The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly 1% of children across the country have some form of autism — 20 times the prevailing figure in the 1980s. The increase has stirred fears of an epidemic and mobilized researchers to figure out what causes the brain disorder and why it appears to be affecting so many more children.

Two decades into the boom, however, the balance of evidence suggests that it is more a surge in diagnosis than in disease. The Times explored the phenomenon and its repercussions. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/autism/

http://edu.surveygizmo.com/s3/673696/Needs-and-Services-for-Adults-with-Autism

Terry Hankins
By BECCA PILKINGTON,
ARGUS-COURIER INTERN

Published: Monday, October 31, 2011 at 3:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, November 4, 2011 at 12:02 p.m.
In Julia Pozsgai’s bedroom is a large purple chair. Though she made it herself out of heavy cardboard, its tall back, exaggerated zig-zag design on the back and feet, and royal purple hue make it look more like a whimsical throne than a large piece of cardboard. Pozsgai sits in it to demonstrate its sturdiness, like a proud queen.

What makes this queen even more impressive is, at 18 months old, Pozsgai was diagnosed as being at risk for autism.

“We got her in a program right away,” said Karen Short, Pozsgai’s mother. “We lived in San Francisco and I had a friend who worked for a program that worked with young kids. They started working with her on everything — language and the whole range of potential problems, all the things that could happen.”

As Pozsgai got older, the San Francisco Unified School District recommended that the family move to Marin County so she could attend Marindale School in San Rafael, which had a teacher that worked with special needs children, for preschool. When Pozsgai moved on to kindergarten, teachers advocated for her that she remain in the regular classroom and not be segregated from her peers. From kindergarten to high school, Pozsgai was included with regular students until she graduated from Casa Grande High School.

“She was very fortunate with the school system,” said Short. “We had our differences, but they were supportive. We worked with them.”

Short also credits Pozsgai being integrated with regular kids while in school as a factor in her success thus far.

“The community has been great. I think a lot of the kids she went to high school with know her, and some of them definitely tried to include her as much as they were able,” she added.

It was at Casa Grande that Pozsgai took a sculpture class, where she first learned how to make cardboard chairs.

“I liked that class,” she said.

Today, Pozsgai, now 22, still makes cardboard chairs — an interesting process that, Short says, Pozsgai has refined.

After Pozsgai graduated high school, Short felt there was a lack of programs for adults with autism in the area. After a casual conversation with an employee from Cypress School in Petaluma, Short looked into Autistry Studios in San Rafael.

“I was pretty impressed with the program, pretty much because it was a group that was being challenged,” she explained.

That constant challenge is the goal to help autistic adults, whose communication and social skills are not strong, succeed, according to executive director Janet Lawson.

“We’ve found that autistic individuals of all ages continue to grow when appropriately challenged,” Laweson explained in an e-mail interview. “We believe it is important to have high expectations and then provide the tools, support and resources needed to be productive.”

In her experience with Pozsgai, Short knows firsthand that autism can be isolating for young adults.

“When you have autism, you’re literally trained to be socially appropriate,” she said. “You don’t learn from your peers in the same way; it has to be pointed out — ‘This is what’s OK, this is what’s not OK,’ because you just don’t pick it up.”

According to Lawson, she first met Julia in March at a fund-raising event. She felt that, while Pozsgai was very excited and had a great time, it was difficult to tell if she would be a good candidate for Autistry.

“My first impression of Julia was that she had great enthusiasm and incredible drive,” she said. “My concern was whether or not she wanted to develop her skills or if she wanted to stay in her comfort zone.”

Pozsgai starting attending workshops at Autistry Studios in June. Lawson noticed she was already good at making chairs out of heavy cardboard, but she had not worked with wood.

“We wanted to challenge her to increase her ability and expand her skills,” said Lawson. “We asked if she would like to work in wood and learn how to use power tools. She was hesitant at first, but agreed to give it a try. She has never looked back.”

Now, with the help of Autistry Studios, Pozsgai has moved on to working with wood and building wood furniture.

Currently, Pozsgai has started working on a custom ordered dog house — her third woodworking piece. It will have two windows — one on each side— and four walls, where the front wall has a doorway so the dog can get in and out. It also has a deck, so the dog can lay on the deck.

