for children with autism.

"It is not extremely rare, but it's not common, either," said Barbara Gantwerk, director of the office of special education programs for the state. "We are seeing an increase in the number of children diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder, and districts are finding it's cost-effective and appropriate for the children to be a part of the regular district."

But though special education classes within the public schools are growing, the number of programs geared for autistic children is still small. Passaic and Bergen counties have one program each - in Pompton Lakes and Cliffside Park.

Cook will set up the Ringwood program, including the curriculum.

"Inclusion in regular classes is what drives the curriculum," Cook said. "In many autism programs, teachers focus on words that have some meaning to the child - usually provided by the parents.

"We also do that, but we also use words, for instance, that the kindergarten students will see in the first-grade reading books so they are familiar with them for the next year."

Austism is a pervasive developmental disorder that interferes with a person's ability to communicate and relate to others. It is thought to be biologically based - research shows that people with autism have irregular brain structures.

Children with autism have trouble relating to others, and so they may prefer to play alone and make little eye contact with people. Other symptoms include delayed language development, difficulties with verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors such as body rocking, unusual attachment to objects, and holding fast to routines and rituals.

"The behavior we take for granted in most children - being able to tolerate a haircut, not ramming a shopping cart into people - need to be taught to autistic children," Cook said. "Some parents have to cut their child's hair while he is sleeping, and others have never sat down with their child for a meal because he can't sit long enough."

The standard method of treatment is behavior teaching - also known as behavior intervention or behavior modification - with a specialized educational program for each child. As in private schools, the Pompton Lakes design is a highly detailed, evolving, scripted program for each individual that is influenced by a number of experts.

The program has one teacher and a full-time behaviorist, in addition to an applied behavior analyst for each child. The behaviorist looks at each child's behavior and then with assistance from the analysts, teacher and parents, devises a program specifically for every student.

Housed in the Lincoln School, the cost of the Pompton program is $522,300 annually, which includes everything except such pro-rated items as utilities and administrators' salaries. Students sent from other districts pay $38,200 in tuition. This does not include salaries for speech or physical therapists, which are sometimes needed for a student. The sending district covers those costs as well as transportation.

With seven borough students enrolled in the program, not only do students benefit from not having to travel and being mainstreamed in their local schools, the Pompton Lakes district saves money by educating them within the district.

"Having these children in the public school system is such a wonderful thing for the kids," Pompton Lakes Superintendent Terrance Brennan said. "We have 13 students in the program and 17 on the waiting list."

Ringwood also will save money by instituting the program. Carter said it costs the district $80,000 each to send special education students out of district, including the costs of transportation and additional therapists.

"One of our goals has been to bring as many students back into the district as we can," Carter said. "Right now the students in this age group are being educated in private schools."

The Ringwood program will be held at the Martin J. Ryerson School. Start-up costs will be about $25,000, which include the supplies and furniture.

A conceptual plan for educating area high school students in Lakeland Regional High School is being discussed by area administrators, including Brennan and Carter. But everyone involved emphasizes that the program is still a conceptual idea and no plans have been made.

"My dream is to see a child go from preschool through the 12th grade right here in the public schools," Cook said. "Then I will be happy."

Reach Barbara Williams at (973) 569-7786 or williamsb@northjersey.com.