Newsletter - Winter 2011

TEACCH
Treatment and Education of Autistic and other Communication handicapped CHildren
TEACCH outreach
VOLUME
3,
ISSUE
WINTER
3
2011
A Message from Dr. Margaret Dardess
TEACCH’s Interim Director
TEACCH
UNIVERSITY OF
NORTH CAROLINA
AT CHAPEL HILL
SCHOOL OF
MEDICINE
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
Meet Rebecca Mabe
The Eric Schopler Room
Supported Employment
Community Partnership
TEACCH International
Award Presentation
CLLC Soap Making Program
A Personal Account of
Asperger Syndrome
2011 May Conference
Regional Center News
Training Highlights
Task Galore Donations
Greetings,
Since the Fall Newsletter, the search for a
new Director has moved forward, slowed
only by the challenges of scheduling busy
search committee members and busy
candidates. The search committee has run
ads in prominent journals and members have
called leaders in the field of Autism Spectrum
Disorders locally, nationally and internationally to make known as widely as possible the
opening at TEACCH. I think I can speak for
the committee in saying how gratified we
are by the far reaching concern that TEACCH
continues to have strong and dedicated
leadership for the future. We are still in the
confidential phase of the search but hope
soon to invite candidates to meet with internal TEACCH audiences and with parents and
members of the community.
We have had a number of staffing changes.
Steve Kroupa, director of the TEACCH regional office in Fayetteville, has resigned
effective June 1 for personal reasons. He
joined TEACCH in June of 1996. Steve spent
a sabbatical leave in Japan during 2009-10
and plans to return to Japan this summer and
to work in the field of ASD in Japan and in
the US. He will have an adjunct appointment
in the Department of Psychiatry and we look
forward to continuing collaborations with
Steve. Colleen Quinn, who was acting director of the Fayetteville office while Steve was
in Japan, has agreed to take over as acting
director. Colleen became a fully licensed
psychologist in January of this year.
Rebecca Mabe has joined TEACCH as assistant director for business and development.
Rebecca has many years of experience at
UNC-Chapel Hill and is already hard at
work helping with human resources, finance
and information technology issues to name a
few. (See her biography on next page)
Like all programs across the state of North
Carolina, TEACCH is facing budget cuts
necessitated by the state’s significant deficit.
Along with all areas of the School of Medicine, we have been allocated a 4.2 percent
temporary cut for the remainder of this fiscal
year, which ends on June 30. That amount
will be restored to the budget for the next
fiscal year but we then must cut that budget
by 6.024 percent, which will be permanent.
These cuts will force us to look at all of the
activities that TEACCH does and make difficult decisions. Our
first priority is to
preserve the services we offer to
individuals with
autism and their
families. We are
also increasing our
efforts to seek outside funding from
private donations,
grants and other sources. We thank all of
you who have contributed to our mission during this past year. Your support is more important than ever during these difficult times.
Plans are underway for summer training and
for May Conference and we are exploring
ways that we can use the internet to bring
information about autism and about TEACCH
to wider audiences. We look to working
with all of the friends of TEACCH both internal and external. Please let us hear your
ideas and suggestions.
Sincerely,
PAGE
2
Rebecca Mabe
Assistant Director for
Business and Development
“I’m dedicated to working with
all of you to make this program
even stronger despite the current
budget issues. Please don’t
hesitate to let me know your
thoughts and ideas. Thank you
again. I am honored to be a
part of this great program.”
Meet Rebecca Mabe
Rebecca Mabe joined the
TEACCH staff in December
2010 as the new Assistant
Director for Business and
Development. In an effort
to meet the staff and understand TEACCH’s mission, she
has been visiting the
TEACCH centers across the
state. Rebecca said she is
“impressed with the level of
dedication and care that the
staff exhibit towards the
individuals with autism and
their families.” Rebecca
chose to work for TEACCH
because she values the services that it provides and
she believes in its mission.
Continuing Education. She
was the Assistant Dean for
Business School of Public
Health in 1999 and was
promoted to Associate Dean
of Administration in 2004.
She left the University in
2006 to work as a consultant, when she spent three
years working on the development and implementation
of various Human Resource
systems at the University. In
2009 she began working
for UNC General Administration doing project management and communications work for the UNC FIT
project.
Rebecca has had some inRebecca graduated from
UNC – Chapel Hill with a BS volvement with children with
autism in her volunteer work
in Business Administration
and she earned her Masters with a therapeutic riding
program, where she obof Accounting at NC State.
She is a Certified Public Ac- served first hand the value
of meaningful and effective
countant. Rebecca has
worked at UNC and for the therapy for individuals with
developmental disabilities.
University System since
1993 in various schools and That experience highlighted
departments across the Uni- for her the importance and
versity including the Schools value of TEACCH to indiof Public Health and Nursing viduals that it serves - the
children and adults with auand the Friday Center/
tism and their families.
On a personal note, Rebecca
has called North Carolina
home since 1977. She lives in
Apex and shares her home
with two Siberian Huskies.
