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TECH CONNECTS IPADS HELP AUTISTIC STUDENTS // 14A

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New connections

Curtis Guerrier works a puzzle on the iPad in his Social Communications classroom at Rayma C. Page Elementary, thanks to a donation from the Estero Rotary Club. Laura Gates/Banner Correspondent (4)

iPads help autistic students at Rayma C. Page Elementary learn Brady Hughes watches a video of good behavior on his iPad. The program helps special needs students at Rayma C. Page with social communications.

By LAURA GATES Banner Correspondent

M

addox Donahue carefully formed an “a” with his finger, grinning as the bold strokes appeared on the iPad screen. Who knew school could be this much fun? As he added an “r” and an “e” to finish forming the sight word “are,” classmate Angel Del Valle-Chairez counted chimpanzees and traced a colorful numeral “8” on his screen. Meanwhile, Curtis Geurrier worked on a dinosaur-themed, “Amazing Shape” puzzle while Brady Hughes laughed at a video recorded of him earlier in the day as he pushed a classmate nicely on the playground swing. It was the longest the four students in Rayma C. Page Elementary School’s Social Communications class had ever sat and focused on a single activity, their teachers said.

Special Needs teachers Janelle Gelletly and Carrie Norman are still figuring out how to best use the three iPads donated to the school by the Rotary Club of Estero. Inspired by a “60 Minutes” segment called “Apps for Autism,” local Rotarians opened their wallets in support of local students. “We were on fire about it,” said Rotarian Beverly MacNellis. “We’re a small club, but if this will help the kids, maybe it will cause somebody else to say, ‘I can do that for my school.’” Page Elementary is one of a few select schools in Lee County which offer Social Communications classrooms for children with autism or other sensory processing disorders. Each of the school’s three combined kindergarten/first grade classrooms received one iPad, which is often used as a reward for finishing regular schoolwork. “It’s a wonderful opportunity,” Principal Susan Caputo said. “It’s all about finding a way to reach them — whatever it takes. Each child learns in a different way.” Interestingly, Caputo received her own iPad from the district a few days after the Rotary Club delivered its three iPads for the kids. Lee County is the first K-12 school system in the state to develop its own app for teacher evaluations, said Dwayne Alton, director of Institutional Technology Support. Already in Lee County, white boards have replaced blackboards — no more chalk dust! — and overhead projectors have been superseded by SMART Boards. The computer-powered, video-capable display changes in real time as a student or teacher writes or taps on the whiteboard. “We’re trying to improve the interactivity in the classroom,” Alton said. “It’s not just a lecture anymore. The students are involved in the process of learning.” The Florida Department of Education has launched an initiative to phase out textbooks by as early as 2014-15, although there are still many questions surrounding the unfunded mandate, Alton noted. He estimates Lee County is ahead of 90 percent of Florida school systems when it comes to implementing technology into the classroom. Not only does every class have computers and SMART boards (full implementation will be finished by the end of next school year), the district is conducting pilot programs with iPads for instructional and administrative uses. In the future, all autistic students in the district may have access to iPads, Alton said. The district is determining if students at Page Elementary and other pilot schools are able to use iPads in place of costlier assistive technology. “We’re finding it’s less expensive and more effective than old fashioned technologies,” Alton said. T he ent husi a sm of speci a l needs teachers at R ayma C. Page was furthered after attending a presentation by Temple Grandin at Florida Gulf Coast University earlier this month. Grandin, who lives with high-functioning autism, has a doctorate degree and was named one of Time Magazine’s “Most Inf luential People.” During her talk at FGCU April 13, Grandin touched on iPad use for children on the autism spectrum. They are captivated by the high-interest, moving graphics, and

“

It’s a wonderful opportunity. It’s all about finding a way to reach them — whatever it takes. Each child learns in a different way.” — Susan Caputo, Principal at Rayma C. Page Elementary

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nonverbal individuals can find a “voice” through the iPad by clicking icons which communicate their needs. Using the iPad is so much fun, students don’t realize they are still working on academic skills, Gelletly said. She uses iPad apps to reinforce what has already been taught through traditional classroom instruction. “Using it is like a reward, and yet, they’re still practicing those skills and working on an educational concept,” Gelletly said. With four to seven students per classroom, waiting for a turn becomes another lesson in social skills, she added. Some apps are specifically designed for kids with autism or speech disorders while others are basic early education concepts such as phonics. “Going Places” helps alleviate anxiety in new social situations by showing children what to expect when they visit places like the dentist, public park or hair salon. With the iPad technology, students are able to incorporate several senses into their learning. “They’re hearing it, they’re seeing it, and they’re doing it,” Norman said. She was drawn to special education after shadowing her mother, who is an occupational therapist. “I developed a love for children with special needs,” she said. “They’re just cool kids. It’s a spectrum disorder, so they all have different abilities and different challenges.”

