April 1, 2024 • 36 mins
This week, we speak with Sarah Bass and Anna Storbeck. Sarah is the Mariposa Program Director, and Anna is the H.I.V.E. Program Director here at Beyond the Spectrum.
Together, we discuss how each of these programs addresses their individual students’ needs, what parents should be aware of as their children grow older, and their collaboration with local organizations, including DD’s Miracle Minis.
To share the impact of their programs, both Sarah and Anna share their favorite success stories. Plus, Anna touches on how businesses can make smart business decisions by hiring their students.
Updates:
April 16-23: AssistiveWare 50% off - assistiveware.com
April 24: Community Insight Series - Parenthood advice, guardianship, scholarship funding
May 22: Community Insight Series - Picky eaters
Timestamps:
00:00 Updates! Discount on AssistiveWare products & Community Insight Series
03:12 Introducing Sarah Bass - Mariposa Program Director and Anna Storbeck - H.I.V.E Program Director
07:20 How do you address the needs of your individual students?
09:50 Examples of outings in the H.I.V.E program
11:10 What should parents be aware of as their students grow older?
15:40 What are your favorite success stories?
19:51 Collaborating with other organizations
24:06 What should businesses be aware of when wanting to hire people with disabilities?
27:47 What should caregivers be planning as their children grow older?
32:00 What needs are you hoping to address as your programs grow?
Join us every month for a new episode of Helping Families Go Beyond. Visit beyondthespectrum.org for more information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Welcome back to Helping Families go beyondthe podcast by Beyond the Spectrum.
I'm your host, Lauren Carpenter.
And today we're going to be sitting downwith two guests, Ms.
Anna Storbeck from our HIVE programhere at BTS and Ms.
Sarah, our Mariposa program director.
So both of these lovelyladies have a huge impact on our school.
(00:22):
Ms.. Anna is our program coordinator
for a young adult programthat just launched last year.
And so she's very hands onwith our students
and helps them out in the communityand with their lessons.
And Ms..
Sara is our program director,so she oversees all of the classrooms
in their teachers, and she also overseesour early Learning Center program.
(00:44):
So she's working with those teachersas well,
and both of themhave a great deal of experience as they've
been a part of Beyond the Spectrumfor quite a number of years.
And they've also beenin multiple areas of the school.
So they're very well-roundedin their approach.
So before we get started, I did want tomake a few exciting announcements.
With Aprilbeing the month for autism acceptance.
(01:07):
I wanted to share some informationabout the company Assistive Wear.
This is a company that createsaugmentative and alternative communication
software for studentsthat use different modes of communication.
And from April 16th through 23rd,in honor of Autism Acceptance Month,
they're actually going to be offering
all of their communicate optionapps at 50% off.
(01:30):
And so this is a huge discountfor families that might still be in
need of apps like Proliquo2go.
Those are going to be 50% offand they're normally pretty pricey.
But so be on the lookoutApril 16th through 23rd.
It'll be a good dealfor families in need of that.
And then I also wanted to sharesome information about our Community
(01:51):
Insight series,which is led by our very own Dr.
Val And Ms.
Dawn Wisniewski who is our school’s BCBA.
They are both working really hard ongetting some information out to families,
and they've already plannedthe next two meetings.
So Wednesday, April 24th,
is going to be our next CommunityInsight series and they will be talking
(02:14):
about parenthood, advice, guardianshipand scholarship funding.
So we had some great turnoutwith our first two meetings,
and we've helped out over 15 familiesand we're happy to have them join us.
And we're alwayslooking to have more join us.
So if you would liketo share your information,
if you'd like to bea part of this meeting, feel free.
Contact us.
(02:35):
And the next meetingthat they're planning on will be in May,
Wednesday, May 22nd, and they're goingto be focusing on picky eaters.
And so I knowthis can be a common struggle
with some families,and we're going to be having our very own
occupational therapist,Kristen Bohan, from Building Beyond Basic.
(02:55):
She'll be making an appearanceat that meeting as well.
So feel free to keep in touchon her social media or get in
contact with us for more informationabout those meetings that'll be coming up.
It's a really exciting offeringfor families in need of information.
And now back to our podcast.
Well,thank you guys for joining us today. Ms.
Sarah and Ms. Anna.
(03:16):
If you guys could introduce yourselvesand kind of explain
your role here at Beyond the Spectrumand your experience with us.
I am Sarah Bass and I have beenwith the school for a little over
ten years now.
I started off as an assistantand became a teacher
and then became a director,and I now oversee
(03:39):
two departments, the Mariposa program
and the Early Learning Center Program.
I'm Anna Storbeck.
I'm the lead vocational coordinatorfor the Hive.
I've been heresix years, started as an assistant
and teacher in ELC, and then two years ago
I moved up to the hiveand now I'm with the young adults.
(04:00):
Awesome. Thank you.
Well, we're both happy that you're here
and if you guys could talk a little bitabout your programs,
maybe explain the individualsthat you serve in your areas,
what kind of subjects and skillsyou guys focus on with your classrooms
and your programs and the outcomesthat you hope for with your students?
So in Mariposa, we are ages
(04:24):
from 11 all the way to 22,
and in this program they are more.
They, the students need moreindividualized teaching, more one on one.
So they we still do academics,
social skills,life skills, communication, and
(04:46):
how to make the students as
independent as possiblewhile still teaching them and
helping themgrow in every area that they need.
Maybe they need a little bit of extra helpcommunication wise
so we can sit down and focus on thatmore one on one.
And if they need more academicsor maybe they're not ready for academics
(05:08):
still and they need to learn and workthrough behaviors first.
So we focus on all of thatand we utilize the Autism Helper
as a curriculumthat helps us in every different area
that we need all the way from socialskills, social studies, all the way
to functional reading and functional lifeskills, functional academics.
(05:32):
Awesome.
So it sounds like a good blendof education and functional things
that they can carry with themas they get older.
Correct.
And we want to makewe work really close with the parents
to see what they need helpon, how to make them
as independent as possibleand what helps them in the end of the day
(05:52):
to make thingsas successful here at school and at home.
Perfect.
The High's program standsfor Helping individuals
through Vocation and enrichment,and the name pretty much says it all.
We focus heavily
on vocational skillsas well as job skills.
(06:13):
We also have another classbeing our enrichment classroom.
Those are our students who reallythey won't be out in the community
all that much, but we still make it fun
and engaging for them to be herethroughout the day.
We do functional mass functional literacy.
Think of
like reading the labels,
(06:35):
reading nutritional facts,being able to count money.
Our main focus is making them,
giving them the skills to make their livesa little bit
more independent, and we want themto advocate for themselves.
That's a really a big goal forus, is let them step up and advocate
for themselves and really tell peoplewhat they want out of life.