They keep her active with their
daily walks. She enjoys riding
horses and has two horses stabled at a barn near Jordan
Lake. Family lives close by.
Her parents live in Raleigh,
and her sister, two nieces and
a nephew live in Rolesville.
Rebecca says, “I’m dedicated
to working with all of you to
make this program even
stronger despite the current
budget issues. Please don’t
hesitate to let me know your
thoughts and ideas. Thank
you again. I am honored to
be a part of this great program.” And we are honored
to have Rebecca as a member
of the TEACCH staff.
- Rebecca Mabe
The Eric Schopler Room
By Dr. Janette Wellman, Clinical Director, Wilmington TEACCH Center
Prior's Court School, a residential school for children with autism in
Hermitage, England has dedicated a room in their new training facility to
the work of Dr. Eric Schopler, acknowledging the worldwide contributions
he made to individuals with autism and their families. In collaboration
with staff at Prior's Court School, TEACCH staff have provided training
and consultation to this area of England for the past five years.
TEACCH
OUTREACH—WINTER
2011
VOLUME
3,
ISSUE
3
PAGE
Partnership with TEACCH Supported Employment and Extraordinary Ventures
By S. Michael Chapman, Director Supported Employment Program
One of the most difficult aspects of
supported employment is finding jobs
that match the strengths and skills of the
individual with autism. Over the years
the Supported Employment Program at
Division TEACCH has worked hard to
fine tune our job development skills.
However, there always comes a time
when finding a job for a person with
autism that meets their needs is harder
than normal. It is at those times that we
try our hardest to approach employers
in finding a way to carve out a job
within their company that the person
with autism will find rewarding and
meaningful. Developing partnerships
with companies and organizations in the
local community that are willing to go
the extra mile to hire people with autism
often leads us to some of the most exciting opportunities for employment.
The Supported Employment Program in
the Chapel Hill area has developed just
such a relationship with the organization
Extraordinary Ventures. Extraordinary
Ventures’ mission is to employ young
men and women with autism and other
developmental disabilities. During the
past two years, Extraordinary Ventures
has worked with The Supported Employment Program at TEACCH to develop
employment opportunities for many individuals with autism within our program,
as well as develop vocational and social
opportunities for other individuals with
other intellectual disabilities in the
Chapel Hill community.
employees. In order to help get this business started, the TEACCH Supported
Employment Program was able to provide Extraordinary Ventures with space
at the University of North Carolina to
hold informational sessions for potential
customers, as they actively marketed
within the Chapel Hill area.
The laundry service includes washing,
drying, folding, pick-up and delivery of
laundry within the Chapel Hill area. This
service is currently priced at $15.00 per
bag and each bag holds 20 pounds of
laundry. The people with autism and
other intellectual disabilities who work
there love the job and are eager for the
opportunity to work longer hours as the
business picks up. If you’re interested in
the laundry service or other services
offered by Extraordinary Ventures, I
encourage you to visit their website or to
contact them at 919-967-1100.
David Wertheimer doing laundry for Extraordinary
Ventures and TEACCH collaboration
Most recently, Extraordinary Ventures
has worked hard to develop several
new job opportunities; among them is a
laundry service where people with intellectual disabilities and autism are the
The opportunities offered to individuals
with autism at Extraordinary Ventures
has been beneficial to everyone within
the partnership but most importantly, to
the individuals with autism. We appreciate the Extraordinary Ventures partnership and vision, and look forward to a
long, positive relationship with them in
the coming years.
www.extraordinaryventures.org
TEACCH International Award Presented in Memory of Bent Vanborg Sorensen
By Dr. Mary E. Van Bourgondien, Professor and Clinical Director, Raleigh TEACCH Center
This year’s TEACCH International
Award was presented in honor of
Bent Vanborg Sorensen at the annual
Skive Conference in Denmark on
November 12, 2010. Bent’s contributions to the field of autism have been
instrumental in improving the services
for children and adults with autism in
Denmark and throughout the world.
Bent’s relationship with TEACCH
started in 1987 at a TEACCH 5 day
training in Belgium. Since then he
and Dr. Gary Mesibov have maintained a close collegial relationship – sharing ideas on how best to improve the lives of
children and adults with ASD and their families. Over the
years, numerous other TEACCH faculty members including
Jack Wall, John Dougherty and Mary Van Bourgondien along
with TEACCH therapists have collaborated with Bent and his
colleagues at Langagerskolan and Samradet to provide
training to professionals throughout Denmark. Additionally
Bent and his Danish colleagues also made frequent visits to
TEACCH’s Conference each May.
Within Samradet, the association of schools that serve children with autism Spectrum Disorders in Denmark, Bent was a
leader who passionately pursued the best services for the
individuals with autism in everything he did. His leadership
within the association helped inspire the TEACCH philosophy
and practice throughout the country which had profound
effects on services. Together the four schools have had a far
reaching impact on school services beyond just the children
served on their campuses. Samradet has trained a wide
variety of professionals throughout the country in TEACCH
Structured Teaching methods, starting with classroom training, expanding to residential training and now conducting
the adolescent and youth training for transition to adulthood
utilizing the TEACCH Transition Assessment Profile (TTAP).
