Supporting Families Today

Autism Response Team (ART) Coordinators are available to respond to family inquires and requests by phone 888-AUTISM2 (288-4762) or email at northeastART@autismspeaks.org.  Find out more about the national  Autism Speaks Family Services programs which include:

• 100 Day Kit - for newly diagnosed families
• Autism Video Glossary - visual dictionary of autism terms
• Family Services Resource Guide - sortable database of local service providers
• Resource Library - list of books, publications, videos, and multi-media references

Supporting Communities Today

• participating in Autism Cares
• providing Community Grants
• identifying opportunities for Families to Participate in Research
• hosting Online Message Boards

Family Services Projects in Development include 100 Day Kit in Spanish, School and Community Toolkit, Autism in the Workplace, and a Safety/First Responder Toolkit.

In New York:

We currently have 534 resources listed for the state of New York. We are always looking to identify more resources to provide to families. We encourage you to submit additional resources if you have information about a service or service provider that you feel would be helpful to individuals with autism and their families. Thank you!

The Family Services Division of Autism Speaks has now completed its second round of grants. New York received two Community Grants in the first cycle and three in the second. For more information about the grants awarded to New York and others across the country, visit the Family Service Community Grant page.

The Sage Colleges – Troy, N.Y.
Thomas Zane
$22,990
http://www.sage.edu

Development of Webinars to Train Core Competencies for Parents and Paraprofessionals Working with Students with Autism

As autism diagnoses increase, the number of trained personnel to effectively work with these individuals has not kept pace. The aim of this grant is to create 90 hours of instruction on specific techniques and skills shown to be successful when remediating skills in this population, and to convert this training to on-demand, asynchronous webinars to be hosted on the web. The target audience will be parents and paraprofessionals who are typically assigned to work with students with ASD in public schools. The webinars will be available continuously through The Sage Colleges website. The development of these training modules will focus on techniques shown to be effective and are expected to facilitate the development of more competent staff who will then teach more effectively, resulting in improved independence of persons with ASD.

Significance for people with autism: This project will speak to the educational needs of those working directly with children with autism spectrum disorders. This grant will provide both education and training that will allow parents, paraprofessionals and professionals to interact more effectively with their children and students.

Upstate Cerebral Palsy - The Kelberman Center – Utica, N.Y.
Beth Myers
$14,980
http://www.kelbermancenter.org/

Awesome Summer Days Camp: Social Skills Training & Peer Coaching Embedded in a Recreational Summer Camp Experience

Awesome Summer Days Camp is the expansion of a successful pilot program and will take place at The Chadwicks Education Center that is owned and operated by United Cerebral Palsy. The program will work with each family to: (1) evaluate the child's current level of social functioning; (2) identify social skills that need to be learned or practiced; (3) modify and implement curriculum as needed to meet the child's needs; (4) practice skills during inclusion activities with Big Brothers/Big Sisters campers; and (5) test progress at the close of camp. Each week, Monday and Tuesday will combine social skills lessons with horseback riding, dance, art, photography and yoga. Each Wednesday the campers will join campers attending the Big Brothers/Big Sisters camp for a variety of field trips. Thursday will also be a day for inclusion activities spent with kids from Big Brothers/Big Sisters; campers will enjoy fishing and engaging in a variety of outdoor teambuilding exercises. The Center, in addition to using trained specialists, will be able to tap into the university community for program interns, many of whom will be inspired to pursue careers related to autism.

Significance for people with autism: The Awesome Summer Days Camp runs for five weeks and is open to children between the ages of six and fourteen who are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. With funding, the camp will be able to financially support the attendance of additional campers. The collaboration with Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the opportunities for interaction with typically developing peers provides additional awareness for those with autism. Again, there is the ability to replicate this program.


Family Service Community Grants December 2007:
The Cody Center, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
Shirley Woodward, MSW, Ed.D.
$19,800
www.codycenter.org

Supported College Program Pilot Semester

The Cody Center is making a request to fund a pilot semester of a supported college program for young persons with autism spectrum and related disorders for freshman and sophomore students at Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) who require social and learning supports to be successful in acquiring academic and vocational skills. It is an outgrowth of a summer pre-college program on which the Cody Center and SCCC collaborated, and provides the next step necessary for successful postsecondary education of the population of young persons with autism spectrum disorders. The project provides for a team of part-time staff members specialized in working with transition aged young persons to offer services in a "home base" room at the college, offering academic coaching in time management and study skills, self advocacy, and other skills required to succeed in college, as well as social skills training, vocational exploration and community internships. This partnership makes accessible a public community college education with its affordable price to students with autism spectrum disorders, for whom the disability services office is not able to provide the more intensive services required by this population of young persons. The pilot semester will enroll four to six young persons who meet the normal admission requirements of college but whose high school or college experience to date has indicated that they will not succeed unless additional services are available to help them transition to the independence and behavioral expectations of the college setting.

Significance for people with autism: This program provides the supports necessary for individuals with autism to participate in a college program. If successful, there is the ability to replicate this program.

Mid-Island Y Jewish Community Center, Plainview, NY
David Rosner
$20,000
www.miyjcc.org

Aspire – A Camping Experience

Aspire is a pilot summer camp program, in collaboration with Variety Child Learning Center, using the natural environment for children with autistic tendencies to learn and to be included with their peers. The program will include 20 children across the spectrum, and facilitate inclusion. The components of the program will include a "train the trainer" model, which is based on adult learning theory, which states that people who train others remember 90% of the material they teach, and diffusion of innovation theory, which states that people adopt new information through their trusted social networks. Thus the Train the Trainer Project first develops a cadre of skilled community-based trainers, who in turn train others in their community or within an organization. More specifically, this proposal seeks to develop a pilot preschool program for children with autism spectrum disorders as well as to expand an existing summer camp for school age children and young adults by providing more inclusive experiences.

Significance for people with autism: This program will provide inclusion opportunities by trained staff in a summer camp program for children from pre-school to pre-teen ages.