Schools Tackle Autism
The Arizona Republic (www.azcentral.com)

Novenber 12, 2001

12:00:00

When 6-year old Geoffrey Gunkel went to kindergarten, he bit the teacher and hit the other kids. Like hundreds of other autistic kids in public classrooms, he needed special attention.

The number of Arizona children diagnosed with autism has mushroomed 255 percent in just four years, creating a growing challenge for the state's schools.

Administrators can't find enough teachers trained to work with autistic children, and the special programs are expensive, about $15,000 a year per child.

The problem is especially great in Maricopa County, home to about 60 percent of the 1,213 children identified with the neurological disorder.

More information:

* Go to the children's health archive of health.azcentral.com for more information about autism.

Autism affects social development and communication. Autistic people often don't maintain eye contact. The sound of a fan can so jar them that it can cause them to scream. No one knows the cause, or has a cure.

"Of all the disabilities, this is the toughest," said Dinah Jones, preschool speech and language pathologist with the Washington Elementary School District.

Geoffrey Gunkel boards the bus at 7 a.m. to start a 30-mile, two-hour ride from his Chandler home to a Glendale school.

Donna and Jim Gunkel wish they could find a place closer to home that met their son's needs.

Working against time

Geoffrey, who was diagnosed with autism when he was 2* years old, had been in a preschool class with special-needs and mainstream children.

His parents hoped he would be placed in a kindergarten class for autistic children. But Chandler Unified School District had none at the time, so he was placed in a regular classroom.

There, he hit and bit teachers and other children, so he was sent to the Children's Center for Neurodevelopmental Studies in Glendale, where the specialty is autistic children.

Geoffrey, who has been there since the beginning of the school year, is already making progress, his parents said.He has nearly stopped grinding his teeth.

His vocabulary is still limited to "I want" phrases and food items such as "Popsicle" and "banana," but his communication is improving. He expresses himself through cards depicting actions or items.

His school has adapted its classes to address some pupils' sensory issues. For example, Geoffrey's class doesn't use many overhead lights; they're too stimulating. A large corner of Geoffrey's classroom is dedicated to quiet time, when Geoffrey can sit on a mattress and suck his thumb while taking breaks. During sensory time, his arms are wrapped with ACE bandages to soothe him.

The progress he's making comes at a cost.

Private programs such as the Children's Center can charge anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000. School districts receive about two-thirds of the funding from the state and federal government, the rest is paid by the district.

"I just want to see him talking and communicating. I think when that happens, I won't have to worry about him so much," his mother said.

But the Gunkels feel like they're working against the clock.

If children with autism don't develop speech by the age of 8, they most likely never will be able to communicate the way most people do.

The Gunkels don't know how much longer Geoffrey will stay at the Children's Center. His stay will depend on whether he has met his developmental and academic goals and can return to school or if he will need specialized services.

"He's finally coming out of his shell," Donna said. "It's almost at the point where we have to grab him now or we'll lose him."

Teachers needed

As school districts try to find ways to work with autistic children, they're finding it increasingly difficult to find trained educators.

"We're finding there's not a lot of college programs that are training people on how to teach autistic kids," said Roger Kutemeier, director of special education for Mesa Unified School District.

Sheri Dollin, a consultant with the Southwest Autism Research Center, visits schools throughout the Valley to help train teachers and aides.

"There's so much you need to do to adapt the curriculum to address sensory and communication issues," she said. "It's like choreographing a dance. Everybody has a role and it's difficult trying to get everyone to understand their role without compromising the needs of the student."

Some districts have sent special education teachers to the University of North Carolina, to learn a specific teaching method called TEACCH, Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication handicapped Children. It emphasizes organizing the classroom, developing individual schedules, setting clear goals and using visuals.

The Washington Elementary and Scottsdale Unified school districts have implemented these teaching methods in classrooms specifically designed for autistic children.

In 1996, Washington Elementary was one of the first districts to offer a TEACCH class in the state.

The program is at John Jacobs Elementary School in Phoenix.

Thirty-one students participate at an annual cost of $750,000.

The classes are divided by age level and there is a ratio of five to eight students to every teacher.

Each classroom also has two to three instructional aides and speech and occupational therapists.

In TEACCH classrooms, each student has a cubicle designed for individual work. Each student gets one-on-one time with teachers.

Time is also built in for group activities.

Socializing is difficult for autistic children.

Group time may involve several children wearing a weighted vest or sitting in a "hug chair," which is draped with two long, weighted arms that can be wrapped around a child to calm him or her.

Each classroom also has a "sensory area" where items vary according to age. In the kindergarten classroom, children are swung on a hammock while they hold a pillow. Older children have a therapy ball, blue gymnastic mats and a beanbag.

Because many autistic children are not social, horseplay isn't much of a problem. Noise is kept to a minimum and each student has a daily schedule that can be a list of pictures or words.

A struggle for parents

As districts and the state try to better prepare for the growing number of autistic children, their parents struggle to ensure they get a quality education.

"Every day I fight for my son to get a good education," said Linda Gasten, whose 11-year old son is autistic.

Her son, James Edgar, has been bounced around as she and educators tried to find the right classroom environment.

Edgar started in an integrated preschool, then mainstreamed in kindergarten, then spent first grade in a private school. Now he is in a class for autistic children in the Scottsdale Unified School District.

Seven years ago, Gasten started a support group with four other people. Now, 30 to 50 members attend monthly meetings.

"That's really how you survive, is getting to know other parents with kids with autism," Gasten said.

Members share their expertise with the newer parents, who aren't sure what they need to do. Gasten said one of the most common problems is parents' fear of attending meetings to discuss the child's Individual Education Plan, which the state mandates for each special education student.

"It's not the teachers and the aides of kids, it's often not even the principal, it's the administration who says basically 'This is what we do, this is what we offer.' They're basically cutting the process off before you start it," she said.

Gasten said schools are doing a better job of trying to deal with autistic children, but they have a long way to go.

Janet Kirwan, director of family services for the Southwest Autism Research Center and a mother of an autistic child, agrees.

"This is a relatively rare disorder," Kirwan said.

"A lot of districts thought, 'Why would I spend a lot of training on this?' I think we're seeing a movement toward education and getting better programs, and I think parents are forcing that on the schools."
Copyright 2001, Arizona Central. All Rights Reserved.

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