Autism education focus of two-day symposium
Posted on Friday, March 28, 2008
FAYETTEVILLE — Having parents partner with teachers is an effective way to teach children with autism, a panel of autism experts said Thursday.
“You need to consider parental input strongly because they know things you’ll never see at school,” Mary Ann McEntyre told teachers gathered at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville’s Center for Continuing Education. McEntyre is an autism spectrum disorder consultant for the Arkansas Department of Education.
Parents and teachers met at the UA College of Education’s two-day symposium on educating children with autism. The group hopes to hold the event annually.
Autism, which primarily affects how a child communicates and interacts with others, is a “spectrum disorder,” which means it exhibits itself in a variety of symptoms.
The scope of the disorder and its necessary treatments present challenges for educators, especially in small school districts with limited resources and experience, said David Crowe, an autism advocate and event’s keynote speaker.
“The word autism in education is like the word flower to a gardener,” he said. “It can mean so many different things.” Crowe ushered his son Taylor, 26, through the school district in Cape Girardeau, Mo., which recognized Taylor as its first formally diagnosed autistic student.
Along the way David Crowe “held hands” with teachers, creating education plans for his son and researching the disorder to determine how he could help his son.
David Crowe attended speechtherapy sessions with his son to help others understand how he communicated. He researched education laws before forming special-education plans each school year and forming clear expectations for teachers.
To confront his greatest fear related to his son’s condition — the potential for social isolation — Crowe formed a program called Circle of Friends, in which students came to his son’s classroom during their study hall sessions to help him develop social and verbal skills.
Classmates helped Taylor Crowe avoid the tendency to steer conversations to unrelated topics and made him more comfortable interacting with his peers. They remained friends with him into adulthood.
Parents pulled teachers aside between lectures Thursday, trading notes about their children’s tendencies to avoid social situations, misinterpret sarcasm and replace speech with hand gestures and dramatic facial expressions.
UA faculty developed the symposium after recognizing an increasing demand for professional development in the state, particularly in areas with high population growth, such as Northwest Arkansas, said Barbara Gartin, UA professor of special education.
“The incidence is so much higher than it used to be,” she said of autism. “And we have more children, so we have to develop more resources.” McEntyre said the state’s largest concentrations of autistic students are in Little Rock and Benton and Washington counties because parents are drawn to areas with educated populations and resources necessary to support their children.
Collaborations like the Crowes used in Taylor’s education are now a more formal part of the special-education process, she said.
Arkansas is one of four states in a professional development program that emphasizes collaboration, forming new classroom approaches through the work of parent-teacher teams working to address student needs.
“It’s really a great way to make sure that we are doing what we need to do,” McEntyre said.
The symposium concludes today with a session led by Taylor Crowe.
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