'Agricultural specialisterne': rural employment revolution for those with Autism

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The last few posts have focused on rollerblading (in-line skating) / roller skating and the Autism Spectrum.

Stephanie Patterson, a certified professional figure skating coach and doctoral student focusing on intervention practices for children with Autism, has developed and delivered a modified learn to ice skate program for youth on the Autism Spectrum…

…Patterson established a “learn to skate” program in her native Calgary to get children and teens with autism out onto the ice along with family members, creating quality family time.

…Patterson, who has several years of experience as an in-home aide and interventionist, said that she noticed during her work in these arenas that many families of children with autism did not have positive experiences in trying to place their children in community recreational or sports programs.

“Several families just stopped trying because they had so many negative experiences coming into brand-new settings with new people,” she said. “It can be tough for kids with autism to adjust and adapt to having all those different aspects of the environment thrown at them, in addition to the demands of having to learn a new physical skill and participate in a group.”

The program in Calgary, which took place in a local community skating club, succeeded because it provided “the kinds of things you would see in specialized educational programs, but now in a sports setting,” Patterson said. These included “lots of visual supports, great adult volunteers, the use of token economies [and] the educational supports that you would see in a classroom.”

She added that the children’s academic and social skills were enhanced in the nurturing, inclusive environment.

“It is important to find community programs where kids with autism still have access to their community peers, but also have appropriate learning supports to learn and pick up skills within that setting,” Patterson said.

The social benefits of the Calgary program extended well beyond the children, she added.

“It became a family affair,” Patterson said. “Having everybody together [to] take part in something in the community was a really big deal for a lot of the families, who reported [previously] feeling kind of isolated, going from intervention to intervention and not being able to do something that’s just a regular community leisure activity.”

Here is a link to a video featuring the ‘Wish Upon a Star’ Autism awareness ice skating event at the Compton Family Ice Arena in Notre Dame, Indiana; the event featured Krista Kellner, a renowned skater who is on the Autism Spectrum (Krista’s coach, Elizabeth O’Donnell, is the one with the darker hair): WISH UPON A STAR: Performance With KRISTA KELLNER & ELIZABETH O’DONNELL - YouTube

(source: Helping autistic kids skate to health, happiness / UCLA Today)