(06:57):
Good. Yeah. Yep. That's awesome.
And I know you guys dolots of lots of outings in the community
and lots of cool partnershipsthat we'll talk about later,
which is an amazing experiencefor those adults back there.
Just being on the outsideand watching you both work.
You guys do really amazing workwith the students
(07:17):
and that was actually goingto be one of my questions
how you would addressthe needs of those individuals.
And I know, Sarah, you mentioned workingclosely with the parents and having
that kind of open communication to seewhat skills that they need personally.
So are there any other kind of waysthat you guys address
those needs and work with those students?
(07:38):
Any strategies or activities, any specifickinds of outings that you all do?
So as the students come in, we do
three placement tests a year that helps us
find out what levelthey're on to in our curriculum.
They may be in different levelsin each subject area,
(08:01):
but those assessments help us know whatwe need to teach them and where
where the areas of strengthare in the areas of weaknesses are.
And then that will better help us
implement the curriculum and instruction.
We also take in consideration of
in the classrooms,are they can they not handle noise?
(08:22):
So we try to put them in a quieterclassroom.
Maybe they have a little bitmore behavior,
so they need a little bitmore wine and wine.
Or maybe they we have a classroom that,
you know, some of themjust need a little bit of extra TLC.
So we're able to change chairs.
If we need to change chairs, we're able toif they can't.
(08:46):
Right.
We're able to use the iPad for them
to answer questionsand put things in place
when we
go out, please, as we look atwhat's beneficial for the students.
So if we take a trip to the park,what are we focusing on?
While we're at the park,We're focusing on staying with your person
(09:07):
that you can't just walk awayand not let that person know.
We're focusing on.
We have one studentthat might be a little scared of birds,
so we focus on, okay, we're here to helpyou get over this fear of birds,
but we're going to make sure
that we're keeping you safeand that you know that you're safe.
So that's what we work on a lotis what benefits the student.
(09:27):
And we're meeting them at their needs.
They're not meeting us at Army. Right.
And so it sounds like you can take
like one scenarioand make it fit each student, correct.
Their abilities. Awesome.
Yeah.
So we work with each student individuallyto help them focus
as best as they can and make their dayas most successful as they can be.
(09:49):
That's wonderful.
And so when we do our things,especially in the Hive,
we have a categorized once a week,so we go every week.
So one week it will be a fun outing.
We're just going to the parkand having fun or bowling.
Once it will be an educational outing,we'll go to the day.
(10:09):
We wish we could go to the dairy farm.
It's not open.
We want to go to the dairy farm we go to.
We went to various museums.
Every time you go, there's a lessonthat kind of goes with it.
A lot of our goalsare social interactions.
What is socially appropriate for you to dowhile you're waiting in the line?
(10:32):
And then we also do cultural experiences
and arts and crafts,like going to the ballet, going, painting.
And I think it's really importantfor students
to be exposedto all those different activities, right?
Because some of them don't knowwhat they're interested in
until they experience itfor the first time.
(10:54):
Right? Right.
Because they may nothave had that experience before.
And I think here Beyond the Spectrum,it's the perfect way
because they've got the instruction,they've got the lessons
and the staff on handto help them in those scenarios.
I think that's great for them.
So as you both are addressing the needsof the individuals in your areas,
(11:16):
are there any that you've
noticed that maybe parents aren't aware ofor are there any abilities
that students should haveas they become older and more independent?
And how can they work on those?
Are there ways that they can workon those abilities at home?
What have you guys noticedin your experience?
So we do workreally close with the parents and
(11:37):
I don't think that there is things that
we necessarily, the parents don't knowor that we don't know.
I think we communicate really well,so we kind of always know
what's going on as they get older.
One of the most important thingsis to teach them,
you know, safety and to teach them
(12:00):
how to be to make important
relationships, not just with your parents,
but with youryour circle of people that you trust.
So we're working with themto let them understand.
You have to trust, you know, trust us.
But teaching them who to trustand how to trust them and what's right
and what's wrong.
(12:22):
And so as they get older,we want them to be more independent
and we're teaching themhow to be as independent as possible.
And when we communicate with the parents,they say, okay,
we don't see this, do you see this?
And we go back and forth and that's howwe help them as they get older
and going through things and making surethat we're touching base on everything
(12:43):
to get to that point where they can liveas independent as possible.
It might even be something as littleas putting their shirts on hangers.
That can be a strugglefor for some of our students
and maybe those parents want the studentsto be able to hang their shirts.
So that's an independent thing
that we're working onand we're helping them work through.
(13:04):
Why don't they want to do that? Good.
Yeah, and I think a lot of peoplemay not realize
the things that instructorsand parents have to think about.
We take some things for grantedthat we can do so easily
that our studentsand our adults may not be able to do.
And so we have to remember that and bepatient and help them get to that point.
(13:30):
And meet them where they're at. Right.
I have a good example of that.
You know, our the Hives agesthere are between 17 and 26.
And I think as parents, mebeing one myself,
we get so used to doing stuff for themthat we never
really push them our own kids,we never push them that harder.
(13:51):
We just accept,okay, we're going to just be doing this.
And so when we focus on lives, on lifeskills, Will saying
one example iswe did being able to wash your clothes.
So we did all the steps.
This is what you need to do.
You need to fold it, put it in the washup in the dryer, hang it up.
(14:12):
You saw that We did all the steps, 1 to 6.
We send it home and we asked the parents,
Pleaselet your students help you with this.
They want to learn.
They want to learn.
And it's not always easy.
And it might take you a little longer.
But many parents really enjoy thatbecause it shows them
(14:34):
a different side of their own.
All their own kids.
I didn't know theythey would actually enjoy folding laundry,
you know, And as always, there'salways this skill somewhere in there.
You just just need to find the onethat they really enjoy
and focus on thatand then build from that skill.
Just build upand get more and more skills.
(14:55):
Yeah, that's wonderful.
I'm trying to thinkbecause even watching Scotty here,
he he's such a Scottyis such a different person at home.
But then I love seeing him herewhen he's kind of like doing his thing
and getting his lunch readyand watching his hands.
And it's like he's learningso many cool things here and
I just love seeing
(15:16):
how he can grow throughall the all the ways that lessons
can be personalized hereand how we can bring them home with us.
Because he's brought homeso many cool abilities from school.
And I just love being ableto watch that firsthand.
I mean, a lot of peopledon't think about the skills
that these students haveand the ways that they can learn.
(15:37):
So it's just greatgetting to see that every day here.
On that kind of similar topic,
what are some of your favorite successstories within your areas?
