For Sara... and NYC moms.. of interest

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Registered: 04-07-2003
For Sara... and NYC moms.. of interest
Sun, 05-20-2007 - 10:55pm


This is for the NYC moms.. I am sure you mightknow of this program.. if not maybe the mom and the program director can guide you for your needs..
Rina

Editors note: With gratitude to Dorothy Siegel, the project director of this program. A bright, tenacious former NYC board of education member with special interest in our population knew that this could work and how it could work! Special classes are given at Hunter College under the direction of Professor Shirley Cohen for the incoming teaching staff to bolster their skills and knowledge about ASDs.

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/education/2007/05/20/2007-05-20_rain_man_regular_kids_getting_along_just-1.html
Rain Man, regular kids getting along just fine

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BY HEIDI EVANS
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Sunday, May 20th 2007, 4:00 AM

Anthony Almonte, 6, is a whiz at reciting the stops on city subway lines.

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Dylan Colontonio, 6, works in his "private office" with Karen Engle, the special education teacher.

Anthony Almonte is the little Rain Man of the city subway system. Only 6, he can tell you the route of every train from the Bronx to Coney Island, and all the stops in between.

"My favorite train is the No. 1 because it was my first train to ride," Almonte said as he called out the stops.

"Fourteenth St.! 18th St.! 23rd St.! 28! 34 - Change for the 2 and 3 express! Times Square-42nd St., transfer to the 7 ..."

What the doe-eyed whiz kid can't do easily is make friends or conversation with classmates, handle loud noises or easily coordinate the thought and physical movements it takes to pack up at the end of a school day.

These are some of the hallmark signs of kids who have been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of high-functioning autism.

Asperger children typically perform well in school, yet they are often loners, given to long, one-sided conversations about their special interests.

But Anthony and 15 kids like him are showing extraordinary progress at Public School 112 in East Harlem. The school has won national recognition for its work with special-needs kids, including a program that puts kids with ASD - Autism Spectrum Disorder - in the same class with other students.

"Four years ago, we had zero programs, zero classes," said Dorothy Siegel, who helped the city Education Department create the first collaborative "Nest" program for autistic kids in 2003. Come September, the program will be available to 200 kids.

Siegel, the project director at New York University's Institute for Education and Social Policy, said as many as 2,000 kids eventually could benefit from the program, once it's implemented across the city.

On a recent visit to PS 112, first-grader Dylan Colontonio sat in his "private office," hard at work on his new word list and an essay. Like most ASD children he can be easily distracted when there is too much activity nearby.

So occupational therapist Christine Linkie designed "an office" in the boy's classroom, so Dylan could have a separate work space. A desk and chair surrounded by a plain three-sided poster board give him a calm visual space to work in. Best of all, Dylan's classmates think he and his office are cool.

"The program has benefited all 350 children in the school," Principal Eileen Reiter said. "The Asperger kids have made tremendous academic progress and are learning to have friends, to share, do all the things they will need to succeed when they are older. It's a joy to see."

hevans@nydailynews.com