Colleges and Spectrum Disorders

A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education discussed a program at Boston University run by Lorraine Wolf in the Disabilities office that provides additional services to college students with Asperger's or related problems.  The program operates by charging these students an additional $4,500 in fees to cover the costs of the time spent by college staff.  The idea is an interesting one, but very different from what we are doing in our program at Keene State College.  Our program is free to both college students or others in the community with AS or HFA and is supported by a variety of grants.  We even provide discrete trials training to young children with autism at no cost.

In today's MP3 audio program, I talk more about this program and include commentary by my colleague, Dr. Linda Baker, co-founder of our program and Professor of Psychology at KSC.  Click on the link below to hear today's program:

Download pr2_complete.mp3 (8mins, 40 secs; 2.95 MB)

Comments

[Amber Warcewicz]

I would just like to start off saying that, I dont realy know what you are looking for in these posting but I would like to say that I listened to first program that talks about autism, and aspergers, and I thought to myself, this sounds like a wonderful idea to help out others with these disabilities, and you are right, if we have the resources (ready and willing college students) to help out those who are less fortunate, then we should. I personally do not know anything about either of these two disorders, so they are something that I would have to familiarize myself with first.
-Amber Warcewicz

[Nicole Remson]

Until reading this weblog and the first day of class in Abnormal, I had no idea that this program existed. I think it is a wonderful thing you are doing, not only helping students with Asberger's but giving other students the opportunity to work with them and gain that experience. I have almost no experience with autism and Asberger's and am looking forward to learning more.

[Kate Belletete]

After listening to the first MP3 audio program for Abnormal Psychology, I learned that Keene State College offers peer mentoring programs to individuals with Autism and Aspergers. Although I have not participated in these programs, I feel they would be extremely beneficial to both the psychology students involved, as well as those who have been diagnosed with the conditions.
I know a graduate student here at Keene State College who has taken time to work with a young girl who has Aspergers. The student spends time with the child to help expand her social skills and become more actively involved in the community. I admire the woman for her continued patients and determination to help better this young girl’s life.
I feel it is important for me and other future teachers to become more educated about Autism and Aspergers, because we may have students in our classroom that have been diagnosed with one of these disorders. Based on our acquired knowledge about the conditions, we as educators can work hard to accommodate and integrate these students into our classrooms. I look forward to learning more about Autism and Aspergers in this Abnormal Psychology Class.

[Stephanie Boyce]

Personally i do not think that people with Aspergers should have to pay for help with their disability. One of my friends has Aspergers and i am really proud to know that i go to a school that is willing to help their students in any way possible and they go that extra mile to help their students live their lives to the fullest. I really agree with kate when she said that she feels that students in college should be educated about these disabilities because we interact with people everyday who could have Aspergers, and i think it is something that all students should be aware of and take into consideration when talking with other students on campus. Personally i dont really know that much about Aspergers eventhough i have a friend with it, i just know that he has it and that sometimes he dosent really get some of the looks that people give him, etc. so i am really excited to learn more about Aspergers to help my friendship with him grow and to broaden my knowledge on the subject.

[CailynO'Donnell]

I think that it is great what this program is doing for KSC. I think the best part about it is that the students working with those with autism and Asberger's are doing it because they want to. These students are not only helping others but also getting great experience to help them with their future jobs. I did not know about this program prior to our class and I am interested to learn more.

[Missy Mengual]

After listening to the recording I think that it is an awesome idea for college students to familiarlize themselves with Asperger's and Autism and be able to help these individuals dealing with these diseases. People with Asperger's should not have to pay for extra just because they suffer from this. I never knew any of these programs existed to help these type of people and believe it is a good idea and a great opportunity for both students to learn about it and to be able to help these people. I hope to learn more about this topic in class.

[Shannon Cowles]

I think that it is excellent that you have found a way to help the children with these disablities and help the college students at the same time. It is great that students can learn first hand what it is like to interact with children who have autism and asperger's. Ultimately what is going to happen is that the general public is going to know more about these disablities through experiences and word of mouth, which will make it a lot easier for the people who are directly affected with this problem everyday. This is a great program and I think it would be beneficial for anyone that has the time to get involved.

