Pilot program to help students with autism under way at Forest Hills Central Middle School

Sharon Hanks

A teacher at Forest Hills Central Middle School who helped pioneer a group buddy system for students with autism says she's thrilled with the social advancements her special needs students are making.

In the program, 37 loyal, interested, nurturing and kind (LINK) students, volunteered to befriend their four classmates who have been diagnosed with autism. Individuals with autism, a developmental disability, typically have difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities.

The LINK 7th and 8th graders were asked to help their new-found friends bridge communication gaps by keeping a watchful eye over their social encounters and offering peer-to-peer support for them as they attempt to engage in classroom, lunchroom or other activities, such playing games or making puzzles.

Teacher Kay Wood says she is "tickled" with the results since the program was introduced in January. Not only have the social skills improved for students with autism, but the awareness and knowledge of the disability have also increased among the remaining 600-plus students enrolled at the school at 5810 Ada Dr. SE in Ada.

Instead of fearing lunch as a time of loneliness, students with the disability are now warmly welcomed at lunchroom tables and encouraged to join in activities, she says.

LINK students meet once a month to share problems and generate suggestions on how to be better friends with their classmates. "They're problem solving and learning more about how to approach them (students with autism).They feel they are doing something worthwhile in life," Wood says.

In a report issued last December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that the prevalence of autism has risen to a surprising 1 in every 110 births in the United States and almost 1 in 70 boys.

Source: Kay Wood, teacher at Forest Hills Central Middle School, Ada; website of the Autism Society

Sharon Hanks is innovations and jobs news editor at Rapid Growth Media. Please send story ideas and comments for the column to Sharon at [email protected]. She also is owner of The Write Words in Grand Rapids.