Valley-based programs take uncommon approaches to educating autistic students.
As class begins, the scent of lavender oil wafts through the air. Students begin their daily deep-breathing and yoga exercises. It’s not a common public school scene, but this is a consistent picture of life at private school Beyond Autism.
The needs of people with autism are as diverse as the individuals on the spectrum. The developmental disorder is characterized by impaired communication but demonstrated in myriad ways, from the inability to speak to repetitive behavior. Each autistic child needs unique care to help them thrive, which is why some local programs are stepping outside the traditional school model, which typically puts all special-needs students in one classroom.
Scottsdale-based Beyond Autism offers one such tailor-made program. It provides education for five autistic children, ages 9 to 14, who enjoy a nearly one-to-one student-to-teacher ratio. Music and art therapy, and field trips to places like trampoline parks, are part of the curriculum. Other Valley-based programs that take unorthodox approaches to educating and socializing autistic children include The H.E.A.R.T. Center, which provides horse therapy, and Ability360 (formerly the Virginia G. Piper Sports & Fitness Center for Persons with Disability), where special-needs students get recreational therapy.
The real-life interactivity students experience in such programs is vital, parents say. Michelle Puopolo has a 13-year-old son with autism, and was so disappointed with the public education model that she helped co-found Beyond Autism as an alternative. “It didn’t take long to figure out the public educational systems weren’t going to be a fit,” she says. “Just because all the kids have autism doesn’t mean they all learn the same way. Therefore, educating them still requires an individualized approach.”
Daily routines at Beyond Autism include completing tasks like vacuuming and caring for class pets. The kids make their lunches. While the traditional emphasis on academic skills such as math and writing is included, part of what the school measures success on is the student’s individualized education plans (IEP), which include the learning of life skills to prepare them for adulthood.
New students are enrolled at Beyond Autism when the team determines both the child and family are an ideal fit, since the parent-teacher relationship at the school is highly valued. Tuition is comparable to other private schools, and parents can use state vouchers to help defray the costs of private schooling. Founding teacher Michelle Biggs works with families on building their children’s educational plans and following their progress. “We’re so fortunate at our school to have the family’s involvement,” Biggs says. “It’s not just me sitting down writing these IEPs that aren’t going to truly help them. It’s exciting to come up with these goals they’re really going to take and apply. It’s getting to teach skills they’re really going to use that I love so much.”
Andrea Weck-Robertson, whose daughter Lexie attends Beyond Autism, recalls previous schools rewarding her daughter, now 14, with candy when she achieved academic gains. Not only would food reinforcement at school give her daughter stomach trouble later on, but the tasks, such as picking colored shapes out of groupings, were easily forgotten and meaningless to daily life needs.
Weck-Robertson has long been an active school choice advocate in Arizona, helping to create Lexie’s Law in 2009 to allow corporations to get dollar-for-dollar tax credits when donating to scholarships for autistic children. She says compared to previous schools her daughter has been in, where parents would drop kids off and pick them up for countless autism therapies, Beyond Autism offers a one-stop option. “At this school, within the first six months, Lexie reached all her goals because we were doing it differently,” she says.
At The H.E.A.R.T. Center in Phoenix, students groom horses and work at the ranch. The center has used horseback riding as recreation therapy for individuals of all abilities and ages since 2014. Founder Chelsea Harden teaches more than 100 students a month and says the honest and immediate feedback horses provide is powerful, especially for students with autism. “Recreation is huge to making sure an individual’s quality of life is empowering to them,” Harden says. “So often, we spend time going from therapy to therapy, and we forget to incorporate that recreation or leisure aspect into their daily lives.”
Ability360 offers a rock wall, aquatic therapy and sport court activities to help students gain social and physical skills. “For kids with autism specifically, something as simple as a high-five or a ‘Good job,’ they might not learn had they not been exposed to sports,” says recreation therapy coordinator Kelsey Bocken. “We really encourage that teamwork. All of the aspects of physical activity and social interaction filters into other areas of their lives.”
The Beyond Autism team plans to create a self-sustaining project for students, like a garden. “The autism journey is very challenging,” Puopolo says, “but we have found a tremendous camaraderie with other families, and together we are going to ensure our children are given every opportunity to be successful.”