[Nicolasa Cortez]

I have worked one on one with children in elementary school with Aspergers and Autism for about 6 years now and I have loved every second of it. It is amazing the impact a person can have on another person just by helping them with everyday things and by learning things that will make their day just a little bit easier. I think the program is wonderful because it gives students the chance to work with other students who experience disabilities and it creates a wonderful learning experience for both students. I hope that people will become more aware of these disablities through first hand experience or through others whom have gained experience by working with students with Aspergers or Autism.

[Carina Zannini]

Asperger's disease is definately a topic I would like to learn more about. This is a really great idea to give students the chance to learn more about mental illnesses. I hope that we can help as many ways as possible. I myself am pretty firmiliar with Autism. My 8 year old nephew is autistic and I find it fascinating watching him grow in every aspect. I try to picture what it's like living in his head and how he perceives the world. His school is extremely supportive and the programs for children with disabilities are very strong. His memory is off the charts and his strengths are specifically in math and language arts. I would love to learn more about both of these disorders, especially with Clinical Psychology not only being my major, but one of my strongest interests as well.

[melissa soboslai]

i think the idea of getting college students who are training to work in the field to help is wonderful. it gives needed experience and helps out the people who need it the most. i think that what you are doing is wonderful because i had never even heard about aspergers syndrome untill i reached college. education, as you said, is the key and as long as we keep learning about this syndrome we will be able to find more and more ways to help. little by little we are making the world a better place for these people.

[Jess Balsam]

I think that this is a great program here at Keene State College. I think that it is wonderful that the program is also free to the students who need it's services. I was suprised to hear that other programs charge these students to be able to get the help that they need. The best part about it is that other students can get involved and help.

[laura palladino]

I definately think that it is important for students and faculty to get involved in these kinds of things. For the students, it would be a good oppertunity to learn more about these conditions, and they may have to use this knowledge sometime in the future. Plus it is good for the student or faculty to work with them so that the individual needed the help can feel comfortable with themselves and with other poeple during social interactions

[kara gallagher]

"We need to change our world and adapt to the ones that suffer from the disease" I think this statment is amazing and if society was to take some time out of their busy lives and make some time for the ones with learning disabilities we woudn't have so many that do not do anything with their lives, like the ones that were mentored, had a chance to have responsiblities and learn how to do life skills. Great program.

[Sarah Westra]

I too had no idea that there was any ongoing attempt to put together such a program. I don't know much about children with autism, but there are so many other mentoring like porgrams on campus, and like Larry says- the resources are there and I see not reason as to why there should not be this kind of program on campus as well.

[Breanne Lucey]

I think that this makes perfect since. I am a waitress, and I used to serve this young man who had autism. At first I had no idea what to do, or how to handle him. I was felt nervous and uneasy when I interacted with him because he always was walking around (pretty fast), never sat for more than about 2 min max, and was always talking on the phone. I just didn't know how to relate with him.
One interesting occurance that got me was when he asked me which one of his two meal choices had fewer calories. When I told him i didn't know he insisted I check. He tried explianing to me why he needed this information but I didn't really comprehend what he was saying.
Also, When it came time for the bill he asked me specifically how much it costed and physically showed me his money(which was exact change) and asked if he had enough. I said he did, then he left.
I noticed that he may display some social behavioral problems,or otherwise I feel he may have made discussion with me while I was serving him, and may have known that it was socially acceptable to tip.
It was a good experience for me, and did ignite my curiousity. I didn't know at the time he had Autism until my manager told me.
In relation to the weblog, I think that this program should definately be created because some people don't realize how common it is to run into someone w/ autism whether its in the work field or at school. I think working with a typical student would definately help the student with apergers or autism develop socially. I agree with Linda Baker when she says education is key, and that the more people know about this, the more times they encounter someone with aspergers or autism the more accomidating they will tend to be.

