A special place for special needs

BY SHAYNA JACOBS

On a snowy afternoon, a Spotsylvania County school bus pulled off Interstate 95 and aides called for help to restrain a biting, kicking and punching student.

Michael Payne, a 15-year-old with autism, had slipped out of his harness and let out a desperate cry. Bus attendants struggled to control Michael while they waited for his father to arrive.

"By the time I got to the bus, Michael was surrounded by police and fire personnel," recalled his dad, Mark Payne. "We call him Houdini because he can get out of just about any restraint. He has no concept of danger."

The snowfall had overly excited Michael, but he's nonverbal and can't explain. Such outbursts happened too often on the two-hour, twice-daily bus ride to Matthew's Center in Manassas, a nonprofit, private special-education school.

Mark Payne had been called to the yellow school bus many times before because of Michael's behavior. The incident in March 2007 led to a meeting with Spotsylvania school officials to discuss other options for Michael, his father said.

But from Michael's worst meltdown on the bus came the seeds of the idea to bring a Matthew's Center school to the Fredericksburg area.

Ni River Community Church plans to build a campus in Spotsylvania, partnering with nonprofit groups, the county and social services agencies to house a variety of community support services, said Ken Wood, executive administrator of the church. The church has agreed to donate space there for a second site of Matthew's Center.

Ni River Church, which meets on Sundays at Courtland High School, already has a 28-acre site on Smith Station Road for its campus. Still, it could take a year or more to come to fruition as church officials seek county permits and money to build.

The addition of a Matthew's Center here would be life-changing for some local families whose children have autism.

Michael continued at the Manassas center until September, when he was placed in a residential school in New Kent County. Because Michael's strength makes it difficult to control him when he's agitated, Mark Payne, a single father of three, said he had no choice but to move his son.

AUTISM INCREASING

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The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act guarantees a free and appropriate education to children with disabilities. This means children have the right to an education that meets "their unique needs and prepare[s] them for further education, employment, and independent living," according to wrightslaw.com, a special-education legal advice site.

Public schools develop Individualized Education Programs for students with autism, and offer classes. In some cases, students can't meet their goals in public schools because they need smaller class sizes, more staff, a different atmosphere or a different teaching method. The IEP team, which includes school administrators, teachers and parents. decides when to place a student in a private school.

Private-school options for students with autism include Alternative Paths in Fredericksburg, The Faison School and St. Joseph's Villa in Richmond, and Matthew's Center in Manassas.

Autism is a disorder "associated with rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines," according to Autism Speaks, a nonprofit group.

"There are no effective means to prevent autism, no fully effective treatments, and no cure," but the therapies and training at certified schools such as Matthew's Center can give hope to children with severe autism.

There is no scientific explanation about the prevalence of autism, but the Centers for Disease Control is looking into it, said Autism Society of America spokeswoman Marguerite Colston.

"Some of it's better diagnosis. Currently research is being done into environmental links," Colston said.

autismspeaks.org autism-society.org matthewscenter.org

Here are some of the more common signs of autism. They may vary widely among people.

Difficulty in learning language.

Inappropriate response to people or other children. A child with autism may avoid eye contact, resist being touched, and seem to tune out the world.

Need for a rigid, highly structured routine, and being very distressed by changes in routine.

Repetitive body movements including pacing, hand flicking, twisting, spinning, rocking or hitting oneself.

Impulsive behavior and no real fear of dangers.

Abnormal responses to sensations such as light, sound and touch. At times an autistic child may appear deaf. At other times the child may be extremely distressed by everyday noises.

Some of these symptoms occur in children with other disabilities. Symptoms can change as the child grows older.

Date published: 11/9/2008

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