by Wendy Seelbinde
I was asked to write an article about the ACED (Adult Continuing Education for Persons With Developmental Disabilities) Program; however, I thought it might be appropriate to start the article by writing about my son. After all, I wouldn’t be connected with ACED at all if not for my son. So, you will have to skip this part if you wish only to read about ACED.
I have a son named Erik who has autism. When he was 4 years old he often accompanied my husband and me when we were teaching American culture to university students from Taiwan. The students would call him Quirk. This was not because he had quirks, which he does, but because they could not fathom how to spell or pronounce his name. To the international students’ credit, they never noticed that he was different than any other 4 year old.
Most of you reading this article are familiar with others who do not understand autism. Why is your student making weird noises? Why does your student always follow a fixed routine? Why does your student sometimes appear to be deaf? How can he or she be fixated on one thing to the point of obsessive/compulsive? Why does your student say exactly what he or she thinks, without any thought that it might be inappropriate? Why does your student appear antisocial or have a hard time making friends?
On the other hand, without Erik I wouldn’t know anything about airplanes. I wouldn’t see things from a different perspective. I wouldn’t ever have tried to put a jigsaw puzzle together upside down and by memorizing the shapes of the pieces and not looking at the picture.
I never thought to tell him to pay attention to the teacher, rather than memorize all the announcements that came over the loudspeaker at the end of the first day of kindergarten. I wouldn’t have ever thought about learning to read and spell with accuracy by putting boxes around letters. I wouldn’t have all my spices arranged in alphabetical order and my photos labeled, placed in photo albums, and backed up on the computer. I wouldn’t have met all the interesting people I have met. I wouldn’t have learned to make plans way ahead of time. I wouldn’t have thought about offering a class in making friends or a class about bullying and teasing. I wouldn’t have become aware of the sounds, smells, and textures no one else can isolate from what most of us think of as “normal” or insignificant.
Finally, I wouldn’t have discovered the ACED Program. I was seeking something other than the typical college and related coursework that many high school graduates seek in their junior year.
ACED is a unique program that offers adults the opportunity to attend non-credit classes in an educational and social environment on a college campus. The ACED program is designed to teach independent living skills and provide life-enhancing experiences. ACED is offered by the UMKC Institute for Human Development, a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, MCC-Longview, and MCC-Blue River, with funding from the Developmental Disability Services of Jackson County-EITAS.
The program is not specifically for adults with autism but serves students with many types of disabilities. Is this program a “good fit” for your student? Each student is an individual.
What I can say is that our staff is made up of some of the most patient, resourceful, innovative, friendly, positive people I can find. And our students themselves are the friendliest, most accepting people in the Kansas City area. In an ACED classroom, one may find some or more likely all of the following strategies particularly suited for working with students on the autism spectrum.
Our teachers, teacher aides, and volunteers:
· Respect individuality
· Celebrate students’ strengths
· Model positive behavior
· Are generous with praise
· Offer choices
· Integrate team-building activities
· Develop engaging activities that incorporate students’ interest
· Include humor and fun in lessons
· Provide stretch/movement breaks
· Create opportunities for students to communicate needs, wants, and desires
· Offer mixed-level classes so students can learn from each other
· Create a nonthreatening, safe learning environment
The ACED Program offers a variety of classes and lessons, including music, acting, dancing, and interpersonal relationships. Many classes offer manipulative activities. Students can inform their peers that “yes,” he or she will be attending college after graduation. Does your student want something other than or in addition to classes? Ask about opportunities such as becoming a Teacher Aide, a member of ACED Student Council, or ACED Student Ambassador. ACED can be your gateway to other opportunities.
We have an exciting fall session with class topics such as cowboys, cartooning, sports, cooking, money management, dating, dance, orienteering, and even “Slimy Science.” We welcome input from participants and community members and are always looking for new students, as well as enthusiastic instructors and volunteers.
Current classes will be posted on our Web site by the second week of August at: www.ihd.umkc.edu/ACED/ You may also call or e-mail us to be placed on our mailing list. Contact me at seelbinderw@umkc.edu or call 816-235-1754. Check us out! You will like what you find!
Wendy Seelbinder is the ACED Program Director and Erik's Mom. ACED is on the search for new instructors who would like to share their hobbies with the program.
