School for autistic students marks Autism Acceptance Month
Courtesy of Penn Highlands Regional Center for Autism
Nathan Riggin, left, a student at Penn Highlands Regional Center for Autism in Connellsville, Fayette County, works on a craft with toddlers Jimmy Mongel and Beau Banko from The Learning Lamp of Highlands Hospital, a day-care center, on Friday.
Isabella Dehnel, a student at Penn Highlands Regional Center for Autism, reads "The Rainbow Fish" to children from Learning Lamp at Highlands Hospital child care center on Friday. The schools were celebrating Autism Acceptance Month.
Aiden McGarrity, who attends Penn Highlands Regional Center for Autism in Connellsville, enjoys Kona Ice as part of the school's celebration of Autism Acceptance Month. The center held several events throughout April in recognition of the month.
Penn Highlands Regional Center for Autism in Connellsville provides dog therapy through Top Dog Therapy once a month. Here, Nathan Riggin, a student at the school, cuddles with one of the therapy dogs.
Luke Dixon, a student at Penn Highlands Regional Center for Autism, practices making a bed in the life skills classroom, where students learn daily living and independent living skills.
Jadyn Detwiler works on an individualized education plan at Penn Highlands Regional Center for Autism. The Connellsville school serves children with autism from Washington, Fayette and Westmoreland counties.
Courtesy of Penn Highlands Regional Center for Autism
Ellena Walters works on identifying punctuation using an iPad at Penn Highlands Regional Center for Autism in Connellsville. She uses the iPad to help her communicate. The school, which serves Washington, Fayette and Westmoreland counties, is affiliated with the Cleveland Clinic and is modeled after the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner School.
Students at Penn Highlands Regional Center for Autism in Connellsville enjoy some outdoor time while eating Kona Ice. The school is celebrating Autism Acceptance Month in April.
April is Autism Acceptance Month, and the staff at Penn Highlands Regional Center for Autism in Connellsville made it their mission to mark the month with a series of events to celebrate its students.
On Tuesday, students, many clad in tie-dye T-shirts (as part of theme week), spent some of their day jumping in a brightly colored bounce house.
Throughout theme week, they were treated to a Kona Ice truck, Eat ‘N Park cookies, wore their favorite sports team jerseys, and dressed up in wacky, mismatched clothes.
And on Friday, the kids from Learning Lamp Center at Highlands Hospital, a child-care center adjacent to the Center for Autism, visited for story time, where PHRCA student Isabella Dehnel read “The Rainbow Fish” before working on fish crafts.
“The students and staff had so much fun celebrating this month. We love being able to celebrate our students and their individuality,” said Rachael Conner, Director of Autism Services at the center.
The Center for Autism was established in 2010 to offer state-of-the-art educational and behavioral treatment to children with autism spectrum disorder in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The year-round program has grown from an initial enrollment of four students to 41 students from Washington, Fayette, and Westmoreland counties, and there is a growing waiting list.
“There definitely is a need. Autism rates are on the rise, and there are only a handful of schools for autism,” said Conner.
According to the most recent Centers for Disease Control report, released in March, 1 in 36 children has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder in the U.S., an increase from 1 in 44 children in 2018.
Fayette County has one of the highest rates of autism in the state.
Conner said there is room to expand at the school, which formerly was a Connellsville Area elementary school, but there is a lack of staffing.
“We’re not getting applicants for teachers and staff. Our goal is to open at least one more classroom, but staffing is our biggest problem,” said Conner.
The school is affiliated with Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital’s Center for Autism, and, like the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner School, uses applied behavior analysis (ABA), an approach that uses reinforcement to increase desirable behaviors in those with autism.
ASD is a developmental disability. The cause of autism is unknown, but research shows there are genetic and environmental factors that play a role. The onset is usually before the age of 3.
“There is not one type of autism, and no two students with autism are alike,” said Conner. “People with ASD often communicate and learn differently, not only from those without ASD, but also among others with autism.”
Because autism is so varied, the Center for Autism provides individualized education plans (IEPs) for students, so that they can interact with peers and participate in general education curriculum.
The wide-ranging curriculum includes teaching functional play, social skills, housekeeping and real-world skills, and academics.
Students receive a combination of speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, vision and hearing therapy at the school.
“Our ultimate goal is independence. The goal is for students to be able to do things independently,” said Conner. “We teach them a skill, we prompt them through the skill with the ultimate goal that they can do that skill independently, without needing supports. Someone might be working on colors, numbers, letters, while another student might be working on addition.”
The school houses a life skills classroom that includes bed, drawers, washing machine, and other items where students can work on daily living and independent living skills.
The center also provides weekly music therapy, provided by music students from Seton Hill University, and monthly dog therapy.
John Andursky, president of Penn Highland Connellsville, said the hospital “is privileged to offer families in Southwestern Pennsylvania this exceptional autism school.”
“We are staffed by some of the best certified special education teachers in the region who are dedicated to meeting the needs of their students so every child can feel successful,” he said.
The cause of ASD remains a mystery, although it’s generally believed to result from both genetic and environmental factors.
In addition to difficulty learning social and academic skills, many autistic children also have difficulty sleeping, eating and using the toilet.
Conner said the staff works with students’ families to reinforce ABA practices at home.
“Our staff is amazing. We have a phenomenal group of staff members that steps up and goes above and beyond with our kids,” said Conner.
Conner said it’s important for people to be aware of the early signs of autism so children can get access to services as soon as possible.
“It has been shown that early intervention for autism, or any delay, makes a tremendous difference down the line,” she said. “It’s important to get those services early.”
Until a cure is discovered, children with autism will always face challenges. But, said Conner, many master strategies to lead an accomplished life.
A 2022 graduate of the school – who spoke and read at graduation – now works there three days a week in housekeeping.
“His mom said that when he was little, she was told he’d never be able to read or talk, and there he was, cap and gown, speaking at graduation,” said Conner. “We teach life skills they need to know to be independent, and he started cleaning when he was a student here. Now, he cleans the whole building. That’s a win.”