Autism panel releases recommendations

December 27, 2007 09:42 pm

— By Joe Hadsall
jhadsall@joplinglobe.com
It was a good day for brothers Anthony and Vernon Wagoner, of Carthage. The two on Thursday played a new game at the Judevine Center for Autism in Joplin.
Tracy McCormick, training coordinator at the center, brought out a game called Penguin Shuffle. She put the pieces together and handed three plastic penguins to each brother.
Vernon, 7, shook his hands and screamed with excitement as he watched his plastic penguins shuffle and wobble down a slide. Anthony, 10, didn’t wave his arms or laugh, but he beamed as he watched the game unfold.
Both brothers are diagnosed with high-functioning autism. McCormick said the game was part of a successful day of learning to share and take turns.
“Sometimes they have issues with playing and sharing toys,” she said.
The Wagoner brothers are two of a growing number of children who are afflicted with the disorder, which impairs the ability to communicate, reason and interact. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one out of every 150 children is diagnosed with one of the many forms of autism.
Spending for statewide autism services increased last year, and the Missouri General Assembly will be discussing more in the upcoming session.
Recommendations
Gov. Matt Blunt is expected to announce new proposals, above the $4 million allocated this year for programs. And a state Senate committee has turned in a list of recommendations to be discussed during the session.
The Blue Ribbon Panel on Autism, commissioned by Senate President Pro Tem Michael Gibbons and led by Sen. Scott Rupp, conducted meetings across the state, and heard more than 40 hours of testimony from parents and educators. The committee’s report includes 36 recommendations to help parents and children get access to needed services.
The recommendations include:
n Formation of a statewide commission. Rupp has filed a bill that would establish the Missouri Commission on Autism Spectrum Disorders, to be managed by the Department of Mental Health. The commission would make recommendations to the governor and lawmakers, and would develop a statewide plan for an integrated system of training, treatment and services.
n Providing funding for a full-time employee for the Office of Autism Services to coordinate with other state agencies and reach out to families.
n Adopting a universal screening protocol for physicians, pediatricians, health-care providers and child-service agencies.
n Urging Congress to change the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act so that children diagnosed with a form of autism would be automatically eligible for federal programs.
Nikki Straw, of Joplin, was a member of the committee. She said that as she listened to testimony, she identified with many of the parents, because she endured many of the same things raising an autistic stepdaughter.
“I knew the heartache. I knew the frustration of getting a diagnosis and how long it takes to get services,” Straw said. “And how few services there are.”
Straw’s stepdaughter, Joycelyn, is 22 and lives independently with an assistant in Springfield. Joycelyn was 4 when Straw became her stepmother.
Straw said she thought something was wrong, but she didn’t quite know what. Joycelyn was diagnosed at age 10.
“She is high-functioning now,” Straw said. “But if she had been diagnosed earlier, she could be a taxpayer instead of a person receiving benefits.”
Treatment options
Peter Wagoner, father of Anthony and Vernon, said both boys received early diagnoses. But what has really helped, he said, has been the one-on-one time with trained professionals at the Judevine center.
“They are both doing a lot of things I was told they wouldn’t be able to do,” Wagoner said. “Anthony is riding a bike, and Vernon is learning Spanish.”
He said Judevine employees taught him a number of strategies for dealing with his sons. Anthony, for instance, requires eye contact for conversations to stick.
“When I need to get his attention, I look directly in his eyes,” Wagoner said.
McCormick, the training coordinator, said the Southwest Missouri chapter of the Judevine Center for Autism has served almost 1,400 families in a 24-county area since its inception in 1995. Employees use a parent-training model as part of their work.
“We aren’t with children like parents are, 24/7,” McCormick said. “Mainly we go into homes and train parents on how to interact with their child.”
The amount of attention being paid to autistic children is encouraging, she said. The program is financed by a state grant.
“More money will allow us to hire more staff and train more families,” McCormick said. “We have quite a waiting list.”
Candy Kelly, of Joplin, said she was happy to hear that one of the committee’s recommendations calls for schools to increase the amount of applied behavioral analysis, a method of one-on-one treatment. Her adopted son, Brennen, is autistic.
“I know it is cost-prohibitive, but I wish schools would do more intensive ABA,” Kelly said. “That’s the way he learns best.”
Straw said she knows that all the goals will not be adopted this year.
“This is just a beginning,” she said. “With the commission, we can start feeding these recommendations through a little bit at a time.”


On the Net

The full list of recommendations from the Blue Ribbon Panel on Autism may be viewed online at http://dese.mo.gov.

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