Learning Opens Whole Worlds

Mon., Aug. 19, 1996

Elana Jefferson Staff writer

At 2 years old, Tyler Pratt still hadn’t gurgled his first words. “He had a lot of weird quirks,” says mom Karen Pratt. “He’d line up his toys in a really methodical manner. He’d stare at his fingers, slap his hands and spit in circles. My main concern was that he wasn’t speaking.”

For eight months mother and son bounced from one therapist to another until Tyler was finally diagnosed with autism.

The Pratts now receive biweekly visits from Stephanie Peck, a special education professor at Gonzaga University, and one of her graduate students. Among other things, Peck teaches Tyler how to communicate using sign language.

“He has tantrums,” Pratt explains. When Tyler wants something now, he signs “please” instead of throwing a tantrum.

Community work is something Peck requires of all her students. In her undergraduate course, Mainstreaming, students learn the federal regulations surrounding special education. “Most of the students are freshmen or sophomores and haven’t had a lot of experience with kids with disabilities,” she says.

“I saw how all the laws I was learning about in class were actually used,” says Gonzaga junior Jenner Fritz about the service learning she did in Mainstreaming.

This year, Peck’s students embark on a new project. They’ll present more than 70 performances of Kids on the Block, a skit using puppet characters with disabilities to educate third-graders about people with special needs. Meg Lindsay spent three years putting on Kids on the Block as a volunteer for the Junior League of Spokane. The puppet show gives children the chance to comfortably ask questions about disabilities.

“The kids in Gonzaga’s special education program are really going to learn so much from this,” says Lindsay.

To bring Kids on the Block to your school, call Stephanie Peck at 328-4220, ext. 3661. Or, if you have a community project and can use a Gonzaga University volunteer, call 328-4220, ext. 2224.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: Created in support of the Spokane County Health Improvement Partnership (HIP), Discoveries highlights people working to improve community health and well-being. If you have a discovery that deserves recognition, call Elana Jefferson at 459-5419. To get involved with HIP, call 487-2557.

Created in support of the Spokane County Health Improvement Partnership (HIP), Discoveries highlights people working to improve community health and well-being. If you have a discovery that deserves recognition, call Elana Jefferson at 459-5419. To get involved with HIP, call 487-2557.

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