Program focuses on autistic needs

NAMPA, Idaho – A routine fire drill at Reagan Elementary School is hardly routine for Nancy Amoguis’ class.

Amoguis specializes in teaching students with autism, and for her students, the squeal of the alarm and the rush to the fire exits has the potential to be overwhelming. She knows some students, unable to fully understand the situation, might panic.

But on a recent school day last month, Amoguis was prepared.

When the alarm rang, she handed out protective ear muffs to certain students, while calming others with a pat on the back as she moved them toward the exit. With the help of her assistants, she directed the students outside with oral and visual cues to remind them of activities they had practiced earlier in the week to prepare for a drill. As they stepped outside, painted footprints on the sidewalk led the students toward a safe place away from the school.

The drill went smoothly, and after about 10 minutes, the students returned to their class, where they were treated to cheese puffs and other snacks.

The fire drill offers a peek into how the Nampa School District’s special education program has adapted to meet the needs of students on the autism spectrum.

In past years, students with autism attended special education classes with other students with developmental disabilities. But special education teachers found that they were spending too much time juggling the needs of the various students; they realized that students with autism could be better served with a designated room and teacher.

This year for the first time, the district created “extended resource room” programs especially for students with autism – Reagan Elementary and Iowa Elementary. Each school has two resource rooms with teachers and assistants trained to work with autistic students, and each room serves about 16 students.

“Before we had a mixture of students, but this year I can focus on students with similar needs,” Amoguis explained.

In Amoguis’ class, she generally keeps the computers turned off and often dims the lights to calm her students. The room’s furnishings are simple and uncluttered.

What’s most noticeable, though, are the dozens of small pictures affixed to the back wall of the classroom. Because students with autism learn better with a lot of visual cues, their daily routines are mapped out with pictures.

Next to a photograph of each student is an array of pictures – a boy eating lunch, for example, or a girl playing soccer.

School psychologist Mary Campbell explained that the new autism program helps students focus on behavior that comes easier to most kids – like interacting with others, expressing emotions and dealing with the day-to-day routines of school.

So far, Campbell said, the program has been successful. The teachers have been able to focus less on managing behavior and spend more time engaging the students in a directed set of learning activities.