3
TEACCH International Award continued
same way it was delivered to TEACCH staff in
North Carolina. He carried an image of extreme
competence for those who worked with him. Bent’s
professional collaborations dedicated to serving
persons of all ages extended beyond Denmark to
other European countries, notably his collaboration
with colleagues in Sweden and Germany.
The award was presented in
Bent’s memory to his wife Kirstin
and son Mikael at the Skive
Conference in November 2010.
Bent was the headmaster of Langagerskolen in Aarhus. Here TEACCH strategies are integrated into every classroom
and residential service offered by the
school. Even the design of the current
school buildings shows an appreciation of
“physical structure” and collaboration as
educators and parents were asked to
consult with the architects designing the
buildings. Ongoing consultation from a
variety of TEACCH staff and faculty
have ensured that the school staff members have an in depth understanding of
the methods, practices and philosophy of TEACCH.
These Langagerskolen staff members have taken
this philosophy beyond the walls of the school as
they now consult to programs around Denmark.
As a result of Bent’s efforts, Viso has recognized
Langagerskolen as a model program for the
country.
Bent reminded us of Eric Schopler in his
ability to see through current fads or popularized movements. He proudly displayed
a “No salesmen allowed” sign outside his
office. At the same time, he had an uncanny
ability to form relationships with key parents
and professionals in the field of autism in
many parts of the world. As a person, Bent
was always a gracious host with a wonderful sense of humor and an appreciation for
only the best food, wine and restaurants.
Gary Mesibov, in describing what made
Bent so special stated that Bent could bring
people together in a way that few others
can do. And in the world today where some
PAGE 4
people gain power by splitting people and
groups apart, that talent in bringing people
together has been especially important to
Denmark and to autism and is what we will
truly miss.
Bent Vanborg Sorensen passed away in
June 2010 after a short illness. This award
was presented in Bent’s memory to his wife
Kirstin and son Mikael at the Skive Conference in November 2010.
Gastonia’s First Five-Day Training Workshop
By Dr. Nancy Dartnall, Ph.D., Clinical Director, and Sue McCarter, M.Ed., Assistant Director, Gastonia TEACCH Center
Gastonia TEACCH celebrated a milestone by
offering its first 5 Day Classroom Training workshop in December 2010. Five Day Hands On or
Classroom Trainings for teachers is a unique training model developed by Eric Schopler, Gary
Mesibov, and TEACCH staff in the 1980s that
trains teachers in not only techniques, but also
incorporates one of the founding principles: we
learn from people with autism how they see the
world and teach accordingly.
Five-Day trainings have a demonstration classroom constructed by TEACCH staff with five students on the autism spectrum who participate as
co-trainers for four hours a day, each with an
individual TEACCH staff co-trainer. The teachers
and school personnel, who attend as trainees hear
presentations about autism, structured teaching
techniques, developmental assessment, expressive
and receptive communication, generalizing structure to community environments, and structuring
play skills. In small groups, the attendees spend
each day with a different student and follow a
carefully designed schedule of exercises designed
to practice assessing a skill, using structured
teaching materials of interest to the student, reassessing, and restructuring as needed. The day
TEACCH
ends with small group discussions with the TEACCH
trainer about their experiences that day and a
large group meeting to share information about the
students or to hear guest speakers.
The student co-trainers for the Gastonia training
were chosen to represent a range of ages and skill
levels, ability to daily manage new people and
demands, and to benefit from the training without
accruing any penalty for missing school. Several
local school districts saw the value of the training
and allowed students to miss school to participate,
and one student was home-schooled. Our student
co-trainers were 4 - 15 years of age so participants were able to apply their new skills in a wide
range of situations. For their part, the students
followed easily understandable daily schedules,
spent time learning new tasks, practiced familiar
skills, and enjoyed free time.
Parents of the student co-trainers also play a key
role in the Five-Day training, another founding principle of TEACCH: those parents are the experts on
their children and forming a working
relationship with parents of students with autism
spectrum disorders benefits everyone involved.
The parents of the co-trainers participated as guest
OUTREACH—WINTER
2011
speakers on a Parent Panel, sharing their
experiences with diagnosis, school, and answering questions from participants. Notebooks went home every day from the team
who worked with their child giving information about the day and asking questions,
about the child at home. The parent’s responses were incorporated into the next
day’s work. A second guest speaker opportunity was a panel of two adults who are
TEACCH clients. They spoke about how they
received their diagnoses, what their school
years were like, and about their lives now.
who are TEACCH clients. They spoke about
how they received their diagnoses, what
their school years were like, and about their
lives now.
The 30 participants came from six states
and three foreign countries (Bermuda, Canada, and Costa Rica), as well as from eight
school districts in North Carolina. Variations
of this model for parents, residential schools,
adult services, and students of all ages and
ability levels have been offered by TEACCH
in North Carolina and around the world for
more than 20 years.
