 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Cheryl Fisher - Director
Ladybird Crossing, LLC 502 West Girard Street Mount Carmel, PA 17851
Office: 570-339-5935 Cell: 570-452-6362 Fax: 570-339-4752
E-mail Us
Copyright @ 2007 All Rights Reserved
 |
 |
 |
 |
Strategies for Academic and Social Inclusion
"Alex's Gift: A Way to Belong"
from First Grade to High School and Beyond
"Alex's Gift: A Way to Belong"
from First Grade to High School and Beyond
Many years ago a mother and father decided, at a time when it was a choice rarely taken, to embark on a journey that many may have seen as a detour, an experiment doomed to failure. At the age of five, their beautiful little son Alex had been diagnosed with autism. The parents were told, as kindly as possible, that most children like Alex were placed in institutionalized settings by the time they were ten or twelve years old. Inwardly the mother resolved that somehow that would not be the fate of her son.
Ladybird Crossing workshops present the remarkable story and powerful saga of how one child beat the odds and showed the educational community how one little boy could take his place in typical classrooms and make friends when conventional wisdom said he could not. Long before positive behavior supports, transition planning, circles of friends, natural supports, curriculum modification and adaptation, priming, and partial participation had names, Alex and his school district were figuring out how it could be done.
Today, as Alex is an adult, we are able to determine if the experiment was a wasteful detour or a journey to a higher plane and victory.
In these workshops we overview in a very practical, "hands on" method, how a small rural school district in Idaho found the courage, resources, know-how, tools and commitment to successfully place a boy with moderately severe autism in typical classrooms from first grade through twelfth grade, culminating in a proud and exciting graduation from high school with his friends. Join with us as Alex shows us what “inclusion” really means and share the excitement and thrill of watching the transformation of Alex, his classmates, and the teachers and administrators in his school.
In these workshops we overview in a very practical, "hands on" method, how a small rural school district in Idaho found the courage, resources, know-how, tools and commitment to successfully place a boy with moderately severe autism in typical classrooms from first grade through twelfth grade, culminating in a proud and exciting graduation from high school with his friends. Join with us as Alex shows us what “inclusion” really means and share the excitement and thrill of watching the transformation of Alex, his classmates, and the teachers and administrators in his school.
As Alex crossed the stage in 1998 to the standing ovation of his classmates to receive his high school diploma, it was obvious that the school phase of the experiment had been successful. But we all knew the real test would be how well the program had prepared Alex for adult living. Our presentation will detail how Alex has adjusted to life after school and how we see in retrospect, that a school program built in the heart of typical school life was in and of itself, a “transition” program.
The presentation concludes by over-viewing how the methods and vision used to design Alex's school program merged naturally and easily into building a life in the adult community, including his own apartment, a work site, places to go and things to do.
Alex’s program certainly can be a blueprint for children everywhere at a time when schools and communities are striving to bring all persons into full citizenship. As we learn how to encourage all persons to belong, we begin to understand what we believe is “Alex’s Gift”, for surely as Alex rose to each new challenge, he gave to all he touched the gift of “belonging”. After this presentation, we hope participants will conclude that Alex taught us well that all persons can belong and more importantly..... he showed us how.
Alex’s program certainly can be a blueprint for children everywhere at a time when schools and communities are striving to bring all persons into full citizenship. As we learn how to encourage all persons to belong, we begin to understand what we believe is “Alex’s Gift”, for surely as Alex rose to each new challenge, he gave to all he touched the gift of “belonging”. After this presentation, we hope participants will conclude that Alex taught us well that all persons can belong and more importantly..... he showed us how.
The hospital mail run is my job
At home in my room
