THE FOUNDATION FOR AUTISM TRAINING & EDUCATION
...NO CHILD WITH AUTISM LEFT BEHIND
TESTIMONIALS
01
Dear Sheilagh and FATE,
The Foundation for Autism Training and Education (FATE) has been an excellent training resource for our school district. Our staff and our students have greatly benefited from FATE’s efforts and their ability to provide free or low cost training in our state.
In 2005 Sedona Integrated Preschool Program was involved with a pilot program based on the research-based practices of Applied Behavior Analysis and the Analysis of Verbal Behavior. The guidance and support of these professionals, Tom Caffery, in improving the design of the classroom and helping us implement language-based programs for our students was invaluable. More recently in the 2007-2008 school year, several of our staff attended workshops in Mesa, Arizona and in Flagstaff, Arizona. Classroom teachers and staff were able to immediately use the strategies presented in the training and apply these teaching techniques with our students.
We are located in a rural area of Arizona and it is often difficult to get teachers and educational assistants to attend trainings, as travel is often required to Phoenix. Continued support and training is needed to help improve and maintain skills learned to further enrich the education of our students.
Ideally, we would like FATE to come to our schools and provide additional training and support on-site. A NOAZ training site could be secured to expand this option to include other NOAZ districts. Providing the support and training at our school site would provide training opportunities to our staff. It would also provide an opportunity for parents of our students to attend these workshops, and collaborate with their classroom teachers to effectively support our children with autism.
We sincerely thank FATE for the trainings offered in our state and we look forward to FATE returning to Arizona.
Susann Terry Gage
Special Education Director
Sedona-Oak Creek School District
928.204.6836
02
Dear FATE,
I am writing this letter to support FATE (The Foundation for Autism Training and Education) for funding to continue its mission of helping individuals with autism achieve their highest lever of independence within their home, school and community. FATE provides targeted and sustained training in research-based programs that have proven to be effective for children with autism and other developmental disabilities.
Mental Health Association in Orange County, Inc. has worked with FATE over the past few years to provide training for family members and service providers of children on the autism spectrum in our community. Parents have been able to attend the training and bring the research-based protocols into their homes with wonderful success. We also collaborated to bring information to school district professionals at a special dinner so that all districts in our county were introduced to FATE and the possibilities of utilizing the programs in their schools.
I feel that many children in Orange County have been impacted by FATE through the presentations. Although parents will not necessarily become specialists in shaping behaviors and learning, they have become partners in their children’s programs as they become more proficient in the methods presented. It has been demonstrated that the parents who have attended the FATE trainings, are assisting their children in becoming more independent and capable over all environments and are more able to work with their children and the service providers.
We look forward to working with FATE in the coming years so that every family who wants to learn about the research-based methods will have the opportunity to attend training sessions. It brings hope to many families who felt defeated and lost.
Sincerely,
Anne Klingner
CAPIS Coordinator
03
Dear Sheilagh,
I am writing this letter to express a deep appreciation for the training and support that FATE has brought to New York. Many teachers, paraprofessionals and other school staff have directly benefitted from the in-depth workshops that include video-taped examples of students with autism successfully educated in public schools.
As a direct result of FATE’s systematic trainings and sustained support philosophy, several teachers have a new found understanding and confidence in working with their students. Equally important is the fact that local teachers are now training and passing on the science and understanding to others including parents. Many of our students are now moving ahead and demonstrating improvement in crucial life skill areas such as language and social development.
The Warwick Valley School District, a large school system in the Hudson Valley Region, has recently announced their commitment to starting a program for students with autism as a direct result of FATE’s mission.
Having stated that, it remains vital that FATE’s support continue to be available throughout this area and expand to other regions.
The New York Autism Resource Center, Inc. is overwhelming indebted to the efforts of FATE for the positive impact on the lives of many of our teachers and families. It is our hope that through continued collaboration and the availability of resources to FATE that this success will expand to include many more.
Sincerely,
Sandra Brownsey, Founding Member
Lisa Currao, Founding Member
04
05
Dear FATE,
On September 2, 2008 Mr. Tom Caffrey presented the “Establishing and Maintaining Instructional Control with Children with Autism in Early Intervention” to my preschool staff. FATE provided this training free of charge. Paterson, the third largest city in NJ, is an Abbott district. It is difficult to obtain trainers with his knowledge to provide much needed training at no or little cost to the district.
Mr. Caffrey provided information and guidance to teachers, child study team members, and administrators so they can increase their repertoire of skills and work more effectively with preschoolers on the autistic spectrum. Last year a number of staff applied for the Project Pipeline training and were rejected. Mr. Caffrey, understanding the needs of our staff, encouraged them to apply again.
It was encouraging to walk into classrooms the first week of school and see the teachers beginning to use some of the strategies that Mr. Caffrey discussed. Teachers and assistants were establishing relationships with the children. Teachers reached out to parents to complete the Reinforcement Assessment Form. Therapists were getting additional information on the website. These are good beginning steps. My concern is that without additional training and in-class support the staff will not be able to continue or expand their knowledge and skills.
