Why Are They Here? THEY Don T Belong HERE

WHY ARE THEY HERE? THEY DON’T BELONG HERE.1

The Farmingdale School District began to realize in 2007, that the Autistic population was growing. The cost of sending those students outside of the district was exorbitant and would only increase as those numbers of students identified as needing those services were increasing. It also was apparent that Farmingdale was acquiring teachers with highly specialized skills in the area of dealing with children on the autism spectrum. By hiring an outside consultant to come in and see what was available in Farmingdale, it became clear that Farmingdale had as good, if not better services available right in Farmingdale. The decision was made to bring many of the students back to Farmingdale to service them in our own schools.

In 2007, the most severe classes, the 6:1:1 students were scattered in various buildings around the district. At the next level, it was the same, the 12:1:1 students were also scattered. The Director of Special Education, with meeting with the teachers and the consultant, decided that a student should not have to start at one school only to have to move to another school as he/she moved up a grade level. He/she should have the same opportunities as other elementary children, that being, to be able to stay in one school for his/her elementary years. Therefore, the decision was made to house all of the 6:1:1 students at one elementary school, the Albany Avenue School. There would be the 12:1:1 classes offered at the other three buildings It seemed like a decision that made the most sense for the best interests of those children. What was unexpected was the reaction of the Albany Avenue community.

The administration of Albany Avenue was all set for the 6:1:1 classes. It was just another few classes added to the school with some additional resources needed. Principals are an important factor in successful inclusion as a result of their influence on the entire educational process(Horrocks, et al. 2008). The Principal told the faculty in the spring of 2008 that the classes would be there in the Fall of 2008. There would be a K-1, a 2-3, and a 4-5 class. There wasn’t much talk about it at the time. Mention was not made at PTA meetings, not purposefully, just that there did not seem to be a need. After all, as the number of children diagnosed with autism increased, there are more of these students in public schools recommended for placement in general education settings(Accardo et al. 2000). Unfortunately, in spite of this trend, there are few models and procedures to facilitate the successful inclusion of these students; therefore, educators are faced with the task of designing programs in the absence of clear guidelines and procedural protocols(Simpson et al. 2003).

Socialization is a critical consideration since it is a deficit area in autism and an essential element in successful inclusion at any level(Horrocks, et al 2008). They(the autistic children) sometimes do strange things, like flapping their arms or barking like a dog in public. Their reactions to things can be very intense and sudden and do not always make sense to the rest of us. They are overly sensitive to many types of stimuli; they do not behave or learn like most children(Giving Up on School: One Family’s Story. 2007).

When the 6:1:1 students arrived with the new staff in tow, the reaction was mind boggling for administration. Parents of the regular education students would stare, grab their children and pull them away in fear or horror. Regular education students would also stare at the behaviors and be scared. When they looked at their own teachers for understanding as to what was happening, their own teachers looked horrified and scared. Quickly, the same reaction kept coming to the office from not only parents and community members, but the staff of the building, “Why are they here? THEY don’t belong HERE.” They were even distant to the new staff.

Immediately we realized we needed to educate people, first and foremost our own staff, about who these children were, about acceptance, and how to help them. Since autistic children are sometimes unemotional or withdrawn, others may label them as outcasts and make little effort to interact with them. As a result of their unusual behaviors, autistic children are at risk of being rejected by their peers and are often faced with insensitive reactions and harsh treatment(Swaim and Morgan, 2001). This was not going to be tolerated in their own school. We contacted the Autism Speaks Organization and got their award winning documentary Autism Every Day(Autism Speaks Organization, 2007). It shows the 24-hour a day challenges faced by families having children with autism. It is very poignant and humbling. It was shown to the faculty and there was not a dry eye in the house. The same film was shown and discussed at a PTA meeting with the same reaction. It opened up discussion and created understanding as to why the children were there and they absolutely belonged. Suddenly, everyone wanted to know what they could do to help and make them more a part of our community. That was the first hurdle to conquer, but now we wanted to help educate the regular education children. With the parents and staff behind us, it would be much easier.