VOLUME
3,
ISSUE
3
PAGE
A Personal Account of Aspergers Syndrome
By Jonathan Mariante
Jonathan Mariante received this award in
recognition of outstanding employment
during Disability Employment Awareness
Month. Mr. Mariante is a cook and line
server at Wagoner Hall, UNC-W. He is
employed by Aramark Food Services.
My name is Jonathan Mariante, and I have Asperger's Syndrome. I did not, however, always
know that I had Asperger's Syndrome. I went through a large part of my life not knowing I had
it, or knowing what it was. Growing up, I had a number of behavioral and emotional difficulties,
such as controlling my emotions and expressing them in an appropriate manner. My family and I
often pondered over what the problem could be. Sometimes I wondered if I could be unstable or
imbalanced in some way. I even thought I could perhaps be psychotic or handicapped, as I often
have strong reactions or have negative thoughts when I get angry. However, when I was in my
early 30s, a longtime family friend who works in the psychology field suggested that I might
have Asperger's Syndrome (AS) and referred me to the Wilmington TEACCH center. I went there
for a diagnosis, and, sure enough, I did have AS. I have been getting support regularly from the
TEACCH center ever since. It has been a very big help to me, knowing that I have AS and having a place that can help me with it. Knowing what the problem is can be half the solution. When
you know what you're dealing with, you then can contemplate possible solutions, so it sheds light
on the situation. I have monthly sessions with TEACCH staff Becky McGee Hudson and Dr. Janette
Wellman, Center Director. There is also a monthly support group at TEACCH, which is attended
by several local people with Asperger's Syndrome or high functioning autism. These two things
by themselves have also helped me because I can talk about the problems and challenges that I
have, learn solutions and coping strategies, and interact with other AS/HFA people.
Ever since I began working with
TEACCH, I have learned a number of
coping strategies which have been
quite helpful. One of the first things I
learned was a technique called
"thought stopping"; where if I have a
negative thought, I tell myself to stop,
breathe deeply, then write about it in
a journal and why that particular
thought upset me. This later progressed into another technique called
"thought erasing", where, when I have
a negative thought or idea that upsets
me, I imagine it being erased in my
head, and replace it with a pleasant
or positive one. This helps me to banish
negative thoughts and memories from
my head, and stops them from interfering with what I'm doing. Another
thing I've started doing with TEACCH is
keeping a journal, where I write down
whatever is on my mind, good or bad,
or just anything I feel like writing
about. What I write about we often
discuss in my sessions and if it's a
problem I'm having, we try to think of
ways to deal with it. This has helped
me solve many problems and overcome some challenges. It also feels
good to write about anything that's on
my mind. Another technique I learned
is called "guided imagery", a form of
meditation, where I put on tape or CD
of pleasant sounds (i.e. waves breaking, singing birds) and/or peaceful,
relaxing music. Then I close my eyes
and imagine myself in a relaxing
place, like the beach. I find this to be
a good and effective way of relaxing,
unwinding, and dealing with stress.
Another technique I was taught is
called "progressive relaxation", where
I tighten and loosen all the muscles of
my body, one area at a time. This is
also a very good reliever of stress and
tension. Finally, one other strategy I
learned is called "the onion of anger".
This one is for dealing with anger,
presenting a situation that causes anger as an "onion" with several layers,
and then peeling back the layers to
get to the center of the problem, that
caused the anger in the first place,
and dealing with it that way. The idea
of this method is to get to the root of
the problem, rather than letting the
actual anger cloud your emotions.
Problem solving is one thing that AS
people often find challenging. I have
found I have trouble dealing with what
I call "curve balls"-that is, unexpected
and unwelcome changes that happen
suddenly and cause complications. I
find situations like these quite challenging. I often feel overwhelmed and
panic when things like this happen.
However I've learned a few coping
techniques from TEACCH that have ".
helped me handle these "curve balls"
better. One thing Becky once told me
was, "You know what's happening in
your head, but not everyone does
When I find myself dealing with a
"curve ball" and on the brink of panic,
I think of this, and take a look at myself.
Do I want to make myself look like I
can't handle myself? Probably not. Taking deep breaths is also one thing I've
been advised to do when I find myself in
a stressful situation. As the old saying
goes, you can't go wrong with a timeless
classic like that. Doing things like that
helps me to "get a grip", clear my mind,
and put things in perspective. Then I
don't feel so overwhelmed or intimidated, and the problem doesn't seem as
big as it did at first. These are some
things I have learned at TEACCH that
have helped me cope with the challenges faced by a person with AS.
Learning these things have made a very
big and positive difference in my life,
and they might help others as well. I
would highly recommend these to my
fellow "Aspies".