One of my favorite success stories,
as we had a student for the longest time,
he said he would spend everywhere,He would throw a spat, he would spit on,
(15:57):
you know, you'd take a spit,throw it on people, throw it on walls.
And you have to think about thatin the community.
If you spit on somebody and you'rewe're so we're trying to fix it. Why?
He's youngerbecause if he gets to adult age,
people don't understand that
he's not doing it to be malicious.
It's something that he's working throughthat we're working on.
(16:21):
So what we did when he was younger,we replaced that behavior
and we worked on it
and we found a way to get itto where she wasn't spitting anymore.
Now he's a teenager and he's not doing it.
And that's a big success, not only for ushere at school, but for mom and dad,
for their life, their quality of care,because they can't go to church. Why?
(16:45):
He's spitting on somebody.
They can't go to the grocery storeif he's spitting on somebody
or at the restaurant.
So for them, that's a big thingthat not everybody thinks about,
but we have to work on things like thatso that when they are adults,
people aren't misunderstandingtheir behaviors
as malicious because it's not a success.
(17:08):
So we're teaching them what's appropriateand what's not appropriate
on their level.
Right? Yep.
And I think a lot of people outin the community
that may not be exposed to the studentswe serve,
there will automatically assume thingsabout their behaviors.
And I think the root of it is it'san unmet need.
(17:28):
And so I think you guys bothdo a really good job
of addressingthose needs and fixing those things.
One of our success stories from the Highis obviously
our biggest goal is to get them to
hopefully one day be able to have a joband earn some income.
And one of our students was very excited
(17:49):
when he got offered the jobat a restaurant.
He's working about
two days a week, 3 hours a day,
so, you know,
about 6 hours a week that he worksand he's just loving it.
He is making money, he's saving his money.
He's adamant he's going to buy a house.
(18:12):
He is going to buy his car.
He's super excited about it.
And I don't think there's anything betterthan that.
As a parent, that's ultimatelywhat you want for your kids.
And it's just amazing to see that.
And I really hope we have a lot
more of those storiesthat we can share in the future to be.
(18:36):
Yes, our whole class now has jobs.
Hopefully.
Yeah. Yep.
And I rememberlike when hearing about that
and just being so excited for him,and I think my mom was talking to him
one day in the officeand the restaurant that he was working at.
She asked him, she was like, Hey,can you bring me back a pie?
(18:57):
Bring me back a pie while you're there.
And he was like, That's not my job.
It's so funny.
But it's greatthat he's out in the community
having that experience,and maybe he can even bring some of that
into the classroomand help the other students with that.
I think that's great.
Yeah.
And he's so proud about he'sso proud of his work.
(19:17):
He's coming in and telling us,I worked on Friday, I was on Saturday.
It was so busy or somebody gave me a Cokeor a Sprite or he loves it.
He just he loves coming in and tellingall these other friends about it.
And I think that's important, too.
Yeah, it's it's great for their confidenceand their self
esteem, too, especially as they learnthese skills here.
(19:40):
I think it really changesthe way they carry themselves, too.
So those are that's another great successthat comes from learning
the abilitiesis the confidence that comes with them.
And so when you're out in the community,when you're learning these skills,
how do you collaborate with other groupsand organizations
has to kind of broaden their horizons.
(20:02):
So we have a few community partners.
The hive goes out four days a week.
We are only really in schoolone day a week.
We have an amazing partnership
with Didi's Miracle Minis,which is a therapy farms.
We are her first groupthat she's ever had.
She's using us as her pilot program.
(20:24):
Phenomenal.
We go out there, they eachhave they each grab a badge,
they have activities on therethat they have to complete
and then they earn moneyto buy something at the store there.
And they absolutely love this.
Every time we go, you can just seehow much growth they make.
(20:46):
And when I talk about the activitiesthat they do, it's
raking leaves and putting it in a bucket.
It's sequencing,it's getting used to animals.
If you're afraid of them being ableto eventually have
the courage, be brave enoughto go up to that many horrors.
(21:06):
And even if you just brush it onceand sometimes that can take months
to get there.
But they are so they feel so accomplishedwhen they get there.
It's phenomenal to see
we hang up
towels a lot.
You know this that can go home,you can hang up cones at home.
It's such a phenomenal skill for themto how to have everything we do.
(21:29):
There is a skillthat makes them more independent.
We also go to mothershopping mothers Weekly and
the skills that they learnthere is on the job training.
They are learninghow to read wearing labels.
Where should it go?Where should I hang it?
Putting it on a hanger,putting pants on different hangers,
(21:53):
sorting items.
They can go into any retail job
by the skills that they learned there.
It's just so phenomenal to see them,
and most of them are now independent,working independently.
They are busy mastering those skills andit's just phenomenal to see it every time.
(22:14):
We also go to Bayside, where they havea lot of sequencing, we need
three papers, three white papers,
three blue papers, three envelopes,all of them going into the back seat.
So they're counting, they're sequencing,they are learning.
Okay, there's three people in my group.
(22:34):
I need to move three seats overjust so many.
One of the skills that they learnedthere is walking up stairs
where some of them that's hard.
It's it's such a fear.
Am I going to fall off the stairs
every day?
Everything that they dowhen we go out in communities
every day is just full of learning.
(22:55):
And I can tell you one thing,there's such a big difference
between when they're in class andwhen they're out there in the community.
They are exhausted after being out.
Burnt out.
I bet it's so there's so much input,you know,
it's different sounds different lightning,
(23:16):
different people.
We have to interact with that.That's a lot.
It takes a lotfor you to be in control of your body.
And that's just one hour,but it's always good.
We can never go back and say,no, this is a disaster.
It's always good.
They always learn something newand they grow on that skill
and they just learn more and more skills.
(23:38):
Right? Yeah.
And so like you were mentioning,Anna, about how
how some of the participants,how they're exhausted when they get back,
I mean, I would be too,if I were with them
because you guys are out like every daydoing awesome things in the community.
And when they're out doing those things,some of like the sensory input
(23:59):
and all of that can maybe make them
more tired than a neurotypical person.
But I'm kind of on that topic.
Is there anything that maybethe groups and businesses
that are in our areaor any business in general, is there
is there
anything that they should be thinking ofif they're wanting to be more inclusive,
(24:21):
if they're wanting to hire peoplewith disabilities,
Or do you guys have any suggestions on
how businesses can be more inclusive?
Honestly, at this stage I feel like
all I want to say is just open the door.
Just open the door and take a chance.
(24:42):
I feel a lot of businessesare maybe a little scared.
They don't know what to expect.
You know, it's it's the unknown.
And a lot of peopledon't like to step into the unknown.
However, it's been proven so many times,
especially studentson the autism spectrum.
(25:04):
They are phenomenal at their jobs.
