Children in program receive specialized therapy and lessons from a dozen counselors
By RJ Wolcott
Lansing State Journal
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Charles Rich watches his son Talyn through a small window inside Michigan State University's Child Development Laboratories.
Like the other children in the bustling classroom, Talyn alternates between searching for something to play with and interacting with staff one on one.
The group of half a dozen 3- and 4-year-olds are the first enrollees of the lab's new Early Learning Institute for children who fall somewhere on the autism spectrum.
Talyn and the other children in the new program receive specialized therapy and lessons from a dozen behavior technicians and counselors.
"One teacher for even two or three kids like Talyn is impossible," Rich told the Lansing State Journal. Without a constant eye, Talyn can quickly find trouble, whether hurting himself or getting into things he shouldn't, he said.
Talyn's father said he's been continually frustrated with the lack of resources available within the public school system. If there's any chance for his son to become more communicative, it'll be thanks to the therapy he gets here, he said.
He tries not to have expectations about his son's development.
"He's an awesome kid," Rich said. "He's happy and healthy and even if nothing changes, he'll still be awesome."
As lawmakers carve out greater medical coverage for autism therapy, the institute was set in motion to fill in gaps in education and therapy before a child is expected to sit in a kindergarten classroom.
All of the program's behavior technicians are trained to interact using applied behavior analysis, or ABA, said Kate LaLonde, the institute's clinical director. In practical terms, ABA amounts to rewarding and encouraging positive behaviors and discouraging negative patterns.
But rather than have a few hours of ABA each day like other programs she looked into, the institute is implementing the strategy from the moment students arrive in the morning until they are picked up in the afternoon. Parents also receive information about ABA in order to continue the therapy at home, she said.
"Research shows applied behavior analysis is one of the best treatments for people on the autism spectrum," LaLonde said. Students also receive socialization prior to entering kindergarten, both with fellow institute students and with other children in the development lab.
Aside from constant activity and monitoring, LaLonde said children on the autism spectrum have their own unique challenges parents and educators need to understand. One of the most recognizable is a lack of requests or questions.
"While other kids their age might ask hundreds of questions in three hours, our technicians often won't get a single question or request over the same period of time," she said. Making children request, rather than responding to their tantrums, is one of the first things behavior technicians do, LaLonde said.
Other seemingly minute differences between the MSU program and others are making big differences, said Laurie Linscott, who co-developed the program with behavior analyst Joshua Plavnick.
Rather than having technicians sit between students to assist them, Linscott encourages staff to sit further back. This allows children to not only interact with their peers more readily, but helps them be less reliant on the adults in the room and to concentrate on the teacher in front of them, she said.
The Early Learning Institute has two openings and is conducting screenings to fill them, Linscott said.
The new program was made possible thanks to a $50,000 donation from Mike and Kathy Bosco, MSU alumni who have made several gifts to the university to assist students on the autism spectrum. Additional help from the Human Development and Family Studies program means close to $65,000 has been spent so far to renovate the classroom and observational spaces, Linscott said.
The institute isn't only about helping children when they're under the program's watch, but extending that therapy to a home environment so parents can take part, she said.
Rich said his son is able to attend the institute thanks to hundreds of thousands of dollars in assistance provided by Medicaid. He hopes Talyn gets the most he can out of the program in the next two years of eligibility. After that, he'd prefer to enroll his son in a private school or perhaps do home schooling.
Rich wants to see more done locally to support children with autism, particularly with a major research university and the state's Capitol standing so close.
"With 1 in 88 children being diagnosed on the spectrum, why aren't we more on top of this?"
Published: Tue, Oct 06, 2015