This article was submitted by the Wilmington
TEACCH Center for Jonathan Mariante. It is always
helpful for parents, professionals and individuals
with an autism spectrum disorder to hear a firstperson perspective. The following article was
written and submitted to the TEACCH Newsletter
by a man who has received support services
through Wilmington TEACCH Center since his diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome. Jonathan writes
about Asperger’s Syndrome in order to share his
personal experiences and strategies that have
helped him since his diagnosis. His writings certainly illustrate that it is never too late to receive a
diagnosis or to begin working on strategies that
support individuals as they face day to day challenges. We want to thank Mr. Mariante for taking
the time to share his perspective with us.
5
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6
TEACCH Announces its 2011 May Conference Program
Looking Through the Looking Glass By Dr. Lee Marcus
The 32nd annual TEACCH Conference will be held on May 19 and
20, 2011 at the William and Ida
Friday Continuing Education Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The Conference’s theme will be
Looking through the Looking Glass:
Multiple Perspectives on Autism.
The William and Ida
Friday Continuing
Education Center
Featured speakers include John
Donvan, Correspondent for ABC
News, and Carol Gray, Autism
Consultant and President of the
Gray Center.
with four students with autism. In
the early 1990s, Carol initiated
and developed the use of Social
Stories and Comic Strip Conversations. Carol is the recipient of the
Barbara Lipinski Award for her
international contribution to the
education and welfare of people
with autism spectrum disorders.
Other distinguished speakers include Jon Abramowitz, Professor in
the Department of Psychology at
the University of North Carolina at
Mr. Donvan will speak on the topic Chapel Hill, Julie Daniels, Associ“Covering Autism: Strolling in a
ate Professor in Gillings School of
Minefield. He has served in several Global Public Health, University of
postings as a correspondent for
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and
ABC News, from the White House Stephen Hooper, Professor in the
to Moscow to London to Jerusalem. Carolina Institute for DevelopmenSince the late 1990s, he has con- tal Disabilities, University of North
centrated on reporting issues reCarolina at Chapel Hill.
lated to autism, and is a co-author
Dr. Abramowitz specializes in the
of "Autism's First Child," a profile
treatment of obsessive compulsive
of the life of autism's first diagnosed case, that ran in The Atlan- disorder (OCD) and other anxiety
tic. The article is now the basis of a disorders, and he is widely recognized as a leading authority on
book-in-progress.
these topics. He has authored over
150 research articles and book
Ms. Gray’s talk will be “Same
chapters, and has published a selfRoots but Stronger Trees: Social
help book entitled Getting Over
Stories™ Yesterday, Today, and
Tomorrow”. She began her career OCD. His topic will be “ObsessiveCompulsive Disorder: What it is
as a special education teacher
and What it isn’t”.
TEACCH
OUTREACH—WINTER
2011
Dr. Daniels directs the North Carolina site for two multi-state programs sponsored by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention: 1)
the NC-Autism and Developmental
Disabilities Monitoring Network,
which conducts surveillance to estimate the prevalence of Autism in
Central North Carolina, and
2) the Study to Explore Early
Development, which investigates the causes and correlates of autism. She will
speak on “Autism Trends:
Rates and Research”.
Dr. Hooper is the Principal
Investigator of the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disorders
(LEND) interdisciplinary training grant funded by the Maternal Child Health Bureau,
which has a major focus on
autism spectrum disorders
and related developmental disabilities, as well as several other federally funded research projects. His
research interests include the neuropsychological basis of child psychopathology and other types of neurodevelopmental disorders, assessment methodology, and cognitive
outcome studies. His topic will be
“Cognitive Theories of Autism and
their Application to Symptom Manifestation.”
The Conference is sponsored by
TEACCH (Treatment and Education
of Autistic and related Communication handicapped CHildren), Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities
(LEND), and The Carolina Institute
for Developmental Disabilities
(CIDD).
For more information, including how
to register, go to www.teacch.com/
trainings.
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ISSUE
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7
Lifetime Connections
By Elizabeth Byars, Chapel Hill TEACCH Center
As an adult and adolescent therapist
with UNC-Chapel Hill Division TEACCH,
parents often share with me their concerns about how their adult child will
fare once the family is no longer able to
assure that his life is the best possible it
can be for him. Families with a child
living with minimal supports and those
who are in full time care share the concern that no one will ever be able to
care for him the way that they have.
These families are bravely facing the
reality of their own mortality and want a
way to connect their loved one with others who will accept and enjoy him for
who he is. These families may have
made arrangements for a special needs
trust to cover financial concerns and augment government funding but they are
still worried about those little things of
life that make life rich and full. Traditions –like holidays and trips, visits with
familiar people, and quirky customs
shared between parent and child –
brothers and sisters - special times only
known between them.
Essentially, families are very aware that
a good quality of life is very dependent
on the relationships that we share with
others. For people with autism, creating
and maintaining relationships doesn’t
just happen. People with autism are
usually rather isolated, connected with
few people beyond family and paid
staff. As we all are aware, paid staff
are invaluable but not everyone has
access to this funding. I am often frustrated that I do not have a way for
families to access the level of care that
they are seeking for their loved one.
