[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2169-E2170]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING TAFT COMMUNITY COLLEGE'S ``TRANSITION TO INDEPENDENT LIVING 
                  PROGRAM'' FOR YOUNG AUTISTIC ADULTS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 7, 2006

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, as a Member of this House who has 
long voiced concerns about the lack of concerted federal action to deal 
with the growing epidemic of autism in this country, I was very 
encouraged by yesterday's passage of the ``Combating Autism Act.''
  Although I believe that we missed an opportunity in this bill to 
resolve the problem of mercury in vaccines and its connection to 
autism, there is no denying that the Combating Autism Act represents a 
long overdue and significant expansion of the federal government's 
response to the autism epidemic. The bill commits an unprecedented $945 
million in federal funds over five years to combating autism through 
research, screening, better interventions and education efforts.
  But we should be under no illusion that the job is finished. Autism 
is a condition that has no known cure, which means that this is a 
crisis that is simply not going to ``go away.'' What we have done is 
realistically only a small down payment on the vast resources that we 
must invest in order to deal with this terrible scourge. For example, 
in my own State of Indiana we experienced a 923 percent cumulative 
growth rate for autism from 1992-2003. The annual growth rate of autism 
in Indiana averaged 27 percent compared to an average of 7 percent for 
the growth rate of all disabilities. And Indiana's experience is by no 
means unique. In fact, as a Nation we have gone from roughly 1 case of 
autism for every 10,000 births in the 1980's to 1 in every 166 today.
  What this means in practical terms is that we are now at the 
beginning of what can be considered a ``bubble'' of older children who 
have been diagnosed and treated for autism, who now must face the 
challenges of their disease in a post-secondary environment and beyond. 
The ``No Child Left Behind Act'' has given our schools the tools to do 
an excellent job of providing additional teachers, curriculum and 
individual educational programs for our students with autism. But this 
assistance is largely confined to the K-12 years and for the most part 
our schools are only just beginning to effectively meet the growing 
learning needs of that age group. We are therefore still woefully ill 
prepared for the unique problems our post-secondary young autistic 
adults will face as they transition from a relatively protected 
learning environment to the demands of our modern life. We must 
recognize the plight of these older children with autism and commit 
ourselves to providing the additional resources necessary to deal with 
their unique problems as we have done for younger children with autism.

  Recently, I was privileged to meet with officials from Taft Community 
College, located in Kern County, California. Taft, I am told is one of 
only two institutions throughout the country currently exploring ways 
to dealing with this impending crisis. I understand that for the last

[[Page E2170]]

ten years Taft has pioneered a ``Transition to Independent Living 
Program'' (TIL) which provides a structured environment for post-
secondary special needs students to successfully meet the demands of 
our modern world. According to the statistics compiled by Taft 
Community College President, Dr. Roe Darnell, the achievements of these 
students and graduates are truly remarkable. I understand that fully 81 
percent of the program's graduates are employed and 94 percent live 
independently. When you consider that the national employment average 
for all classes of people with a disability is only 37 percent, these 
results are noteworthy.
  According to Dr. Darbell, other ``Snapshots of Success'' include: 93 
percent of graduates receive no financial help; 90 percent of graduates 
use public transportation; 95 percent have a checking account; 80 
percent have a savings account.
  The Taft Community College curriculum teaches life skills and 
independent living strategies to its students, with TIL students 
receiving vocational training, ethics training and assistance in 
developing sound work habits. A moderately size dormitory in the middle 
of campus is utilized by Taft Community College as a ``laboratory'' to 
practice life skills, and Taft officials believe that one of the keys 
to the success of their TIL program is its emphasis on residential 
living.
  Now I understand that the Taft program handles high functioning 
adults with autism, which means that the techniques and skills taught 
to these students may not be completely applicable to young adults, who 
are more severely autistic, but the pioneering efforts and achievements 
of President Darnell, his teachers, students and TIL program graduates 
should be applauded.
  Programs like those at Taft will not solve the whole problem of how 
to deal with the impending boom of autistic adults, but I think it is 
certainly possible that they are a part of the solution. I sincerely 
hope that many of the approximately 2,000 community colleges around the 
country will also begin to recognize the growing educational needs of 
this underserved population and explore the idea of adopting programs 
like Taft's TIL, if appropriate, and if not, push the boundaries of 
what is possible for these victims of autism.

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