A school where kids won't be alone

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A school where kids won't be alone

New public charter school for autistic children - launched by parents,

researchers and doctors - offers hope of meeting special needs while

creating an environment that's more friendly.

By JAMES WALSH

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Posted: Jan. 19, 2008

As her autistic daughter, now 14, has grown, so too has the loneliness - her

daughter's loneliness in school; her parents' loneliness because having an

autistic child can seem a solitary climb up a very long hill. " There's a lot

of pain, " said.

Tired of the loneliness, and weary of years of pushing public schools to

better educate their kids, some parents of autistic children are starting a

charter school specifically for older students with the disorder. When

Lionsgate Academy opens, scheduled for the fall of 2008, it will be the only

public school in Minnesota - and one of only a handful of public schools in

the country - designed for children with autism-spectrum disorders.

Founders hope to open the school and hire teachers trained for the needs of

their children. It would be a place for parents to commune with other

parents, a place for researchers to learn the best ways to help children

learn to build meaningful lives.

" There are a lot of desperate people out there, " said Bernadette Waisbren,

who has a 14-year-old son with autism and was ' partner in sparking

the idea for the school.

Parents yearn for their children to gain the skills they need to go to

college, to get a job. " We just want them to reach their potential, "

Waisbren said. " But we just didn't see it happening. "

Autism is a complex disability that is present from birth or very early in

development. It affects social interaction, the ability to communicate ideas

and feelings, and the ability to establish relationships. Autism is

estimated to occur in as many as one in 166 people and is four times more

common in boys than in girls.

Frustrated with what they termed the " illusion of inclusion " in traditional

schools, the Lionsgate parents decided to start a charter public school

rather than a private school. As a charter school, Lionsgate will receive

basic per-pupil funding from the state. " We want to make this available to

everybody, " said Waisbren, Bernadette's husband and chairman of the

Lionsgate School Board.

Lionsgate will enroll 130 children in grades 6-10, eventually serving

students up to the age of 21. The school is trying to find a site and to

raise at least $1.5 million for specialized equipment and programming. It

has enlisted the support of the Autism Society of Minnesota, the University

of St. and the Autism Clinic at the University of Minnesota.

Reiff, director of the clinic, joined the Lionsgate board.

Reiff said the clinic will serve as a resource for the school, and the

school will act as a laboratory of sorts for training graduate students and

pediatric doctors and gathering data about best practices.

" I am very excited about it, " Reiff said. " Because I think we have things to

give. And I also think we have things to learn and receive from this. "

The Adler Graduate School, a school that works with psychotherapists and

counselors, is Lionsgate's sponsor. Dennis Rislove, a former superintendent

of schools in andria, Minn., is president of Adler. Lionsgate is needed,

he said.

" It's difficult to have a program that focuses on autism in the public

schools, " he said. " A lot of times, these students get placed in a special

education room, a multiple disability room, with kids that have a lot of

other disabilities. These children need calm and quiet, not a lot of

distraction or stimulation. "

Laub, an educational consultant and longtime teacher and supervisor

of special education, is also part of the Lionsgate effort. She said limited

resources make it hard for public schools to serve autistic students in

junior high and high school.

" And as these kids get older, time is running out, " Laub said. The parents

who are calling me are desperate. They are saying, 'My child is

mainstreamed, but he or she is very unhappy. They don't have any friends.' "

In addition to regular public school funding, Laub said, Lionsgate will

receive special education funds from students' home school districts. And

the school will receive other state and federal special education funds.

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Amy A. Sosa

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Coppell, Texas

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