| by Shelley Widhalm |
| Dec 11, 2007 |
| http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20071211/FAMILY/112110020/1016
Autism Spurs Parents to Act December 11, 2007 By Shelley Widhalm - Twenty-year-old Brittney Taylor says "pasta," and Josef Zupan, a 7-year-old child with autism, hands her a picture of noodles on a plate. She says "fur," and with some prompting, Josef hands her the tiger picture. "High five," Ms. Taylor says, and Josef gives her one. "Nice job. That's right," are other words of encouragement she uses to reward Josef and keep him on task as they work on vocabulary and following directions. Ms. Taylor has been teaching Josef, who is completely nonverbal, since July through a training academy sponsored by Parents of Autistic Children of Northern Virginia (POAC-NoVA). The parent-run nonprofit organization, based in Fairfax City, focuses on improving the quality and quantity of education for children with autism. It has 350 families, primarily from Fairfax County, on its membership list. "There is no quick fix for autism," says Ms. Taylor, a senior at George Mason University (GMU) in Fairfax who is majoring in therapeutic recreation. "It takes dedication and hard work." Ms. Taylor is among the first eight students, including two parents of autistic children, to graduate from the POAC-NoVA Verbal Behavior Instructors Academy (PVBIA), which trains therapists for running a home program for children with autism. "We have to, as parents, band together. We want our kids to get a good education, and we need help," says Theresa Wrangham, director of educational development at the U.S. Autism & Asperger Association. The association is a nonprofit organization based in Draper, Utah, that provides educational and family support for those affected by autism spectrum disorders, a category of neurological disorders that includes autism. She is the parent of a 17-year-old girl with autism. Parents often can find a consultant to design a home program, but they may have difficulty finding a therapist to work the program, says Justine Chang, who oversees therapist trainers for POAC-NoVa. "It requires the parents to have a lot of patience. It takes a lot of time. And it puts a heavy impact on their finances," Ms. Chang says. The shortage of therapists has resulted, in part, from an increase in the rate of autism, which affects 1 in 150 American children, according to POAC-NoVA. "Autism is a constellation of symptoms that are seen in children who have primary social interactive impairments," says Dr. Stephen Mott of Georgetown University Hospital in Northwest, where he is medical director of the Autism and Communications Disorders Clinic and division chief of pediatric neurology and neurodevelopmental pediatrics for the Department of Pediatrics. He also is an associate professor of pediatrics and neurology at Georgetown University Medical School. Children with autism have developmental abnormalities in their ability to communicate both verbally and nonverbally, Dr. Mott says. "It is a disorder that has no primary medical treatment," says Lauren Kenworthy, director of the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at the Children's National Medical Center in Northwest. She holds a doctorate in clinical psychology. "The most important treatments we have for autism are behavioral and educational," she says. PVBIA uses Applied Behavior Analysis/Verbal Behavior (ABA/VB) and other research-based methodologies to build verbal skills and achieve social connectedness. ABA is a method of teaching that includes breaking tasks into smaller steps that each must be mastered before moving to the next one, says Wendy Fournier, president of the National Autism Association, a nonprofit organization based in Nixa, Mo., that advocates for, educates and empowers those affected by autism spectrum disorders. "Children with autism have difficulty learning. They have difficulty understanding complex concepts," says Mrs. Fournier, whose 7-year-old daughter has autism. VB is a form of errorless teaching for increasing the likelihood of communication. For example, the teacher might encourage an autistic child to answer a question correctly by giving the child part of a word, says Shannon McGrail, director of PVBIA and a board member of POAC-NoVA. She is a guest lecturer on autism at GMU and has a 7-year-old autistic son. PVBIA's five-month training course provides supervised, hands-on therapy in the homes of POAC-NoVA members to teach therapist trainees how to organize a home program. Parents are responsible for hiring and compensating the therapists, while POAC-NoVa covers the cost of their training and oversight. At the end of the course, the trainees are POAC-certified as beginner-level therapists able to work in the program with oversight, Mrs. McGrail says. An intermediate and advanced program are being developed, she says. Parents can find their own therapist to train through the program, or POAC-NoVA trains the therapists and pairs them with members seeking a therapist, Mrs. McGrail says. Parents also can opt to learn how to organize a structured training program for their therapists, she says. "Whenever children recover, parents are involved," says Doreen Granpeesheh, a board-certified behavior analyst and founder of the Center for Autism and Related Disorders, a Los Angeles center for treating children with autism and related disorders. She is a scientific advisory board member of the U.S. Autism & Asperger Association. "I think professionals never really quite understand all of the skills and the strengths and weaknesses of the children as well as the parents do," says Ms. Granpeesheh, who holds a doctorate in psychology. Parents play an important role in helping children with autism implement what they learn in therapy in other areas of their lives because these children have difficulty applying what they learn across environments, or generalizing, Ms. Wrangham says. For this reason, children with autism need to practice what they learn, says Chitra Sharathchandra, president of POAC-NoVa and mother of a 12-year-old boy with autism. "We want these kids to have trained people to work with them on a daily basis and teach them skills they need," Mrs. Sharathchandra says. "PVBIA is our instrument to get our kids to generalize these skills in their communities." |
Disclaimer: Parents Of Autistic Children of Northern Virginia (POAC-NoVA), Inc. is a non-profit organization with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status and Federal EIN of 01-0769341.
Our Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area (CFCNCA) ID is #32289. Our BACB Approved Continuing Education (ACE) Provider approval number is #OP-07-0146. We are certified for eBay Giving Works and our MissionFish non-profit ID is #33580.
All information provided or published by POAC-NoVA is for informational purposes only. Reference to any treatment or therapy option or to any program, book, service or treatment provider is not an endorsement by POAC-NoVA. POAC-NoVA assumes no responsibility for the use made of any information published or provided by POAC-NoVA.
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