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The 7-year-old has autism, which can make him shy and awkward with other students. Parents John and Melanie Murphy said the programs at Sand Lake Elementary School in Holmen, Wis., have helped their son progress.
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As other children in his second grade class at Sand Lake Elementary School in Holmen listen to a story Cole Murphy, 7, lets his mind wander. Murphy who was diagnosed with autism at age 4 is one of 13 students at Sand Lake with the disorder.
PETER THOMSON photo |
“An autism diagnosis is a blow for a family,” said Melanie Murphy. “School is renewing our hope for our future.”
The autism spectrum ranks as the fastest-growing developmental disorder in the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A 2007 report estimated one in every 150 children in the U.S. has an autism disorder, and experts anticipate the number will increase again this year.
La Crosse, the region’s largest school district, has seen the number of autistic students rise from one in 1997 to 38 a decade later.
Pam Foegen, the district’s supervisor of special education, attributed the jump to the city’s two medical centers attracting families for treatments and the fact that autism was identified as its own disability by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1997.
The district also has seen an increase in students with disabilities as a whole, she added.
Holmen School District, which has the second-largest enrollment in the region, reported a similar influx in autistic students. Its numbers have doubled in just five years, from 18 autistic students in the 2002-03 school year to 35 this year.
The state does not provide specific funding to educate autistic students. La Crosse and Holmen both use special education dollars for autism, as they would any other student with special needs.
Both districts try to educate autistic students while managing the wide range of behavioral and learning challenges they bring to the classroom.
La Crosse keeps autistic students in a regular classroom as much as possible. Students can be accompanied by a teacher assistant or placed in a special education classroom for emotional behavioral disability, specific learning disability or cognitive disability if that better meets their needs, Foegen said.
Autistic students also can receive speech, occupational and physical therapy services as well as specially designed physical education.
“We’ve really looked at where our resources are and applied them to best meet kids’ needs,” Foegen said.
Mary Nissalke, whose autistic 7-year-old son attends Harry Spence Elementary School, said she’s pleased with the district’s offerings.
Austin divides his school days between his second-grade classroom and the school’s cognitive disabilities room, Nissalke said. He attends the morning meeting with classmates before going to the cognitive disabilities room for help with coursework, she said.
Staff take time to assist Austin when he needs it, Nissalke said. “I really, really love it.”
The district evaluates each special education student, including those with autism, and develops an individualized educational program — known as an IEP — to structure the child’s daily schedule and coursework, Foegen said.
The amount of one-on-one time with teachers and staff is determined by the IEP team, she said. The IEP can be adjusted as needed, depending on progress.
Holmen revamped its special education program about 10 years ago, tailoring the offerings to fit students rather than the other way around, said Rick Johnson, pupil services director. Sand Lake Elementary had a large population of autistic students, so some of the focus shifted there, he said.
“We don’t just give the students more attention, we give them more of what they need,” said Sue Ausavich, an autism teacher with the district.
Sand Lake Elementary has 13 autistic students this year, who learn with their peers in mainstream classrooms while being assisted by three autism teachers and additional educational assistants, Ausavich said.
“What can make autism different from some other disabilities is that many of our students need the same curriculum as any other student,” Ausavich said.
The support makes regular coursework accessible and understandable to those students, she added.
Autistic students thrive in the mainstream Holmen program, while their classmates learn to accept kids with special needs, Ausavich said.
Cole’s inclusion with all students is a highlight of the Holmen program, John Murphy said. His son sees other kids in class and can interact with them daily during lunch and recess, which helps Cole work on communication and social skills.
Ausavich said the program allows the teaching staff to learn how to tell when a situation might be stressful for the autistic students or if they might need a break. A change in social settings or schedules can make child with autism incredibly uncomfortable, she said.
The Murphys already had begun building a home in the town of Onalaska, which is in the Holmen School District, when Cole’s autism was diagnosed. Three years later, they couldn’t imagine being in any other district, they said.
Cole is learning his second-grade curriculum as well as how to identify potential stressors in his life, such as a last-minute schedule change, Melanie Murphy said. His 4-year-old brother, Jack, also autistic, started school this year at the Family Learning Center in Holmen.