And even, you know, Down syndromestudents, this is what they live for.
They live for that job.
They don't go out and party.
They don't go out.
You know, they almost never get sick.
They it's part of their routine.
So they're always there.
(25:24):
You can always count on them.
And most of them
will just
you you can't compete with thembecause they are such perfectionists,
yet they are just absolutely brilliantat what they do now, ever.
Businesses are too afraid to open theirdoors and say, okay, let me take a chance.
(25:45):
And I want to say just take a chance.
It can either work out or it canand is like,
if you reach out to somebody like us,we will come with you.
We will be there.
We will, you know,we can come and volunteer
and see what job skills they can learn.
We can come out once a weekor once a month
(26:06):
and you can see, Hey, is this goingto work for my business or not?
But a lot of I feel a lot of businessesdon't want to open the door
because they're so scared of the unknown.
And I get that if you're notin this industry, it can be scary.
Right? Right. And I also I think
kind of
piggybacking off what you said,I think it's also easy
(26:26):
for businesses to accommodateif they need to.
I think maybe if they have a new employeethat doesn't
like the fluorescent lighting,
they can turn it off for a few minutesor they can switch the lighting.
I think there's easy ways to make themfeel included in that workspace.
I also feel that often timesjust asking a question,
(26:49):
Hey, I see your closing your eyes.
Is there something wrong?
Oftentimessomebody can say it's too light.
I'll just slip off one set of lights.
Sometimes we just need to be open enough
to be willing to ask a question.
Right.
And I feel like our populationalways have somebody with them.
(27:12):
So you will always have somebody with themthat will tell you,
you know,why he wants to propose the lights?
Because, you know, maybe have sensitiveeyes, maybe it's headaches.
But if you don't
ask the question,how will you ever get an answer?
Right. Right.
And I think maybe paying attentionto those
kind of non-verbal communication
(27:35):
cues can help employers, too,by really paying attention
to their employees,I think would be a huge help.
And so as these adults in your areasget older,
are there any are thereany other processes that caregivers
should be getting started onor thinking about?
Is there anythingthey should be planning on
(27:56):
as they're as their children get olderand as they grow into their independence.
As as
the students get olderand they're getting closer to 18?
One of the most important thingsthat caregivers and parents need to know
is that they need to applyfor guardianship.
(28:16):
Guardianship takes a long time,
and it's something that sets your child,
your youngeradult up for them to be taken care of.
So as a guardianship,when you're when your child turns 18,
you want to make surethat you can still make those
(28:37):
decisions for them andnobody is going to take advantage of them.
You can somebody that doesn't.
That's for example, we had a parentthat didn't have guardianship
because she didn't know know fast enough.
And so she was still goingthrough the process
and he had an appointmentand they refused to see him
(28:57):
because he was 18and he could legally say,
yes, I want this appointment,I want this done.
So for parents,that guardianship piece is so important
because that is them taking care of theirtheir young adult, their child,
and making sure that they can still makethose appointments,
(29:20):
still do those things for them.
And they're not being taken advantage of.
They need to make surethat they're applying
for Social Securityfor them to help set them up
to where they have that that incometo help take care of their adult child.
Now, who is some may not be able to work
and some may be able to work,but that will help offset some costs.
(29:46):
So that's a big thing.
And then also, you know,most funding in schools stop at 22.
So then they have tolook what am I going to do with this?
What am I going to do at this point?
Are they going to continuegoing to an adult day program?
Are they coming home?
If they go home, do they have to
(30:07):
find a different jobto accommodate their future home?
Can this adult be left alone?
Can they not be left alone?
There's a lot of thingsthat parents have to think about
that we, as
you know, people on a daily basisdon't think about,
you know, making sure that ifif they can't afford adult day
(30:29):
programs, that they can figure out howand what they're going to do with them.
And a lot of adult day programs
are it it's
costs a lot or the ratio is very high.
There may be 20 adults to one caregiver.
And at that point, what is happening?
What care are they getting,what relationships with social
(30:52):
skills, life skills,what are they learning from that?
And so that's so important for our parentsto know that they have to find funding,
such as CDCplus that will help possibly pay
for funding as an adult med waiver.
And like I said, again, the guardianship,the Social Security, and just researching
(31:14):
what is important when they turn 18,because that's when things change.
Right?
Right.
So it sounds like there's a lotthat caregivers have to think of
and to plan for.
And I know we've hadwe've had guests speak at the school
and we're always addingto our resource guide, financial planners
and guardianship attorneysand advocates for those kinds of things.
(31:37):
And so overall,it just sounds like there's a lot
we have to plan for as our kids,as they get older.
And so withwith all the things that we think of
and all the things that we do aroundbe you on the spectrum
and in your areas of theschool and in your programs,
(31:58):
what are you
hoping to address through your programsas they grow?
Are you hoping to accept more individuals?
Are you hoping for a larger spaceto work in?
What needs are you hoping to addressas you guys grow?
Because I'm already seeingthe intake packets and the community
inquiries and everything, so I'mjust wondering what you guys are thinking.
(32:21):
We do.
We have a lot of intake packetsfor newer students
and obviously space is always a thingand with space
comes more studentsand comes more adults and more teachers,
making sure that we're hiringthe right people for the right population,
making sure that we're educating everybody
(32:45):
and we want our programs to growbecause the more it grows,
more individuals that we can touchand we can help and we can,
you know, helpbenefit parents that need that.
One of the biggest things
I would like to seehappen is having more community partners.
(33:06):
We can not expose our students
to all these different job areas
if we don't have businesses that open up
their doors and says, sure, comemy whole idea here,
let us see how you can
plan flowers, how you can work a register,
(33:28):
how you can work in a restaurant,how you can make movies with Disney.
Because we have students.
That's amazing at that.
We have amazing artists.
We need to have more community partners
that will give us the opportunity
to have onsite jobtraining for our students.
(33:50):
That is currently probablyexcept for space.
We need we need more space.
That's one of the biggest thingsthat's on my list.
We need more community partners
and in the future,I really hope as our community partners
grows, we have more job opportunitiesfor our students and
(34:15):
we would love to give training
to those employers
to make them more inclusive,and that might open a lot more doors
for a lot more jobs,even if it's not just students from betas.
We just want to do that.
We can create so much communityawareness and inclusion,
and I think it's one of those things onceit starts, I think it's going to spread
(34:38):
like wildfire.
Absolutely.So I'm ready to start that fire.
So it's start spreading.
Yeah, exactly.
I think awareness is a huge part of it.
And with April being Autism AwarenessMonth,
I think that's going to be a good monthfor us to kind of advertise our group
and get our name out there a little bitto show everybody what we're doing here
(35:01):
and so with all that being said,I want to thank both of you guys
for coming on todayand speaking with me on the podcast.