Saturday, April 28, 2012

15A

Ángel Del Valle-Chairez traces numbers on an educational iPad app as part of his routine at Rayma C. Page Elementary, thanks to a donation from the Estero Rotary Club.

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Using (the iPad) is like a reward, and yet, they’re still practicing those skills and working on an educational concept.” — Janelle Gelletly, Special Needs teacher

Maddox Donahue and his classmates learn with iPad apps as part of their Social Communications curriculum at Rayma C. Page Elementary. The iPads were donated by the Estero Rotary Club.

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A lesson

IN TOUGH CHOICES A FEW WEEKS INTO THE SCHOOL YEAR, PARENTS OF AUTISMSPECTRUM CHILDREN QUESTION THEIR SCHOOL CHOICES

“ Kristine Koch, a clinical coordinator at the Able Academy, leads a therapy session with Harrison Conroy. Anne Claire Shilton/Banner Correspondent By Anne Claire Shilton Banner Correspondent

F

or Karen Kurkimilis, the diagnosis of autism came into her life like a fly ball from somewhere deep in left field. With an unceremonious thunk, it caught her and her husband completely off-guard, knocking the wind out of them as the doctor casually said, “Your son has autism. There’s nothing you can do.” A random truth that neither parent had seen coming, like a stray ball, the diagnosis bounced a few times upon impact and then slowly rolled to a halt. There, in the middle of the pediatrician’s office, the words sat. “It was a long ride home,” remembers Kurkimilis, whose son, Patrick, was 3 at the time. What the two firsttime parents thought was a hearing deficiency or a speech delay was announced as autism after their son spent mere moments with a speech and language pathologist. For Nanci Luculano, getting the diagnosis that her twin boys were both on the autism spectrum was a completely different experience. Each child had different symptoms, and unlike Kurkimilis’ case, Luculano had to bounce from doctor to doctor in search of an answer. “I was told that they were regressing because they were twins. One doctor told me just to love them more. I even had a doctor tell me my child was deaf because he didn’t look when she called his name,” Luculano said. “You get all kinds of things when you’re trying to chase down a diagnosis for your child.” But for both Kurkmilis and Luculano—or any parent who has received an autism diagnosis—no matter how the news is delivered, the next step is always the same: figure out how you’re going to get the best care and education for your child. This time of year, as children settle into their new school routines, across Southwest Florida hundreds of parents with children on the autism spectrum will be wondering if they made the right school choice. While navigating educational options when you have a typical, healthy child can be daunting, figuring out what’s best for your special needs child leaves many parents downright bewildered. The Center for Disease Control estimates 1 in 88 children has autism or an autism-related disorder. There’s no known cure and no known cause. But what makes autism and autism-related disorders so difficult is that they strike in a mess of different ways, with a shocking array of symptoms and challenges that manifest differently in each and every affected child. Colleen Cornwall, executive director of the Able Academy in Naples, puts it this way:“If you’ve met one child with autism, congratulations, you’ve met one child with autism.” And that’s what makes the puzzle of finding the best education option for your autistic child so confusing. While there are umpteen online forums and message boards and specialists who all have opinions (opinions are certainly not in short supply in the autism community) there’s no way to know what’s going to work for your child without doing extensive research—with his or her specific needs top of mind.

EVERY YEAR ... I’m there, visiting with the school, meeting his teachers and figuring out, is this the best place for my son?”

