School blends students with, without autism (SHARING)

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----- Forwarded Message ----From: ACE Chair Shapiro acechair@...---------- Forwarded message ----------Date: Wed, Apr 21, 2010 at 9:34 PMSubject: School blends students with, without autism (SHARING)To: GRfood@...Cc: dusefof@...School blends students with, without autismApproach applauded by parents, expertsMonday, April 19, 2010By Misti CraneTHE COLUMBUS DISPATCH on had no

blueprint and plenty of people quick tosecond-guess her dream.She wanted to see what would happen if she took a typical schoolenvironment and taught children who are on the autism spectrumalongside children without disabilities.That's done, to a degree, in classrooms all over the country. Buton, who'd spent 14 years in the public sector before going backto school for her doctorate, didn't want just one or two children withautism in class. She also didn't want them to be singled out forone-on-one lessons.It is her conviction that the disorder is rooted in a lack of socialcompetency. If you can teach good behavior, through constant andappropriate reminders about social expectations, you pave the way tobroader learning, she believes.Ideally, that should happen from an early age and include a lot ofexposure to children who are developing typically, she said.on

started Oakstone Academy a decade ago and has watched it growto serve more than 500 children in preschool through 12th grade atmultiple buildings in Columbus and Westerville.There's always a waiting list. And there are a lot of parents happy totell stories of children transforming. They commend on and thestaff she carefully chooses and grooms. At times, you can walk into aclass and be unable to tell the difference between the "typicallydeveloping" peers and the children who have autism.Now, a philanthropist from Florida is raising $18 million to open asimilar school there in 2013.About 40 percent of Oakstone's students fall somewhere on thespectrum. The rest are siblings, the children of staff members, orfrom families who wanted a private-school atmosphere without the cost.Parents of students without autism pay $500 a year in fees. Standardtuition for children on the spectrum

runs from $26,500 to $28,500,much of which is subsidized.There is one teacher for every six students. In most other schools,teachers are responsible for closer to 20 children.The behavior expected of students is embedded in the curriculum,plastered on the walls and reinforced constantly. Personalresponsibility is paramount.on said children both with and without autism have flourished,and she is eager to publish an academic paper about the outcomes inher classrooms.That might be what it takes for more people throughout the country tobelieve that it can be done, said Dr. Hendren, professor ofpsychiatry and director of the Division of Child and AdolescentPsychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco.He visited Oakstone recently."I thought eventually when we opened the door, we'd see pandemonium,"Hendren said. "But every time we opened the door,

the kids were therelearning and engaged. I'd love to see it replicated."By engaging children with autism socially, you can change the wholetrajectory of their development, Hendren said.He initially was skeptical about on's approach. He wondered howshe could manage it financially and was uncertain about the benefitsfor typically developing children.Oakstone leaders have figured out a way to run the school withoutbankrupting parents - mostly by working with government agencies andschool districts to access dollars available to help the children,librarian Amy Price said. Private-pay schools can run $100,000 a yearor more, she said.The peers in the school score well on standardized tests, and manythrive in the setting, parents and school leaders said. Lawless of Westerville had enrolled her son Liam in a Montessorischool, "but first and second grade was almost the

death of us. Nobodyknew how to help him - the anger, the rage, the impulsiveness," shesaid. Lawless quit her job to care for her son, who started atOakstone in third grade.Liam, who is now 12 and in the sixth grade, remembers that time: "Itwas pretty hard, because I kept getting angry, and I didn't know I wasautistic at the time."From the time Liam started at Oakstone, Lawless noticed a profoundchange. He showed her respect. He learned to manage his anger."It's a lot easier to concentrate, and I have a lot of friends," saidLiam, whose 10-year-old brother, Sam, and 6-year-old sister, ,also go to the school."The only thing I don't like about Oakstone is that it's not availableto everyone," Lawless said.Dr. Wynn, who directs the Center for Autism SpectrumDisorders at Nationwide Children's Hospital, said school systems areworking to include children with

autism in regular classrooms andactivities, but they have limited resources to devote.on's "program is definitely an asset to the community," she said. Otte and her husband, , wanted their first-grader in aclassroom with typically developing peers. "If he was in a programthat was just with other autistic children, there would be no way forhim to pick up the behaviors of typically developing children," shesaid.When Jack started at Oakstone, he couldn't communicate. Now, almostall of the 7-year-old's skills are at a typical level for his age, and"they think he has the potential to grow out of his diagnosis," saidOtte, who lives in New Albany.Otte's daughter, Abbey, is one of the peer models in the preschool,which has helped her as well, Otte said."She'll be like, 'Jack, focus on me. Look in my eyes.' It's kind offunny coming from a 4-year-old."mcrane@...-- ACE Chairwww.freewebs.com/acechair