Publicly funded programs are very limited. I have located an exciting social
networking strategy that does not depend on gaining access to government
services: Lifetime Connections. Lifetime
Connections, a project of First in Families
North Carolina is an innovative program
focused on building community one person at a time. Support from Lifetime
Connections is available in communities
across North Carolina for a modest few
for those seeking to build a social network around a person with a disability.
What sets Lifetime Connections apart
from other social network development
models is what it doesn’t do. They don’t
expect the family to build and maintain
these relationships alone, they don’t
depend on government resources and
programs for funding, and they don’t
seek professionals from the disabilities
community to facilitate these social
networks. Purposely, says Eboni Blake,
coordinator of the project, “we seek
family facilitators who are not in the
field of disabilities services.” Because
we don’t hire facilitators from the disabilities arena “they come to the family lacking preconceived notions about
expectations and disabilities. We look
for people who like to get to know
other people, who enjoy linking folks
and who like to get together with other
people.” Because families pay a reasonable fee for these services, there is
a “buy-in, a commitment that isn’t always present for participants in publically funded programs.” That Lifetime
Connections doesn’t take insurance
reimbursement or public funding provides it with lots of flexibility to do
things in an individualized way.
When our members have a thriving,
viable network, parents have an opportunity to step back knowing that
there are others in their loved one’s life
who are looking out for him and caring
about him. Learn more about Lifetime
Connections at www.fifnc.org/
connections/index.html
The Philosophy of TEACCH
By Dr. John Dougherty, Professor and Clinical Director, Greenville TEACCH
What are the qualities that define
you within your team? What is the
character of your team serving those
with autism spectrum disorders?
Twenty-six years ago I did not think
TEACCH philosophy (TP) could be
clarified, since it was being used in
varying ways. There have been
widely divergent meanings attached
to TP over the years. Even though TP
is difficult to nail down, with collective effort, the staff and faculty of
the program are clarifying the answer. There are at least two different components to TP: (1) “culture”
within an organization, and (2) approach to treatment of persons with
autism and their family. I will briefly
address the former as more has been
written about the latter. Dr. Eric Schopler
and Dr. Gary Mesibov attempted to define TP through correspondence with each
other and all TEACCH faculties in 1995.
The concerns were misapplications, violations and a tendency toward an appeal
to a higher authority when differences of
opinion were occurring. The discourse
ended with an examination of TP in the
context of program goals and a mission
statement was developed. Dr. Mesibov
later described core values within
TEACCH as: (1) understanding and appreciating people with autism spectrum
disorders; (2) excellence through a strong
work ethic; (3) lack of emphasis on status,
discipline, or position; (4) cooperation
and collaboration; (5) looking for the best
in others and self.
More recently, Dr. Steve Kroupa at
Fayetteville TEACCH described organizational culture as: “Excellence in performance in any organization is most likely to
be achieved when there is a shared vision
of higher purpose for the organization;
shared values and principles that support
the vision; and a shared commitment to
the organizational structure and processes
for effective communication (continued)
PAGE
8
The Philosophy of TEACCH continued
and constructive problem solving.” A few years ago in a conference presentation, I
suggested the need to define and measure specific factors for effective diagnostic and
treatment teams. I outlined several. Two important factors not to be overlooked are
creativity and an absence of blame when faced with ambiguity or stress.
Philosophy and values within an organization clearly influence you and how you work
with clients and families. Dr. Herbert Lovett, Founder of the Autism National Committee,
a social justice organization, suggested that there is no such thing as a value-free way
of working with others. The challenge is to keep ourselves honest by examining what
values we actually use in our work and not what we say we use. TP can provide benchmarks to measure your work with colleagues and those that rely on you to provide humane and effective services.
Partnering with Local Employers and Schools to do
“Job Carving” for Individuals with ASD
By Elizabeth Mehaffey, Grant Coordinator, Greensboro TEACCH Center
knowledge of specific work-related skills. The training
modules are intended to be used by job coaches, teachers, parents and other support staff to help individuals
with ASD learn new skills and practice these work-related
skills outside of work.
In September, 2010 the Greensboro TEACCH center
received funds from NC Vocational Rehabilitation
through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act
(ARRA) to run a year-long grant project designed to
improve and strengthen the relationship between
TEACCH’s Supported Employment program, the school
system and local employers to help individuals with
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) as they transition
from school to work.
Due to the current economic climate, it has been increasingly more difficult for individuals with ASD to
find gainful employment. As we searched for ways to
improve employment opportunities, we identified two
areas where we thought we could make a difference:
funding for businesses to pay salaries and improving
the employability skills of clients.
Through the grant project, TEACCH has partnered with
the Guilford County School system, local support agencies, and businesses in the Guilford County area. In
order to address the two areas, TEACCH is working
with businesses in Guilford County to hire clients and
create jobs. The grant has allowed TEACCH to offer a
wage incentive as a way to work with the businesses
and create more employment opportunities for our
clients. Through partnering with the businesses, TEACCH
is working to spread awareness and understanding of
ASD in the community.
