national attention to it beyond just some parent like me saying,
‘Oh dear, my poor child,’” she says. “It is exciting because when
something gets researched, it gets attention and it counts. It
formalizes things and forces people to begin to pay more attention
in this area. We have all kinds of people like my son Jay in the far
reaches of this state and we need to figure out how we are going to
met their needs and give them a quality of life.”
The study will further the research team’s previous work with
an intervention called the “Collaborative Model for Promoting
Competence and Success” (COMPASS) for young children with
ASD. COMPASS is a parent-teacher consultation model that has
been shown to empower teachers, families, and above all, students,
by improving educational outcomes.
While the work with COMPASS has been successful for young
students, it will need to be adapted, based on stakeholder input, for
students nearing adulthood and preparing to complete high school.
Once adopted, it will be tested in a randomized controlled study of
32 participants. Additional variables to help understand factors that
explain optimal and poor outcomes will be obtained.
Jay has been receiving services at the UK College of Education
since he was a preschool student at the college’s Early Childhood
Lab. He participates in services offered through the college’s
CASPER center, such as social skills training and small group
programs. Through the years, Jay has had the opportunity to
interact with many of the college’s faculty and students.
“UK is conducting research and training all these people who
are going into careers to help those with autism,” Ruble said. “It
is uplifting because I know every student who goes through these
programs helps raise the state and nation’s capacity to provide
services to children and adults with autism spectrum disorder. We
need to continue to keep doing better.”
Melanie is involved with the Autism Society of the Bluegrass,
which is a caregiver support and advocacy group. She has had an
opportunity to meet many individuals on the autism continuum.
These individuals have a wide range of abilities – some attend
college, but many struggle to find employment.
“While many on the continuum that have achieved postsecondary
education and/or employment there continue to be a significant
number that struggle,” she said. “The challenge is how we are going
to plan and get what we need for these individuals.”
For now, Jay is putting in lots of volunteer hours in pursuit of “the
good life.”
“I’m doing the same thing any parent would want for their
child,” his mother said. “We want to make sure our children are
okay after we are gone. With Jay, it’s a more involved, complicated
plan. I ѡ