Our staff receives minimal assistance and support due to budget constraints and the overwhelming number of preschool children in our district. We currently serve 3500 preschoolers. Everyday we get referrals from parents, early intervention, DYFS, and hospitals requesting programming for children on the Autistic spectrum. Currently, approximately 2% of the children attending our programs are diagnosed with autism. Many others appear to have autistic characteristics but are not diagnosed. The children are placed in both general education and self-contained classes. Our dedicated teachers and therapists are desperate for training and guidance in implementing strategies appropriately in a variety of settings.
It is, therefore, extremely important that FATE continue its efforts to provide training and assistance to districts like ours.
Sincerely,
Gloria L. Bodker
A letter to the school administrator,
My name is Anna Marie Kent and I am a special education teacher at the South Bergen Jointure Commission. Our school currently serves approximately twenty towns in Bergen County providing educational services to students with disabilities, primarily those with autism. We are dedicated to providing the best possible education for our students as well as our professional staff.
Through the FATE organization, I am enrolled in Project Pipeline (a fully-funded comprehensive ABA training program for public school teachers). As a classroom teacher, I have experienced benefits of this training first-hand and have also seen the residual effects in the children I teach.
This year FATE joined forces with my school in order to provide free district-wide training for all parents and select professional staff. FATE serves as a huge network of support for both our parents and staff through on-going training and website resources.
As with most public schools, the budget for professional training is limited yet the need is vast. Our professional staff, students and districts would benefit greatly from continual training in order to streamline our program and bring all professional staff up to speed on the best teaching practices. I have seen the organization's results first-hand and can only hope that each of my colleagues will have that same opportunity.
I am forever grateful to the FATE organization and its amazing staff. I know by working together the impact we have on our students will be immeasurable.
Sincerely,
Anna Marie Kent,
Special Education Teacher
06
Dear Sheilagh,
I first heard about FATE’S workshops in the fall of 2007 when a teacher I work with raved about the first training in the series. I am a speech pathologist currently working in the Port Jervis School District in a classroom for students with autism. This is a brand new program that began last fall. We (the special education teacher, myself, aides, and other related services personnel) had had no formal training with verbal behavior and wanted to learn how to best meet the needs of our children. Fortunately, FATE began to offer these workshops in the Warwick School District. I have been able to attend the first three trainings, along with Dr. Sundberg’s workshop on the VB-MAPP. The trainings have provided me with valuable information that I can implement into the classroom and in my individual sessions. FATE first provided me with a framework, and now through the other sessions, I am learning specific teaching strategies for each skill.
The teacher and I are doing our best to implement the new skills we have learned into the classroom. We have already seen a positive change with the students. Our children are learning how to use language to communicate their wants and needs, they are interacting more with their peers, and they are attending to a variety of different activities. We structure their day as much as possible to limit downtime. One of the most gratifying things for me is to hear that the parents are seeing progress at home. They are thrilled with our program and have become our strongest advocates.
It would be great if our area had more training sessions, so that our parents, aides, and other related services personnel could attend and benefit from the information presented. It would also help to have more consultants in the area to not only help our classroom, but possibly to go in to the homes. Unfortunately, our resources are limited, but we are doing the best we can with what we have. We are far from being the verbal behavior classroom we want to be, but the little steps we take are making a positive difference in the lives of our children.
Thank you FATE!
Sincerely,
Lisa Ryan M.A.CCC-SLP
07
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
It is with great pleasure that I send this letter of support on behalf of the Foundation for Autism Training and Education(FATE). It is with the intention of helping them acquire necessary funding to expand the reach of their vital services that I willingly share our experience with their wonderful organization.
My Time, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to support, empower, educate, enlighten and uplift parents and caregivers of children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Our organization shares FATE’s vision and provides services for families in Brooklyn, NY. Most of the families we assist are of low economic status and underserved. Many families cannot afford to pay for training even when it is available.
FATE has worked with our organization by providing valuable training free of charge to parents and professionals in the communities that we serve. This much needed training allows them to utilize strategies which enable children to lead more functional, social, and productive lives.
All of our workshops with FATE have been hugely successful. Our first workshop had over 200 attendees. We actually had to turn people away because the facility was at capacity. The need for targeted and ongoing training is crucial. Parents and professionals want to achieve the best outcome for every child affected with autism. When given the appropriate support and training, they are armed with the most important tools for the best possible outcome.
Feedback from parents about FATE workshops consistently mentions “effective” and “practical.” Parents and professionals frequently comment that they can immediately implement strategies learned at the training. We are constantly receiving requests about future workshops to be given by FATE.
My Time, Inc. would be honored to collaborate with FATE in the future.I welcomed the opportunity to offer this sincere letter of support. If I can be of further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Lucina Clarke,
Executive Director,
My Time, Inc.