Second, in collaboration with its partners and to educate support staff, TEACCH staff members are creating
“training modules” which are designed to increase
TEACCH
OUTREACH—WINTER
In creating the training modules, TEACCH seeks to help
increase knowledge of structured teaching methods by
other support entities, and improve the work skills and job
readiness of individuals with ASD. Each module focuses on
a different skill that will help the person with ASD to deal
with some of the behavioral difficulties that come with this
disorder such as; relaxation, dealing with stress in the moment, how to transition between tasks, how to ask for help,
and taking corrective feedback from a supervisor. By
using these modules at home or in the classroom first, the
individual will be better prepared to handle situations in
the work place, and can even begin to learn appropriate
work-related skills before they have a job.
Since beginning the grant work, six Supported Employment clients have found gainful employment, and eight
other clients have been involved in learning new skills.
New business relationships have been created and
awareness of ASD has been raised. The training modules
have allowed for a better-rounded and more specific
approach to helping individuals succeed on the job, and
are designed in such a way that they can be used by
people of all different abilities and learning styles. The
grant project has allowed the Greensboro TEACCH Center to further strengthen the strategies of the Supported
Employment program and continue to serve the remarkable individuals with ASD in our program.
2011
VOLUME
3,
ISSUE
3
PAGE
Charlotte Regional Center - Parent Groups
By Kristin Hodgson, Ph.D., Consultant, Charlotte TEACCH Center
Parent groups have long been a component of TEACCH services. One common
obstacle in maintaining these groups is
that parents of children with autism are
busy and understandably find it difficult
to attend meetings regularly. There is a
tendency for attendance to drop off
rapidly after the first few meetings, and
long-term maintenance of these groups is
challenging. A few years ago, Charlotte
staff began to identify similar questions
and issues arising among parents of
preschool and elementary school age
children. In the summer of 2009, it was
decided to start a parent group for this
set of parents. The structure and organization of the group were carefully
planned by Johanna Banks, the TEACCH
therapist running this group, to maintain
interest and relevance for members and
to reduce challenges to attendance.
The group meets monthly; a topic is selected for each meeting, and Johanna
does a brief presentation, often providing handouts for visual support, then
opens the group up to discussion on the
topic. At the beginning of each school
year, parents are asked to write down
topics of interest, and these topics set the
group’s schedule. There has been an
overwhelmingly positive response to this
group, with close to 50% attendance,
and parents referring themselves to the
center to become clients in order to attend the group. Well-received topics
have included: nutrition and autism, toilet
training, community outings, traveling to
families’ homes, and preparing for the
holidays. This year, Johanna has added
a “Cheerful Chat” to the start of each
meeting. During this time, each parent is
encouraged to share something positive
that has recently happened in their
child’s life. This has served to start the
meetings on a positive note, while also
functioning as an “icebreaker” for new
parents. The use of email communication
has been helpful in encouraging atten-
dance. In addition, parents have begun
to communicate with each other using
this email group, which has added another level of support within the group.
Given this success, another therapist,
Ruth Fuller, recently began a group
using the same structure for parents of
adolescents. She has seen similarly
positive response to the group in just her
first few meetings, and she generated
interest in many topics for future meetings.
Johanna and Ruth planned to combine
their groups for special topics when
appropriate. Their first opportunity
came when the adolescent parent group
expressed a high level of interest in a
discussion about sexuality: how to help
adolescents deal with issues such as
puberty, body changes, hormone
changes, interest in dating, and sexual
urges. The parents of the younger
group showed similar interest. Dr. Mary
E. Van Bourgondien, the Clinical Director
of the Raleigh TEACCH Center, kindly
agreed to join both groups as a guest
speaker to share the knowledge she has
gained in her experience with TEACCH
and the Carolina Living and Learning
Center (CLLC) in addressing the issue of
sexuality for individuals with different
autism and cognitive levels. More than
20 parents attended this joint session,
and feedback was very positive. Dr.
Van Bourgondien addressed questions
related to masturbation, overly affectionate behavior, and how to find resources, while emphasizing that the
needs that can be met by intimate relationships can be met in other ways; for
example, exercise can be invaluable
for adolescents in addressing the need
for tension release. In this way, Dr. Van
Bourgondien helped parents to think
through many issues that emerge in
adolescence and to consider these in
the context of helping to address the
complex needs of their children.
The Charlotte TEACCH Center is very
encouraged by the success of these
groups, and plans to continue to build
on them to support and respond to the
needs of their clients.
9
PAGE
10
Mini Grants from Tasks Galore Inc. Offered to All TEACCH Centers
By Kathy Hearsey
Tasks Galore, Inc. donated $300.00 to each center for projects that might benefit the families and
their children with autism or enhance the center’s training efforts. This money was especially well received given the state budget cuts. The grants allowed the centers to make purchases to develop new
and innovative programs, to improve their services or to insure their ability to sustain quality services
that they provide to individuals with autism and their families.