So where to start? Board Certified Behavior Analyst Brenda Baker, who worked for the Collier County School District as an Exceptional Student Education (ESE)specialist for many years and is now in private practice, says that in many cases, the place to start is at your neighborhood public school. “At the very least, go to the public schools and have an assessment done. It’s free and you’ll need that if you decide to continue with the public school route,” she says. The good news is that if you do decide on a public school, both Collier and Lee counties get decent reviews from parents and pediatricians alike. “The public school system does a great job with evaluations, but, they, of course, have limited resources,” says Naples-based pediatrician Brian Thornburg. For example, in the Lee County School District, occupational therapists often handle between 65 and 70 students at a time. And while the average speech language pathologist has a case load of 65 students, there are speech language pathologists with 110 students on their rosters. Contrast that to the Able Academy, a local, nonprofit private school that specializes in one-on-one and small group education. At the Able Academy, children receive individual time with an occupational therapist at least once a week. But at a price of free, the public schools offer an enticing option—and for high-functioning children, public schools actually may be the best choice. “We work on an inclusion model,” says Jessica Duncan, ESE coordinator for Lee County schools. An inclusion model means that children with autism spectrum disorders are kept in a general education classroom as much as possible—be it for just one class a day, or for the entire curriculum. “The idea is to keep them as close to the general education population as they can be successful in,” Duncan added. Kurkmillis, who works as an ESE instructor in the Lee County district, puts it like this: “If you want your child to learn normal behaviors, it’s important to have them around typical kids.” Kurkmillis’ son, Patrick, who is now in high school, takes several electives with general education students. For many years Patrick even participated in general education core classes, but once he started high school and his peers began surpassing him in their coursework, Kurkmillis and the team that works with her son, decided to just stick to having him in with the general education population for electives. And educating an autistic child in the public schools is truly a team effort. Using time in ESE specific classrooms, time with therapists and interaction with the general education population, both Lee and Collier Public Schools try to find a combination of learning environments that will compliment each student’s specific needs—and put a team of professionals in place to make sure those needs are being met. “We try and create a multi-tiered system of support, between the general education classroom, the ESE classroom and individual therapy,” says Duncan. Nonetheless, there are still kids who don’t necessarily thrive in a public school setting. For those

ANNE CLAIRE SHILTON/BANNER CORRESPONDENT (2)

Matthew Cherry and Zach Rosenberg work diligently while Jennifer Modzelesky assists students Adam Rosman, Parker Seward and Drew David at the Able Academy. The Able Academy specializes in one-on-one and small group instruction for children suffering from autism spectrum disorders and is a nonprofit school supported by a grant from the Naples Children & Education Foundation.

children, the state offers something called the John M. McKay Scholarship. Part of the Florida School Choice Act, the McKay Scholarship gives parents of students with disabilities a voucher that they may take to a private school of their choice. But there’s a catch: the child must spend one year in the public school system before they qualify. For Luculano’s son Collin, who is non-verbal and has severe behavior problems, a year in public school really wasn’t an option. “In order to qualify for a McKay Scholarship I believe I would have had to have him in the Collier public schools for a year, and that’s something I couldn’t put him through. And honestly, the public schools could not have handled him,” Luculano siad. According to FloridaSchoolChoice.org, last year 22,198 students statewide took advantage of the scholarship program. And while, for many families it’s a big help, usually the McKay doesn’t completely cover a private school’s tuition. Last year, scholarship amounts ranged from $4,752 to $19,510 statewide, depending on what the child’s district school would have spent to educate that child. Essentially, where you live determines how much help you’ll get from the state, the amount you receive is by no means universal. What is universal, however, is that the scholarship almost never matches what private schools that specialize in autism education generally cost. “It usually doesn’t cover our tuition in its entirety,” says Cornwall of the Able Academy, adding, “But we also have some scholarships available. Still, for a lot of families, our school is stretch.” Despite the fact that her son, Collin, isn’t eligible for a McKay award, Luculano would happily pay full tuition at the Able Academy at twice the price. “I’m a huge fan of Able, the work they do there is just incredible,” she raves. Luculano’s two boys, Collin and Jack, offer an interesting case study in how parents choose schools for their children. Both of her boys suffer from autism, and yet one, Jack, attends public school while the other, Collin, goes to Able Academy. “My boys are totally different, and they’re twins. Right now, public school seems to be the best choice for Jack, but Collin really needs the support he gets at Able.” And even though these are her choices for the moment, Luculano says that where they go to school is always a work in progress. “With Jack I visit his school regularly, I mean, don’t go in every day, you’ll drive them crazy, but every year before school starts I’m there, visiting with the school, meeting his teachers and figuring out, is this the best place for my son?” Brenda Baker advises this no matter where you plan to send your kid. “Look for a teacher who is ABA certified and someone who has experience. Tell them about your child’s behaviors and they should say, ‘yes, I’ve worked with a child with this problem in the past.’ Also, it needs to be someone who is going to react appropriately if your child has an incident,” Baker advises. Finding a child/educator match is so important that the Able Academy’s clinical coordinator, Krsitine Coch, says that the school won’t even take in a child if it’s not a “fit.” “We won’t arbitrarily take kids in,” says Kristine Coch. “We do a full assessment fi rst to make sure it’s going to work.” And it may take several tries until you get the right educational setup. Being prepared to take an active role in your child’s education is the one thing that every parent of an autistic child—especially those using the public schools—will tell you is an absolute necessity.