[Elizabeth Johnson]

I'm not sure if I missed something. In the beginning we were talking about how 30-40 hours is what we're shooting for with these clients but then it goes on to say that KSC students are doing 20-30. Is this removing only part of the diseased spleen?

[Colleen Murphy]

I have worked with a number of children who have Autism and Aspergers. I have learned to develop skills to work with these children but I don't know too much about each disorder. I am looking forward to learning more about each through these weblogs and the Abnormal psych class. I think that the mentoring program is wonderful to have and it something that I would be interested in learning more about.

[Susan Marinelli]

Personally, I do not know much about Aspergers. I find anything dealing with people and their health interesting, and sometimes concerning. I am glad that Keene State College has taken the step to help people that have Aspergers, I also think that when the people of the community are able to recieve this help then it gives them somewhere they feel they belong and can be able to go for help if needed. Hopefully, after finishing the course than I myself will have a better understanding to what Asperger's involves, and what people that do have Asperger's have to deal wtih in everyday life.

[Lori Blair]

I really agree with what Linda Baker said about how this service will allow us to deal with differences among people and to hopefully not be afraid of their differences but rather stimulated by them. It always drives me crazy when i'm subing in schools and i see students picking on other students who have disorders, and i think that we should have these mentoring programs starting in the younger grade levels to allow everyone to know more about the disorder in order for peers to not be afraid of the other students who are "different" If we are well educated on whats going on then we wont be afraid which in turn makes life easier for everyone.

[Amy Hathaway]

Obviously the program at KSC is a great thing for a variety of reasons. Kids and KSC students with Asberger's who receive "services" from Psych students at KSC mutually benefit from spending time together, each learning from the other on many levels. It would be very interesting to hear directly from KSC student who have worked with Asberger's students about their experiences and reflections. It's a relief to know this program is largely grant funded, rather than charging fees (and obscene fees at that) as BU is doing. One would think a renowned institution such as BU would have more creative thinkers hanging around. Linda Baker's point about the clear benefits ofeducating the whole community is important and one to take further. What does it take for those in the public system to truly advocate for kidsand families who need services? I am glad to hear of John Moran;'s involvement with this program, for he has much to offer. One thought for now; clearly this program is a situation in which everyone wins, on many levels. What ideas have been explored in the area of good old fashioned PR? It seems students from other disciplines could well benefit as could the wider Keene community, not only those who are directly affected by Asberger's ot HFA.

[Laurie Tagen]

I had no idea that Keene had a wonderful program like this before listening to the mp3. it is also great that there are students at ksc willing to help students in need. I don't know anything about Asperger's, but am looking forward to learning. hopefully by the time I finish the course I will have a better understanding and may even be able to contribute to the program's success in some way.

[Lauren Levinstim]

I think it is outrageous that individuals with Aspergers, attending Boston University, are requiered to pay an additional $4,500 for extra services. I think it is wonderful that Keene State College offers peer mentering to people with Autism and Aspergers at no extra cost. This program sounds like an excellent opportunity for college students to help another person and to learn more about Aspergers and a wonderful way for individuals with these disabilities to seek assistance.

[erin shelton]

I don't have much knowledge about Asbergers, but I think that the peer mentoring program is a great idea. I do believe however, that the selection for picking these mentors should be careful. Some mentors may stop caring after they recieve their credit or even mock their mentees.

[Amy Welliver]

My mom is a paraprofessional and has worked with children who have autism/aspergers before and it always amazes me the patience that she has with them. I think the program you described is a great idea for college students especially those going into the education field because they are going to be working with these children all the time. I personally have worked in different schools and volunteered in my mothers classroom and i admit sometimes i find myself overwhelmed by children with learning disabilities because I have not had alot of experience and I sometimes felt like my patience was waning because I just didnt understand. I look forward to learning more about aspergers and other disabilities as we go on so that I can understand more what other people are going through.

[Jess Jamieson]

I didn't know that Keene State had a program like this. It's such a great idea! It's a good way to get students involved and I would think that it would be a great experience for both the mentor and the student that they are working with. ~Jess Jamieson