And I think you both have sharedsome really great information for families
and things that they can plan onand things that they can look out for.
And we do some great work here.
I see you guys every day with the studentsand I love watching them grow.
(35:26):
So I appreciate you guys taking the timeout of your days to do this.
Of course. Thank you. Of course.
No problem.
And also, March is Downsyndrome awareness.
So this is a good month, too,to bring this out and let people know
what's going on and open the doorsto that to that community as well.
(35:46):
Exactly. Yep.
March 21st are crazy sort day.
That is. Yeah.
Thankyou so much for joining us here today
at helping families go beyond the podcastby Beyond the Spectrum
for more resources or information, visitour website at beyondthespectrum.org.
Welcome back to Helping Families go beyondthe podcast by Beyond the Spectrum.
I'm your host, Lauren Carpenter.
And today we're going to be sitting downwith two guests, Ms.
Anna Storbeck from our HIVE programhere at BTS and Ms.
Sarah, our Mariposa program director.
So both of these lovelyladies have a huge impact on our school.
(00:22):
Ms.. Anna is our program coordinator
for a young adult programthat just launched last year.
And so she's very hands onwith our students
and helps them out in the communityand with their lessons.
And Ms..
Sara is our program director,so she oversees all of the classrooms
in their teachers, and she also overseesour early Learning Center program.
(00:44):
So she's working with those teachersas well,
and both of themhave a great deal of experience as they've
been a part of Beyond the Spectrumfor quite a number of years.
And they've also beenin multiple areas of the school.
So they're very well-roundedin their approach.
So before we get started, I did want tomake a few exciting announcements.
With Aprilbeing the month for autism acceptance.
(01:07):
I wanted to share some informationabout the company Assistive Wear.
This is a company that createsaugmentative and alternative communication
software for studentsthat use different modes of communication.
And from April 16th through 23rd,in honor of Autism Acceptance Month,
they're actually going to be offering
all of their communicate optionapps at 50% off.
(01:30):
And so this is a huge discountfor families that might still be in
need of apps like Proliquo2go.
Those are going to be 50% offand they're normally pretty pricey.
But so be on the lookoutApril 16th through 23rd.
It'll be a good dealfor families in need of that.
And then I also wanted to sharesome information about our Community
(01:51):
Insight series,which is led by our very own Dr.
Val And Ms.
Dawn Wisniewski who is our school’s BCBA.
They are both working really hard ongetting some information out to families,
and they've already plannedthe next two meetings.
So Wednesday, April 24th,
is going to be our next CommunityInsight series and they will be talking
(02:14):
about parenthood, advice, guardianshipand scholarship funding.
So we had some great turnoutwith our first two meetings,
and we've helped out over 15 familiesand we're happy to have them join us.
And we're alwayslooking to have more join us.
So if you would liketo share your information,
if you'd like to bea part of this meeting, feel free.
Contact us.
(02:35):
And the next meetingthat they're planning on will be in May,
Wednesday, May 22nd, and they're goingto be focusing on picky eaters.
And so I knowthis can be a common struggle
with some families,and we're going to be having our very own
occupational therapist,Kristen Bohan, from Building Beyond Basic.
(02:55):
She'll be making an appearanceat that meeting as well.
So feel free to keep in touchon her social media or get in
contact with us for more informationabout those meetings that'll be coming up.
It's a really exciting offeringfor families in need of information.
And now back to our podcast.
Well,thank you guys for joining us today. Ms.
Sarah and Ms. Anna.
(03:16):
If you guys could introduce yourselvesand kind of explain
your role here at Beyond the Spectrumand your experience with us.
I am Sarah Bass and I have beenwith the school for a little over
ten years now.
I started off as an assistantand became a teacher
and then became a director,and I now oversee
(03:39):
two departments, the Mariposa program
and the Early Learning Center Program.
I'm Anna Storbeck.
I'm the lead vocational coordinatorfor the Hive.
I've been heresix years, started as an assistant
and teacher in ELC, and then two years ago
I moved up to the hiveand now I'm with the young adults.
(04:00):
Awesome. Thank you.
Well, we're both happy that you're here
and if you guys could talk a little bitabout your programs,
maybe explain the individualsthat you serve in your areas,
what kind of subjects and skillsyou guys focus on with your classrooms
and your programs and the outcomesthat you hope for with your students?
So in Mariposa, we are ages
(04:24):
from 11 all the way to 22,
and in this program they are more.
They, the students need moreindividualized teaching, more one on one.
So they we still do academics,
social skills,life skills, communication, and
(04:46):
how to make the students as
independent as possiblewhile still teaching them and
helping themgrow in every area that they need.
Maybe they need a little bit of extra helpcommunication wise
so we can sit down and focus on thatmore one on one.
And if they need more academicsor maybe they're not ready for academics
(05:08):
still and they need to learn and workthrough behaviors first.
So we focus on all of thatand we utilize the Autism Helper
as a curriculumthat helps us in every different area
that we need all the way from socialskills, social studies, all the way
to functional reading and functional lifeskills, functional academics.
(05:32):
Awesome.
So it sounds like a good blendof education and functional things
that they can carry with themas they get older.
Correct.
And we want to makewe work really close with the parents
to see what they need helpon, how to make them
as independent as possibleand what helps them in the end of the day
(05:52):
to make thingsas successful here at school and at home.
Perfect.
The High's program standsfor Helping individuals
through Vocation and enrichment,and the name pretty much says it all.
We focus heavily
on vocational skillsas well as job skills.
(06:13):
We also have another classbeing our enrichment classroom.
Those are our students who reallythey won't be out in the community
all that much, but we still make it fun
and engaging for them to be herethroughout the day.
We do functional mass functional literacy.
Think of
like reading the labels,
(06:35):
reading nutritional facts,being able to count money.
Our main focus is making them,
giving them the skills to make their livesa little bit
more independent, and we want themto advocate for themselves.
That's a really a big goal forus, is let them step up and advocate
for themselves and really tell peoplewhat they want out of life.
(06:57):
Good. Yeah. Yep. That's awesome.
And I know you guys dolots of lots of outings in the community
and lots of cool partnershipsthat we'll talk about later,
which is an amazing experiencefor those adults back there.
Just being on the outsideand watching you both work.
You guys do really amazing workwith the students
(07:17):
and that was actually goingto be one of my questions
how you would addressthe needs of those individuals.
And I know, Sarah, you mentioned workingclosely with the parents and having
that kind of open communication to seewhat skills that they need personally.
So are there any other kind of waysthat you guys address
those needs and work with those students?
(07:38):
Any strategies or activities, any specifickinds of outings that you all do?
