SUCCESS STORY

Rauri

Now in his second and final year in Franziska Racker Centers’ Partnership Program, Ruari (pronounced 'Rohr-ee) exudes an air of confidence and charm. He is “socially very successful,” and has lots of friends says Special Education Teacher Alisa O’Bine. He has “lovely conversations,” and entertains both his peers and staff with stories and jokes. More than anyone in the classroom, “Ruari wants to follow the rules,” she states. It is hard to imagine that this is the same little boy who arrived at the Centers’ autism preschool classroom less than two years ago, aggressive and uncooperative, unable to communicate, and lacking basic social skills.

“I knew nothing about autism, but there were lots of signs that something was wrong,” says his mother, Nycol. “At age two, he would make excited vocalizations but did not know any words. He would line his toys up instead of playing like most other children, and wouldn’t make eye contact.” Ruari’s pediatrician recognized the possible symptoms of autism, and advised Nycol to contact the county’s Early Intervention Program. Based on the county’s evaluation, Ruari began to receive speech therapy, occupational therapy, and special education services at home. Nycol says that although many of the professionals who worked with Ruari at the beginning were “great,” there was no improvement until Partnership Program Director Dr. Karen Fried performed a core evaluation, and Ruari started receiving services through the Centers. The Centers employs the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA), an intensive, data-driven methodology whose success at helping many children on the autism spectrum is supported by a wealth of scientific evidence. According to Nycol, ABA made all the difference.

Sheryl Edwards, the Centers’ speech therapist who serves children in the Tompkins Partnership Program, began visiting Ruari in his home. She worked with him using a fundamental ABA approach called Discrete Trial Instruction, a teacher-directed, highly scripted method that takes a skill the child is learning and breaks it into small parts, initially using reinforcements to encourage repetition of the response. Soon, Ruari began to imitate sounds, actions and pretend play. Sheryl also began to make slow progress helping Ruari with a severe eating disorder resulting from sensory issues that are common to children with autism.

When he turned three, Ruari and his family were invited to join the Partnership Program classroom. At first, he would get so excited when he came to school that he would just run into the other children and tackle them, Alisa says. His inability to speak further hindered his success at making friends. Then just nine months ago, Ruari said his first word, “mama.” Sheryl states, “When it ‘clicked,’ his ability to communicate blossomed, and as his language skills improved, he gained some independence. As his classmates started to understand him and he learned how to ask other kids to play with him, he began to build friendships.” Alisa adds, “He didn’t understand social rules when he started school with us. The classroom has taught him all those things.”

Ruari’s dad, Bill, says his son started making significant progress within a month of coming to the preschool. “Early on, his mother picked him up after school every day,” he comments. “I began to come for him a couple of days a week, and initially he had a really hard time making the transition. The staff at the Centers suggested that I bring a small surprise for him that he would receive if the process went smoothly. It worked, and it wasn’t long before he didn’t need the rewards.” Bill notes that Ruari has learned how to cope with a variety of situations, and has overcome an extreme fear of snow and being near the water. “Now he loves to play in the snow, and he is learning to swim through the Centers’ program at Ithaca College. Ruari is a ‘rip,’ and he’s very popular,” Bill grins with obvious pride.

Next year, Ruari will start kindergarten with vastly improved cognitive, social, communication, and behavior skills. Acknowledging that he will still need some extra help, both the staff of the preschool and his parents feel that Ruari is well prepared to make the transition into a mainstreamed classroom. Nycol is a tireless advocate for her son and takes a very proactive role in his development, say the Centers’ staff. She makes it clear that she will pursue all available options to ensure that he is placed in a classroom with typical children. “The experience with the Centers has been so wonderful,” Nycol says. “Now that Ruari is on the right track, I don’t want anything to hold him back.”