Autism workshops offer families support

February 19, 2009 by Adelin Grema 

Center to promote knowledge, offer solutions

UNLV is becoming a center for progress in helping families living with Autism. The first Autism Awareness Workshop was held Monday, Feb. 9 and the series will continue through the semester.

 ”[We] offer the basic understanding workshop four or five times a year,” said Shannon Crozier, director for the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Project coordinator Heather Van Ness explained the workshops are classified into three levels of training.

“Level one is an intro class. That would be the Autism awareness class. The Fundamentals of Behavior is also an intro type of workshop focusing on behavior. Then there is a second tier of training. Those are intervention-specific trainings for kids on the Autism spectrum or kids that have inappropriate behaviors.” Upcoming level two classes include a choice-making workshop Feb. 21 and visual supports March 26.

“The third level of intervention is a five—week long training” Van Ness said, “and it requires three individuals including a parent or a family member to attend, in addition to a professional that’s working with the child with autism. 

Crozier explained, “The center, by providing this service to the community, I think then becomes a more integral and visible part of the autism community and the parent community in the Valley as a whole. It links the university’s name with parents and professionals when they think of where to go for information and resources.”

According to Crozier, “The workshops are provided through a grant the Center has received from the state, a program called the Fund for a Healthy Nevada.”

“If it is intro—level training we usually serve about 40 [attendees] per class,” said Van Ness, adding that intervention classes contain 20 to 40 people. “The team training [is] five weeks long. Because it is so intensive we max it out at 10 teams with three members, but we usually have three to five teams.”

According to Van Ness, the first two levels of workshops are free to the public. She added, “The fee for [the five-week intervention class] is based on income.”