The centers were very creative
in how they spent their grant
money. The Charlotte and
Raleigh centers chose to purchase technology. Charlotte
purchased and I-Pad to research meaningful and effective apps for individuals with
autism. They will share the
examples with parents during
teaching sessions and parent
groups. The Raleigh Center
will purchase a flip-video camera to teach social skills
through video self-modeling.
The Greensboro Center purchased materials for their
Make It and Take It Workshops. “Your donation will
help us sustain this service for
our families and teachers in
the community.”
The Gastonia Center purchased a printer/copier/
scanner to be used at their
training programs.
The Greenville center was
excited to receive this grant
money so that they could offer
scholarships to their summer
social skills group and for extended Parent/Teaching sessions. Supplies were also purchased to support programming and services at the center.
The Wilmington and Asheville
Centers purchased books
about autism for their parent
lending library.
The Fayetteville Center purchased leisure materials for
their clinic to use in teaching
sessions.
The CLLC is looking forward to
getting an adult therapy swing
that allows for both linear and
rotary swinging.
OUTREACH—WINTER
Partial proceeds from Tasks Galore product sales are donated to
organizations that provide services
for people with autism spectrum
disorders and their families. The
TEACCH regional centers were
thankful to be the recipients of a
Tasks Galore donation.
Greensboro TEACCH Center purchases
Fayetteville TEACCH Center purchases
TEACCH
The Chapel Hill Center developed
a Home Teaching Kit –Beginner
(HTK-B). The kit is organized into
two sections: the first focused primarily on providing instruction and
materials to help the child develop
“good worker skills” and the second to help the child engage in
interactive social, play and communication activities with the caregiver. The donation will allow the
center to double the number of kits
and serve a larger portion of our
families with young, beginning
learners.
2011
VOLUME
3,
ISSUE
3
PAGE
11
Carolina Living & Learning Center - Soap Making Program
By Erin Bevier, Vocational Supervisor - CLLC
The Carolina Living and Learning Center is TEACCH’s residential and vocational program located on 79 acres of
farmland in Pittsboro. While landscaping and gardening
activities are the primary focus of the program, indoor
tasks have become vital to helping clients stay engaged
when weather or other concerns prevent outdoor activities
from taking place. While clients continue to help with
baking, cleaning, and other indoor tasks, the CLLC’s
herbal soap-making program has become one of the most
preferred inside activities at the farm.
Soap-making began in the winter of 2001, when clients
made herbal soap as a holiday gift for their families.
Feedback about the gifts was so positive that soapmaking was developed into a full-time vocational activity. Soap-making has grown into a program that has allowed clients of all functioning levels to participate and
express their creativity, while utilizing plants grown on the
farm.
Making CLLC soaps begins with drying and
grinding up fresh herbs and flowers from the
gardens. Melted clear glycerin is then mixed
with the herbs and mineral dyes, and poured
into flexible molds of various shapes and sizes.
When the soaps have hardened and dried, clients take them out of the molds, seal them in
shrink wrap, and label them for distribution.
Any soap with major defects are cut and reused
to make new soaps so that little waste is created.
Each step of this process is performed by clients
with the use of checklists, picture flipbooks, specially-marked measuring cups, and other visual
cues to help them be as independent as possible. Staff members work side-by-side with clients to ensure quality control and encourage
creativity. All soaps are unique and “made with
love” by the Carolina Living and Learning Center. Soaps are available for a suggested donation at the CLLC’s Mary E. Van Bourgondien
Multipurpose Building.
TEACCH
Treatment and Education of Autistic and other Communication handicapped CHildren
DONATION INFORMATION
Donations to TEACCH are welcome and
should be directed as follows:
TEACCH
UNIVERSITY OF
NORTH CAROLINA
AT CHAPEL HILL
SCHOOL OF
MEDICINE
Phone: 919-966-2174
TEACCH Program Donations
CB# 7180
Chapel Hill, NC 275899-7180
If you would like to donate to a specific center or activity, please
indicate the program or activity on the memo line of the check or
include a note stating your preference.
Fax: 919-966-4127
Thank you to all of
the TEACCH Centers
and Programs for
contributing articles
to this newsletter.
Regional TEACCH Centers
Asheville TEACCH Center
(828) 251-6319
Chapel Hill TEACCH Center
(919) 966-5156
TEACCH Programs
Charlotte TEACCH Center
(704) 563-4103
Carolina Living and
Learning Center
(919) 542-1910
Fayetteville TEACCH Center
(910) 437-2517
Gastonia TEACCH Center
(704) 833-1294
Early Intervention
Services
(919) 966-7003
Greensboro TEACCH Center
(336) 334-5773
Supported Employment
(919) 966-8194
Greenville TEACCH Center
(252) 830-3300
TEACCH Training
Program
(919) 966-6636
Raleigh TEACCH Center
(919) 662-4625
TEACCH Newsletter
Wilmington TEACCH Center
(910) 251-5700
Editor - Kathy Hearsey
Design and Layout - Michelle Jordy
Special Thanks to Mary Lou (Bobo) Warren and Betty Camp
for their time, support and superlative editing efforts.