So as the students come in, we do
three placement tests a year that helps us
find out what levelthey're on to in our curriculum.
They may be in different levelsin each subject area,
(08:01):
but those assessments help us know whatwe need to teach them and where
where the areas of strengthare in the areas of weaknesses are.
And then that will better help us
implement the curriculum and instruction.
We also take in consideration of
in the classrooms,are they can they not handle noise?
(08:22):
So we try to put them in a quieterclassroom.
Maybe they have a little bitmore behavior,
so they need a little bitmore wine and wine.
Or maybe they we have a classroom that,
you know, some of themjust need a little bit of extra TLC.
So we're able to change chairs.
If we need to change chairs, we're able toif they can't.
(08:46):
Right.
We're able to use the iPad for them
to answer questionsand put things in place
when we
go out, please, as we look atwhat's beneficial for the students.
So if we take a trip to the park,what are we focusing on?
While we're at the park,We're focusing on staying with your person
(09:07):
that you can't just walk awayand not let that person know.
We're focusing on.
We have one studentthat might be a little scared of birds,
so we focus on, okay, we're here to helpyou get over this fear of birds,
but we're going to make sure
that we're keeping you safeand that you know that you're safe.
So that's what we work on a lotis what benefits the student.
(09:27):
And we're meeting them at their needs.
They're not meeting us at Army. Right.
And so it sounds like you can take
like one scenarioand make it fit each student, correct.
Their abilities. Awesome.
Yeah.
So we work with each student individuallyto help them focus
as best as they can and make their dayas most successful as they can be.
(09:49):
That's wonderful.
And so when we do our things,especially in the Hive,
we have a categorized once a week,so we go every week.
So one week it will be a fun outing.
We're just going to the parkand having fun or bowling.
Once it will be an educational outing,we'll go to the day.
(10:09):
We wish we could go to the dairy farm.
It's not open.
We want to go to the dairy farm we go to.
We went to various museums.
Every time you go, there's a lessonthat kind of goes with it.
A lot of our goalsare social interactions.
What is socially appropriate for you to dowhile you're waiting in the line?
(10:32):
And then we also do cultural experiences
and arts and crafts,like going to the ballet, going, painting.
And I think it's really importantfor students
to be exposedto all those different activities, right?
Because some of them don't knowwhat they're interested in
until they experience itfor the first time.
(10:54):
Right? Right.
Because they may nothave had that experience before.
And I think here Beyond the Spectrum,it's the perfect way
because they've got the instruction,they've got the lessons
and the staff on handto help them in those scenarios.
I think that's great for them.
So as you both are addressing the needsof the individuals in your areas,
(11:16):
are there any that you've
noticed that maybe parents aren't aware ofor are there any abilities
that students should haveas they become older and more independent?
And how can they work on those?
Are there ways that they can workon those abilities at home?
What have you guys noticedin your experience?
So we do workreally close with the parents and
(11:37):
I don't think that there is things that
we necessarily, the parents don't knowor that we don't know.
I think we communicate really well,so we kind of always know
what's going on as they get older.
One of the most important thingsis to teach them,
you know, safety and to teach them
(12:00):
how to be to make important
relationships, not just with your parents,
but with youryour circle of people that you trust.
So we're working with themto let them understand.
You have to trust, you know, trust us.
But teaching them who to trustand how to trust them and what's right
and what's wrong.
(12:22):
And so as they get older,we want them to be more independent
and we're teaching themhow to be as independent as possible.
And when we communicate with the parents,they say, okay,
we don't see this, do you see this?
And we go back and forth and that's howwe help them as they get older
and going through things and making surethat we're touching base on everything
(12:43):
to get to that point where they can liveas independent as possible.
It might even be something as littleas putting their shirts on hangers.
That can be a strugglefor for some of our students
and maybe those parents want the studentsto be able to hang their shirts.
So that's an independent thing
that we're working onand we're helping them work through.
(13:04):
Why don't they want to do that? Good.
Yeah, and I think a lot of peoplemay not realize
the things that instructorsand parents have to think about.
We take some things for grantedthat we can do so easily
that our studentsand our adults may not be able to do.
And so we have to remember that and bepatient and help them get to that point.
(13:30):
And meet them where they're at. Right.
I have a good example of that.
You know, our the Hives agesthere are between 17 and 26.
And I think as parents, mebeing one myself,
we get so used to doing stuff for themthat we never
really push them our own kids,we never push them that harder.
(13:51):
We just accept,okay, we're going to just be doing this.
And so when we focus on lives, on lifeskills, Will saying
one example iswe did being able to wash your clothes.
So we did all the steps.
This is what you need to do.
You need to fold it, put it in the washup in the dryer, hang it up.
(14:12):
You saw that We did all the steps, 1 to 6.
We send it home and we asked the parents,
Pleaselet your students help you with this.
They want to learn.
They want to learn.
And it's not always easy.
And it might take you a little longer.
But many parents really enjoy thatbecause it shows them
(14:34):
a different side of their own.
All their own kids.
I didn't know theythey would actually enjoy folding laundry,
you know, And as always, there'salways this skill somewhere in there.
You just just need to find the onethat they really enjoy
and focus on thatand then build from that skill.
Just build upand get more and more skills.
(14:55):
Yeah, that's wonderful.
I'm trying to thinkbecause even watching Scotty here,
he he's such a Scottyis such a different person at home.
But then I love seeing him herewhen he's kind of like doing his thing
and getting his lunch readyand watching his hands.
And it's like he's learningso many cool things here and
I just love seeing
(15:16):
how he can grow throughall the all the ways that lessons
can be personalized hereand how we can bring them home with us.
Because he's brought homeso many cool abilities from school.
And I just love being ableto watch that firsthand.
I mean, a lot of peopledon't think about the skills
that these students haveand the ways that they can learn.
(15:37):
So it's just greatgetting to see that every day here.
On that kind of similar topic,
what are some of your favorite successstories within your areas?
One of my favorite success stories,
as we had a student for the longest time,
he said he would spend everywhere,He would throw a spat, he would spit on,
(15:57):
you know, you'd take a spit,throw it on people, throw it on walls.
And you have to think about thatin the community.
If you spit on somebody and you'rewe're so we're trying to fix it. Why?
He's youngerbecause if he gets to adult age,
people don't understand that
he's not doing it to be malicious.
It's something that he's working throughthat we're working on.
(16:21):
So what we did when he was younger,we replaced that behavior
and we worked on it
and we found a way to get itto where she wasn't spitting anymore.
Now he's a teenager and he's not doing it.
And that's a big success, not only for ushere at school, but for mom and dad,
for their life, their quality of care,because they can't go to church. Why?
(16:45):
He's spitting on somebody.
