06/14/10 - ESCALATE program offers new services for children with autism

                             FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Deborah Luehrs
deborah.luehrs@siskin.org
423.648.1708

Siskin Children’s Institute provides new services
for children with autism in 10 Tennessee counties
Program includes intensified classroom model, home visiting services and district-wide autism consultant

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Thanks to a new state-funded program, experts can provide families of children with or “at risk” for autism more robust early intervention services than ever before.

The Engagement, Social, Communications and Learning Approaches to Toddler Education project, or ESCALATE for short, is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) through Tennessee’s Early Intervention System (TEIS).

The ESCALATE model addresses the core issues—lack of appropriate play behavior, communication and social skills—among young children with a diagnosis of autism, as well as children who have deficits in areas similar to those found in children diagnosed with the disorder.

It is important for the ESCALATE program to include both children with and without an official autism diagnosis because often diagnosticians hesitate to label children younger than three years of age as having autism, and there can be long waiting periods to receive a diagnosis. This leads to a discrepancy between the number of children in the Southeast identified as having the disorder and the number of children early intervention professionals expect have it.

“TEIS is proud to award ARRA funds to Siskin Children's Institute in order to provide supplemental services and supports to children and families affected by autism spectrum disorders,” said Jamie Kilpatrick, director Early Childhood Programs for the Tennessee Department of Education. “We hope to develop improved strategies for children and families as a result of these efforts.”

The ESCALATE program includes several components:

• An intensified classroom model at Siskin Children's Institute aimed at assisting children with or at risk of autism. Two classrooms at the Siskin Early Learning Centers (one in downtown Chattanooga, one in East Brainerd) are functioning as ESCALATE classrooms, which include use of the Institute’s Engagement Classroom Model as well as enhanced coaching for teachers and therapists. The ESCALATE classrooms each consist of four children with disabilities and nine typically developing children. Three children with disabilities in each classroom are participating in the ESCALATE program.
  
  “Although the natural proportions of children with autism spectrum disorder would be fewer than 25 percent of the children, this percentage makes it possible to secure more specialized resources, such as therapy, special education and physical aids,” said Robin McWilliam, Ph.D., director of the Siskin Center for Child and Family Research and creator of the ESCALATE program.
  
  Another plus of the ESCALATE program is the children with disabilities attend the learning center five days a week versus the two days typically allowed for Tennessee children receiving services paid for by TEIS.
  
• A new ESCALATE consultant, Kelly DeJong, will work with other early interventionists in the Southeast TEIS district to provide training and consultation, particularly with children who have autism or who have similar challenges. The TEIS Southeast district consists of Bledsoe, Bradley, Grundy, Hamilton, Marion, Meigs, McMinn, Polk, Rhea and Sequatchie counties. DeJong previously was a regional administrator in the Autism Division of the South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, where she provided consultation and training to families and the community.
  
• As the ESCALATE consultant, DeJong also will provide home-based support to the families of the six children with autism enrolled in the ESCALATE project at the Siskin Early Learning Centers.

“We are pleased the State of Tennessee sees that Siskin Children's Institute is a leader in our field and has entrusted us with this important work,” said Jerry Jensen, president and CEO of the Institute. “We hope our model can not only be effective here, but applied in other places it’s needed.”

For more information on ESCALATE, visit www.siskin.org/escalate or contact Kelly DeJong at kelly.dejong@siskin.org or 423.648.1772.

About Siskin Children’s Institute

Siskin Children's Institute makes life better for children with special needs and their families. Founded in 1950, the non-profit organization achieves its mission locally and nationally through four initiatives: education, outreach, health care and research. The Institute provides early childhood education where children with and without disabilities learn together; family support and professional development programs; developmental behavioral pediatric health care; and innovative research in early childhood development and special education. For more information about Siskin Children's Institute, visit www.siskin.org.

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