“It makes me hopeful for my sons’ future,” Melanie Murphy said of the district’s program.
While Holmen and La Crosse schools are making their programs work, many districts are not prepared for the increase in autistic students, said Diane Hietpas, director of special education at Chileda, a La Crosse school for children and young adults who have developmental disabilities, including autism.
Nineteen students from area districts now attend Chileda’s day school, where they are educated by teachers trained to deal with autistic children, Hietpas said.
She said most special education teachers have been broadly trained for students with cognitive or emotional disabilities, not the more specific needs of an autistic student.
Many autistic kids learn best with repetition, Hietpas said. They often are visual learners and thrive on routine.
Continuing education is one way to make sure teachers keep up with the shifting landscape in special needs students, she said. More universities and technical colleges are starting to offer autism-specific training, and entire conferences are being held on the topic.
La Crosse hosted the Midwest Autism Conference in October.
“The way we’ve taught special education for years is changing,” she said. “It is a lot different than it used to be.”
Autumn Grooms can be reached at (608) 791-8424 or agrooms@lacrossetribune.com.
WHAT IS AUTISM?
Autism spectrum disorders are developmental disabilities defined by significant difficulties in social interaction and communication and the presence of unusual behaviors and interests.
Many with autism have unusual ways of learning, paying attention or reacting to sensations. The thinking and learning abilities of people with autism can vary from gifted to severely challenged.
Autism begins before age 3 and lasts throughout life. It occurs in all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups and is four times more likely to occur in boys than girls.
Source: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
WHAT IS AN IEP?
An Individualized Education Program is a written plan, good for one year, listing what a special education child will learn and the services the school can provide. The IEP team that writes the plan includes parents, the child, a school district representative, the child’s regular education teacher and special education teacher, plus a handful of others. An IEP can be changed during the year if needed.
Source: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
What defines an autistic child?
The state Department of Public Instruction provides this checklist to schools to diagnose children with autism spectrum disorder. A medical diagnosis alone doesn’t qualify.
Section 1 (Must answer yes to both)
Section 2 (Must answer yes to at least one)
A day with Cole Murphy
8:10 a.m.: Cole boards the school van at his town of Onalaska house. It’s a quieter, calmer ride to Sand Lake Elementary School than the school bus, but it still gives the autistic 7-year-old a sense of independence.
8:30 a.m.: The school van arrives at Sand Lake.
8:40 a.m.: Cole starts the day with a morning meeting in Tony Hart’s second-grade classroom. The class talks about the day ahead and begins writing in their journals. He is accompanied by an educational assistant.
9:20 a.m.: Sue Ausavich, an autism teacher, works with Cole on reading comprehension and writing.
10 a.m.: Cole and his classmates head to their special classes — depending on the day, it could be music, gym, art or a trip to the library. Cole is accompanied by an educational assistant.
11 a.m.: It’s time for milk break. Cole leaves his classroom and walks to Ausavich’s room to get a snack, as he is on a gluten- and casein-free diet. He then returns to Hart’s room for a story.
11:30 a.m.: Math class means Ausavich returns to the classroom. Cole needs to have his math modified, and Ausavich helps by supplying easier levels.
12:15 p.m.: An autism teacher accompanies Cole to social studies, science or health class.
12:45 p.m.: Lunch time finally arrives. Cole eats in Ausavich’s room with a friend or two from class. He started eating outside the lunchroom when he began his special diet. His parents said the accommodations have been good for Cole, as it also gives him time to work on his communication and social skills.
1:35 p.m.: Time to Drop Everything and Read. Cole is in Hart’s classroom.
1:50 p.m.: He continues working in Hart’s classroom — only the subject changes to language arts.
2:30 p.m.: The second-graders break for afternoon recess. An educational assistant accompanies Cole.
2:45 p.m.: Language arts resumes in Hart’s room. Cole spends some time working on phonics with Ausavich.
3:35 p.m.: Classes dismiss and Cole boards the school van.
3:50 p.m.: Cole arrives home.