They can't go to the grocery storeif he's spitting on somebody
or at the restaurant.
So for them, that's a big thingthat not everybody thinks about,
but we have to work on things like thatso that when they are adults,
people aren't misunderstandingtheir behaviors
as malicious because it's not a success.
(17:08):
So we're teaching them what's appropriateand what's not appropriate
on their level.
Right? Yep.
And I think a lot of people outin the community
that may not be exposed to the studentswe serve,
there will automatically assume thingsabout their behaviors.
And I think the root of it is it'san unmet need.
(17:28):
And so I think you guys bothdo a really good job
of addressingthose needs and fixing those things.
One of our success stories from the Highis obviously
our biggest goal is to get them to
hopefully one day be able to have a joband earn some income.
And one of our students was very excited
(17:49):
when he got offered the jobat a restaurant.
He's working about
two days a week, 3 hours a day,
so, you know,
about 6 hours a week that he worksand he's just loving it.
He is making money, he's saving his money.
He's adamant he's going to buy a house.
(18:12):
He is going to buy his car.
He's super excited about it.
And I don't think there's anything betterthan that.
As a parent, that's ultimatelywhat you want for your kids.
And it's just amazing to see that.
And I really hope we have a lot
more of those storiesthat we can share in the future to be.
(18:36):
Yes, our whole class now has jobs.
Hopefully.
Yeah. Yep.
And I rememberlike when hearing about that
and just being so excited for him,and I think my mom was talking to him
one day in the officeand the restaurant that he was working at.
She asked him, she was like, Hey,can you bring me back a pie?
(18:57):
Bring me back a pie while you're there.
And he was like, That's not my job.
It's so funny.
But it's greatthat he's out in the community
having that experience,and maybe he can even bring some of that
into the classroomand help the other students with that.
I think that's great.
Yeah.
And he's so proud about he'sso proud of his work.
(19:17):
He's coming in and telling us,I worked on Friday, I was on Saturday.
It was so busy or somebody gave me a Cokeor a Sprite or he loves it.
He just he loves coming in and tellingall these other friends about it.
And I think that's important, too.
Yeah, it's it's great for their confidenceand their self
esteem, too, especially as they learnthese skills here.
(19:40):
I think it really changesthe way they carry themselves, too.
So those are that's another great successthat comes from learning
the abilitiesis the confidence that comes with them.
And so when you're out in the community,when you're learning these skills,
how do you collaborate with other groupsand organizations
has to kind of broaden their horizons.
(20:02):
So we have a few community partners.
The hive goes out four days a week.
We are only really in schoolone day a week.
We have an amazing partnership
with Didi's Miracle Minis,which is a therapy farms.
We are her first groupthat she's ever had.
She's using us as her pilot program.
(20:24):
Phenomenal.
We go out there, they eachhave they each grab a badge,
they have activities on therethat they have to complete
and then they earn moneyto buy something at the store there.
And they absolutely love this.
Every time we go, you can just seehow much growth they make.
(20:46):
And when I talk about the activitiesthat they do, it's
raking leaves and putting it in a bucket.
It's sequencing,it's getting used to animals.
If you're afraid of them being ableto eventually have
the courage, be brave enoughto go up to that many horrors.
(21:06):
And even if you just brush it onceand sometimes that can take months
to get there.
But they are so they feel so accomplishedwhen they get there.
It's phenomenal to see
we hang up
towels a lot.
You know this that can go home,you can hang up cones at home.
It's such a phenomenal skill for themto how to have everything we do.
(21:29):
There is a skillthat makes them more independent.
We also go to mothershopping mothers Weekly and
the skills that they learnthere is on the job training.
They are learninghow to read wearing labels.
Where should it go?Where should I hang it?
Putting it on a hanger,putting pants on different hangers,
(21:53):
sorting items.
They can go into any retail job
by the skills that they learned there.
It's just so phenomenal to see them,
and most of them are now independent,working independently.
They are busy mastering those skills andit's just phenomenal to see it every time.
(22:14):
We also go to Bayside, where they havea lot of sequencing, we need
three papers, three white papers,
three blue papers, three envelopes,all of them going into the back seat.
So they're counting, they're sequencing,they are learning.
Okay, there's three people in my group.
(22:34):
I need to move three seats overjust so many.
One of the skills that they learnedthere is walking up stairs
where some of them that's hard.
It's it's such a fear.
Am I going to fall off the stairs
every day?
Everything that they dowhen we go out in communities
every day is just full of learning.
(22:55):
And I can tell you one thing,there's such a big difference
between when they're in class andwhen they're out there in the community.
They are exhausted after being out.
Burnt out.
I bet it's so there's so much input,you know,
it's different sounds different lightning,
(23:16):
different people.
We have to interact with that.That's a lot.
It takes a lotfor you to be in control of your body.
And that's just one hour,but it's always good.
We can never go back and say,no, this is a disaster.
It's always good.
They always learn something newand they grow on that skill
and they just learn more and more skills.
(23:38):
Right? Yeah.
And so like you were mentioning,Anna, about how
how some of the participants,how they're exhausted when they get back,
I mean, I would be too,if I were with them
because you guys are out like every daydoing awesome things in the community.
And when they're out doing those things,some of like the sensory input
(23:59):
and all of that can maybe make them
more tired than a neurotypical person.
But I'm kind of on that topic.
Is there anything that maybethe groups and businesses
that are in our areaor any business in general, is there
is there
anything that they should be thinking ofif they're wanting to be more inclusive,
(24:21):
if they're wanting to hire peoplewith disabilities,
Or do you guys have any suggestions on
how businesses can be more inclusive?
Honestly, at this stage I feel like
all I want to say is just open the door.
Just open the door and take a chance.
(24:42):
I feel a lot of businessesare maybe a little scared.
They don't know what to expect.
You know, it's it's the unknown.
And a lot of peopledon't like to step into the unknown.
However, it's been proven so many times,
especially studentson the autism spectrum.
(25:04):
They are phenomenal at their jobs.
And even, you know, Down syndromestudents, this is what they live for.
They live for that job.
They don't go out and party.
They don't go out.
You know, they almost never get sick.
They it's part of their routine.
So they're always there.
(25:24):
You can always count on them.
And most of them
will just
you you can't compete with thembecause they are such perfectionists,
yet they are just absolutely brilliantat what they do now, ever.
Businesses are too afraid to open theirdoors and say, okay, let me take a chance.
(25:45):
And I want to say just take a chance.
It can either work out or it canand is like,
if you reach out to somebody like us,we will come with you.
We will be there.
We will, you know,we can come and volunteer
and see what job skills they can learn.
We can come out once a weekor once a month
(26:06):
and you can see, Hey, is this goingto work for my business or not?