Despite Pozsgai’s autism, Short wants people to remember that there is a person in there — a person who, as Lawson describes, is optimistic and tenacious.

“It takes courage to change and Julia is courageous. We have challenged her to rise to a higher level of production, take her work to higher standard and she has met that challenge and more,” she said. “We all believe in her ability and she has shown us that she is very capable.”

Short is nothing short of proud at her daughter’s success and accomplishments.

“Autistry just pushes her and challenges Julia, and she’s thrilled with learning about all the tools,” she said with a smile. “I, of course, don’t know these tools, but she does.”

Goals for the Early Years Sub-Committee

Through our collaborative efforts, the Early Years Subcommittee will develop and implement the following Strategies:

2008-2010
* Educate the local community about autism, and help provide information, referral and context for empirically evaluating controversial claims regarding causes and treatment
* Educate parents about developmental warning “flags”, and help them be effective advocates with their physicians and other service providers
* Educate physicians and other medical professionals about autism, to ensure prompt, effective screening, diagnosis and referral for treatment
* Ensure early, intensive intervention for children with autism before age three
* Ensure that we have a “system of care” in place for all people with autism, regardless of income level, ethnicity, language, and literacy
* Develop culturally sensitive strategies for outreach and education in diverse multi-ethnic and low income communities (for example, “mentores” – paraprofessional members of the community, who talk to parents; written information in English and Spanish; videotaped information in English and Spanish; pictorial information; website information in English and Spanish)
* Ensure continuity of care across the spectrum of age, ASD diagnoses/eligibility criteria, and systems of funding and care

2010-2011
* Continue to educate the professional community especially physicians and nurses on autism and related disorders and the importance of early screening and diagnosis
* Outreach to the Spanish community through bi-national health fairs
* Meet quarterly with other birth to 5 groups to improve collaboration to benefit consumers
* Continue to update the MAC website
* Link families with support groups hosted by MATRIX or other organizations in the community

Participant Input from Early Years Sub Committee- MAC Annual Meeting
March 6, 2010

• A therapeutic component for preschoolers with EBD/SED
• Explore why eligibility changes from ASD to Speech & Language delays when transitioning from Part C to Part B
• Explore creative ways to link service providers to families and families to providers
• Insurance issues
• Outreach to Waldorf and charter schools

Safe and Sound Program

Medicalert Safe and Sound Program

Karen Kaplan
Consultant
karensupportsu@comcast.net
415-497-3751

Just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, in San Rafael, on the campus of Dominican University, an 11 year old boy with Autism put on his volunteer badge and with a little support from a volunteer from Wells Fargo Bank walked from vendor to vendor (50 of them) introducing himself and requesting their business cards.

Jacob had his own business card collection but on this day he was collecting an additional card for a special drawing. With an occasional reminder to make eye contact before greeting someone, extending his handshake and saying thank you after receiving someone’s card, Jacob connected to over 100 people in the room.

Then with the same spirit, of Johnny Carson greeting his guests, Jacob announced the 4 door prize winners and raised both his hands over his head verbally cheering them for their success at winning the door prize.

Then there were the half a dozen teens from Autistry Studios, a non profit helping teens and young adults with HFA and Asperger become successfully independent by leveraging their interests and talent, eagerly explaining their artistic and creative constructions to the fair’s attendees. They were so eager to explain how they planned, designed and created these detailed miniatures in their workshop.

Finally there was Julia, an 11 year old student with Asperger, who gladly wore her volunteer badge and helped out in the child care room, playing with younger ASD children, whose parents or grandparents were attending one of the workshops offered that day.

Ten workshops, attended by a total of 123 participants, (parents, grandparents, teachers and colleges students) provided solutions to many core challenges facing children, teens and adults with ASD; sleeping issues, sensory problems, bio medical, the IEP process, special needs trusts and long term financial planning, preparing teens to work and playing.

To top that off students from Sonoma State University and Dominican University attended workshops and volunteered in fair activities. How perfect that our FUTURE teachers, therapists, administrators and parents were already learning about effective interventions for ASD.

The event was a success for so many and I am proud to have played a role in creating, developing and implementing such a beneficial event. The greatest gifts were the smiles on Jacob and Julia’s face, as they placed their volunteer badges around their necks and felt part of the community and the delight in the eyes of their moms.

by Karen Kaplan, Fair Director