Autism Speaks Official Blog

Once a month, the iSEE group, which included students with ASD and their neurotypical peers, went on an outing so the students could experience social activities and generalize their newly learned communication skills. One of the outings was to Fun-Plex, an amusement park with games and rides. After playing miniature golf and other games, they went on some of the rides. After riding the roller coaster, Ryan approached one of the staff members and excitedly exclaimed, “I’ve been having a great time with my friend, Calvin!” That was the first time Ryan had ever called anyone a friend, but it was not the last. During the remainder of the project, Ryan again referred to Calvin and a couple other students as friends. To the staff and Ryan’s parents, this was a major success. Ryan’s mother is ecstatic over the progress her son has made and has told school staff several times that he has grown as a result of the project and that she believes he will make further progress during the second year of the project.

At first, one of the students was resentful about being included in the project and participated only grudgingly. He felt his social communication skills were fine and needed no improvement. After having attended several workshops and a couple community outings, he voluntarily told a staff member that he had been wrong and that the project had in fact helped him. Before the project ended, he was more than willing to talk to other students.

In classes, several students have had more success both inside and outside the classroom. Before the project, one student had been reluctant to speak during class. By mid-way through second semester, his comments and questions had tripped. Another student began to smile, make eye contact, and interact more with peers and he seemed happier and more content. A third began to greet people first when walking between classes rather than ignoring them when they greeted him as he previously had been accustomed to doing. Another started taking more personal responsibility for his actions. Consequently, he had fewer and less intense outbursts and altercations. Most of the rest have increased their social interaction during the school day, sometimes seeking out others to sit and talk with.

Quotes by Parents of Students with ASD:

• “He (my son) has, on occasion, asked me how my day went, which he never used to do. He has made outreach to a couple potential friends.”
• “I have noticed him (my son) initiating social interactions. Instead of waiting for someone to greet him, he will come up and greet the person first. He is talking more…he has been more willing to share his thoughts.”

As the iSEE staff had anticipated, neurotypical peers participating in the project became more empathetic and gained an increased understanding of how to interact with peers with ASD. They also became much more aware of the difficulties students with ASD face and supported their new friends in social situations. For example, when a group of students not involved in the project were laughing at a student with ASD, one of the peers verbally defended him and told the students to stop.

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After hearing about a social skills program for students with asperger’s syndrome and high functioning autism being done by the Munroe-Meyer Institute of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the Millard Public Schools’ Autism Specialist thought it was something that could be adapted to benefit the school district’s high school students. The program was adapted and Millard applied unsuccessfully for a grant. However, the Autism Specialist was undeterred, revised the program based on the reviewer comments and reapplied. Voila, a much appreciated grant came through.

Millard’s goal was to help students in the district with AS and HFA improve their social communication skills as a way to improve the quality of their lives immediately and in the long term. Special Education teachers held weekly after school workshops where one neurotypical peer was paired with two students with ASD in Friendship Groups. The groups also went on monthly outings to places like a blowing alley, a snow tubing location, and an indoor water resort.  Sometimes progress seemed slow, especially when one or two students decided they didn’t want to participate because they believed they had good communication skills and when approximately 80% the students refused to phone or e-mail their peers because “we don’t have any reason to!” and because “nobody calls anybody anymore, they text or do Facebook.”

Even though the going seemed slow from time to time, there were obvious successes. One of the participants joined an after school club. A few students got together outside of group time to socialize. During the tubing outing when one of the students was injured, the other participants expressed empathy that they would not have earlier. Parents let the teachers know their children had shared information and had practiced reciprocal interaction with them. The Autism Specialist and other teachers continued through the project to hear positive comments from regular classroom teachers and parents about improvements the students had made.

Teachers felt the project warranted continuation following the close of the grant period because of the successes they had observed and learned about from others. Students were offered a free movie ticket so they could arrange an outing with a friend. Most were happy to receive the gift but one student refused it because he would be doing so under false pretenses. A week or so later, however, he approached one of the teachers to say he had decided who he’d like to see a movie with, named the movie and asked if it was too late to accept the movie ticket!

Since the close of the funding period, one of the students was involved in community service activities to the extent that he was nominated for a major United Way of the Midlands volunteer award in April…and he won one of the most coveted awards. This same student obtained his first job as a bagger at a local grocery store where he has been quite successful. Another student, the one who joined an after school club during the funding period, has continued his involvement. These and other success stories have resulted in the Special Education Department’s decision to not only continue the program, but to expand it to include more students.

Word of the project’s success has spread in the district and beyond. With assistance from the Autism Specialist, one of the middle schools modeled a successful program after iSEE. Soon after, a second middle school initiated a program and other middle schools are expected to follow suit. Representatives from many of the other 11 Omaha area school districts have inquired about the program and the Nebraska Autism Spectrum Disorder Network has invited Millard’s Autism Specialist to speak at next year’s annual conference.