But a lot of I feel a lot of businessesdon't want to open the door
because they're so scared of the unknown.
And I get that if you're notin this industry, it can be scary.
Right? Right. And I also I think
kind of
piggybacking off what you said,I think it's also easy
(26:26):
for businesses to accommodateif they need to.
I think maybe if they have a new employeethat doesn't
like the fluorescent lighting,
they can turn it off for a few minutesor they can switch the lighting.
I think there's easy ways to make themfeel included in that workspace.
I also feel that often timesjust asking a question,
(26:49):
Hey, I see your closing your eyes.
Is there something wrong?
Oftentimessomebody can say it's too light.
I'll just slip off one set of lights.
Sometimes we just need to be open enough
to be willing to ask a question.
Right.
And I feel like our populationalways have somebody with them.
(27:12):
So you will always have somebody with themthat will tell you,
you know,why he wants to propose the lights?
Because, you know, maybe have sensitiveeyes, maybe it's headaches.
But if you don't
ask the question,how will you ever get an answer?
Right. Right.
And I think maybe paying attentionto those
kind of non-verbal communication
(27:35):
cues can help employers, too,by really paying attention
to their employees,I think would be a huge help.
And so as these adults in your areasget older,
are there any are thereany other processes that caregivers
should be getting started onor thinking about?
Is there anythingthey should be planning on
(27:56):
as they're as their children get olderand as they grow into their independence.
As as
the students get olderand they're getting closer to 18?
One of the most important thingsthat caregivers and parents need to know
is that they need to applyfor guardianship.
(28:16):
Guardianship takes a long time,
and it's something that sets your child,
your youngeradult up for them to be taken care of.
So as a guardianship,when you're when your child turns 18,
you want to make surethat you can still make those
(28:37):
decisions for them andnobody is going to take advantage of them.
You can somebody that doesn't.
That's for example, we had a parentthat didn't have guardianship
because she didn't know know fast enough.
And so she was still goingthrough the process
and he had an appointmentand they refused to see him
(28:57):
because he was 18and he could legally say,
yes, I want this appointment,I want this done.
So for parents,that guardianship piece is so important
because that is them taking care of theirtheir young adult, their child,
and making sure that they can still makethose appointments,
(29:20):
still do those things for them.
And they're not being taken advantage of.
They need to make surethat they're applying
for Social Securityfor them to help set them up
to where they have that that incometo help take care of their adult child.
Now, who is some may not be able to work
and some may be able to work,but that will help offset some costs.
(29:46):
So that's a big thing.
And then also, you know,most funding in schools stop at 22.
So then they have tolook what am I going to do with this?
What am I going to do at this point?
Are they going to continuegoing to an adult day program?
Are they coming home?
If they go home, do they have to
(30:07):
find a different jobto accommodate their future home?
Can this adult be left alone?
Can they not be left alone?
There's a lot of thingsthat parents have to think about
that we, as
you know, people on a daily basisdon't think about,
you know, making sure that ifif they can't afford adult day
(30:29):
programs, that they can figure out howand what they're going to do with them.
And a lot of adult day programs
are it it's
costs a lot or the ratio is very high.
There may be 20 adults to one caregiver.
And at that point, what is happening?
What care are they getting,what relationships with social
(30:52):
skills, life skills,what are they learning from that?
And so that's so important for our parentsto know that they have to find funding,
such as CDCplus that will help possibly pay
for funding as an adult med waiver.
And like I said, again, the guardianship,the Social Security, and just researching
(31:14):
what is important when they turn 18,because that's when things change.
Right?
Right.
So it sounds like there's a lotthat caregivers have to think of
and to plan for.
And I know we've hadwe've had guests speak at the school
and we're always addingto our resource guide, financial planners
and guardianship attorneysand advocates for those kinds of things.
(31:37):
And so overall,it just sounds like there's a lot
we have to plan for as our kids,as they get older.
And so withwith all the things that we think of
and all the things that we do aroundbe you on the spectrum
and in your areas of theschool and in your programs,
(31:58):
what are you
hoping to address through your programsas they grow?
Are you hoping to accept more individuals?
Are you hoping for a larger spaceto work in?
What needs are you hoping to addressas you guys grow?
Because I'm already seeingthe intake packets and the community
inquiries and everything, so I'mjust wondering what you guys are thinking.
(32:21):
We do.
We have a lot of intake packetsfor newer students
and obviously space is always a thingand with space
comes more studentsand comes more adults and more teachers,
making sure that we're hiringthe right people for the right population,
making sure that we're educating everybody
(32:45):
and we want our programs to growbecause the more it grows,
more individuals that we can touchand we can help and we can,
you know, helpbenefit parents that need that.
One of the biggest things
I would like to seehappen is having more community partners.
(33:06):
We can not expose our students
to all these different job areas
if we don't have businesses that open up
their doors and says, sure, comemy whole idea here,
let us see how you can
plan flowers, how you can work a register,
(33:28):
how you can work in a restaurant,how you can make movies with Disney.
Because we have students.
That's amazing at that.
We have amazing artists.
We need to have more community partners
that will give us the opportunity
to have onsite jobtraining for our students.
(33:50):
That is currently probablyexcept for space.
We need we need more space.
That's one of the biggest thingsthat's on my list.
We need more community partners
and in the future,I really hope as our community partners
grows, we have more job opportunitiesfor our students and
(34:15):
we would love to give training
to those employers
to make them more inclusive,and that might open a lot more doors
for a lot more jobs,even if it's not just students from betas.
We just want to do that.
We can create so much communityawareness and inclusion,
and I think it's one of those things onceit starts, I think it's going to spread
(34:38):
like wildfire.
Absolutely.So I'm ready to start that fire.
So it's start spreading.
Yeah, exactly.
I think awareness is a huge part of it.
And with April being Autism AwarenessMonth,
I think that's going to be a good monthfor us to kind of advertise our group
and get our name out there a little bitto show everybody what we're doing here
(35:01):
and so with all that being said,I want to thank both of you guys
for coming on todayand speaking with me on the podcast.
And I think you both have sharedsome really great information for families
and things that they can plan onand things that they can look out for.
And we do some great work here.
I see you guys every day with the studentsand I love watching them grow.
(35:26):
So I appreciate you guys taking the timeout of your days to do this.
Of course. Thank you. Of course.
No problem.
And also, March is Downsyndrome awareness.
So this is a good month, too,to bring this out and let people know
what's going on and open the doorsto that to that community as well.
(35:46):
Exactly. Yep.
March 21st are crazy sort day.
That is. Yeah.
Thankyou so much for joining us here today
at helping families go beyond the podcastby Beyond the Spectrum
for more resources or information, visitour website at beyondthespectrum.org.
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