Program ‘Aspires’ to enhance learning for autistic children in local schools

By: Stephanie Prokop
   MANSFIELD — Mansfield Township School District is receiving a $500,000 state grant that will be used to develop resources that allow students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to learn closer to home.
   Assistant Business Administrator Marlene Walls said that the grant is actually part of a $15 million statewide program that Gov. Jon Corzine has initiated titled Project Aspires.
   Superintendent Diane Bacher, "The grant unites Mansfield with Springfield, Chesterfield, New Hanover, and Beverly City school districts, and enables us to provide ASD students (ages 5-7) the ability to learn with their nondisabled peers."
   The Project Aspires program will be held at the John Hydock Elementary School on Locust Avenue in Columbus.
   Ms. Walls said that according to state statistics, the autistic population has doubled due to increased population in the area. Few districts had the resources to place the students within the district, and instead educated them outside in private school settings. Approximately 7,400 New Jersey children between the ages of 5 and 21 have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. Children with autism show delays in acquiring skills such as attention, communication, socialization, and motivation.
   Ms. Walls said the program is set to provide ASD students with a program in the district in which they currently reside, and also plans to join parents and students with the community to work together toward an extended school year program.
   "If there isn’t a program (for autistic children) in place in the district already, then the school district is required to provide a program, often with private schools outside of the area," she said.
   Ms. Walls said one of the benefits of the program is that the children will spend less time on the bus being transported out of the district and more time interacting with peers, and participating in after-school sports, and other recreational activities they had been missing.
   The program is undergoing development and the details of how many students from the northern Burlington County area that will participate in the program is unknown.
   "There’s actually a staff being hired just for this program, and the staff members will be made up from the five districts," said Ms. Walls.
   The grant money is set to come in April 1, and from there, Ms. Walls said, that once the money comes in, and the people are in place, then the curriculum will be worked out.
   "We are still trying to determine the needs in all five of our various districts," said Ms. Walls.
   The program is to begin in September for the start of the 2007-08 school year.
   Even though the grant money is only good for the one school year, Ms. Walls said, the districts plan to maintain the funding of the program.
   "Business administrators as well as the district superiors are going to working on finding funding to keep the program going, because it will be so worthwhile," she said.
   "By October 2007, the community should see its first newsletter communicating the success of the program to date," said Ms. Bacher.