The 6:1:1 teachers, the psychologists, the consultant, and I met. We brainstormed how we could help both the regular education students and the 6:1:1 students. There was a program in South Huntington called “The Ambassador Program” where big kids helped little kids. We decided to borrow that name and create a program where fourth and fifth grade students would work with the 6:1:1 students. The Albany Avenue Ambassador Program began to form in the Spring of 2008. As a committee, we decided that we would ask the third and fourth grade teachers for recommendations of students who were mature and kind and would be able to accept students with differences to be in the program in the Fall(they would then be fourth and fifth graders). Over the summer, the parents would be sent letters describing the program and that their child was selected for this honor and was nominated to be in the program if they wanted them to be in it. It included a full training of five weeks of once a week before school training with a 6:1:1 teacher and psychologist before they ever met with the 6:1:1 students(who were called their “buddies.”). They were shown movies, books were read, and lively discussions with scenarios, and breakfast was served. After the five weeks, they were matched with a 3:1 match(3 regular ed. Students to 1 buddy) in a supervised play situation during the regular education students’ recess period twice to three times a week. Training continued, then weekly for ten more weeks. Then a new group of ambassadors was selected.

An intervention to teach necessary social communication skills is crucial for the social, language, and emotional development of children with autism(Liber, et al., 2007). The Ambassador Program is providing this. Parents of children with severe or profound disabilities, including autism, reported that the development of friendships and social relationships was their top priority for their children’s educational programs(Wall & Gast, 1997). The Ambassador Program was starting to make a difference. General Education students were looking forward to it, the buddies were looking forward to it, and parents of both groups were ecstatic.

In November of 2009, we were contacted by Newsday. Joie Tyrell, the reporter, heard what a great program this was. She did a story in December(Tyrell, 2009). The story was carried nationwide. Schools called from all over to ask about how they could emulate it. In addition, many Long Island school districts came to visit it to bring the idea to their schools as well.

Our original problem was that people were ignorant about who these wonderful children were. They were frightened of the unknown. We had to change that. We developed a couple of clear goals:

1) We had to educate people who this population was. That included educating parents, staff, community members, and students.

2)We needed to make these students, their teachers and aides, and their families feel accepted and part of our community.

To accomplish these goals, we first used discussions, meetings, and the documentary with the adults. However, we then looked to the children to be the ones to really educate everyone through the development of the Ambassador Program. It was developed to be a turnkey program. Each group would then bring their knowledge back to their classmates and teach their classmates. In turn, they would teach their teachers, their siblings, and their parents about this group of special children.

The students who were ambassadors taught lessons to their parents and their classmates. At the end of the year, they made a presentation to the PTA about what they did all year with their buddies, as well as read a book to them about what it is like to have someone with autism in your family. As a culmination of the program for the year, a dinner ceremony is held and certificates and medals are presented to both the buddies and the ambassadors. A powerpoint presentation of the work they do together is shown. Parents, administration, and Board Members are invited to attend.

Bullying of 6:1:1 students does not happen at Albany Avenue School. People are very protective of these children. When their behaviors occur at concerts, assemblies, etc., they are just accepted and helped by the children. Second glances and stares are gone. People throughout the district talk about the success of the Ambassador Program and now that it is two years old, want it brought to the middle school in some form. Parents of the 6:1:1 students have reported that their children’s social skills have blossomed by leaps and bounds because of working with other children in the Ambassador Program. They are making eye contact more often and having appropriate social interactions.

From a public relations perspective, the problem of ignorance needed to be addressed. It was a problem that was not expected by administration, and certainly was a surprise. However, after setting goals, implementing strategies, the problem has been eradicated and the 6:1:1 population is fully entrenched at Albany Avenue as members of our community.

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