[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 58 (Monday, April 23, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2596-S2597]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RECOGNIZING THE HIGHLANDS CENTER FOR AUTISM

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
innovative, beneficial, and truly essential organization in a quest to 
better understand and serve fellow Kentuckians diagnosed with autism: 
the Highlands Center for Autism in Prestonsburg, Kentucky.
  The Highlands Center for Autism is making great progress in an 
attempt to better comprehend the extent of a condition which many 
people are unfamiliar with. Autism is a term used to describe complex 
developmental brain disorders that young children are most likely to 
show symptoms of during their first few years of life. The Centers for 
Disease Control has released a statistic that predicts 1 out of every 
90 children will be diagnosed with autism. Not even 10 years ago, fewer 
people had ever heard of autism, and if they had, they probably didn't 
understand the full extent of it. Now with new cases being diagnosed 
each day, understanding autism is becoming increasingly more important.
  Therefore, now more than ever, there is a need for contributions from 
organizations like the Highlands Center for Autism. The professional 
team at the Highlands Center uses the breakthrough Applied Behavior 
Analysis--ABA--method, which has been proven to dramatically reduce 
symptoms and improve life quality. Dr. Shelli Deskins of Paintsville, 
KY, has experience working with the ABA method. She previously worked 
with victims of post-traumatic stress disorder in Hazard, KY. Since her 
tenure began at the Highlands Center in January 2009, she has worked 
fervently to transform it into the successful organization it is today.
  The truly one-of-a-kind Highlands Center is a private, year-round day 
school that serves as a beacon of hope and respite for the students 
enrolled and their families. The Center operates on the ideal that all 
children deserve the opportunity to laugh and play to become healthy, 
happy, and productive adults. The staff and volunteers provide an 
optimistic outlook for those enrolled, and provides their families with 
home visits and frequent reports on each child's daily progress.
  I am honored to be able to have the opportunity to stand before my 
colleagues of the United States Senate and honor the tremendous work 
being done by the Highlands Center for Autism. It is inspiring to know 
that an institution involved with making scientific strides such as 
this is located in the great Commonwealth of Kentucky. I would like to 
thank those involved with the Highlands Center for Autism and 
congratulate them for their unparalleled dedication and service to this 
cause.

[[Page S2597]]

  There was recently an article published in an eastern Kentucky 
magazine, the Sentinel-Echo: Silver Edition, which gave the public a 
glimpse into the groundbreaking work being done by the Highlands Center 
for Autism. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the article be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to appear in the 
Record as follows:

          [From the Sentinel-Echo: Silver Edition, Nov. 2011]

                      Highlands Center for Autism

       Kathy sits almost still at her desk as her teacher writes a 
     word on an erasable pad, shows it to Kathy and says, 
     ``wagon.'' The 8-year-old little girl looks at the word and 
     repeats, ``wagon.'' ``Good saying `wagon!' '' her teacher 
     praises.
       Five-year-old Jerry sways a bit back and forth, making 
     noises his teacher doesn't understand. ``Use your iPad to 
     tell me what you want,'' she softly tells him. He points to 
     icons on the device's screen and the words I WANT A DRINK OF 
     WATER appear. ``Good making a sentence!'' she compliments.
       Kathy and Jerry are students at the Highlands Center for 
     Autism, and there is more than one amazing achievement going 
     on here. It is amazing that Kathy is able to sit still and to 
     read; it is amazing that Jerry is able to communicate his 
     needs, and it is truly a miracle that the Center exists at 
     all.
       Autism is a term used to describe a group of complex 
     developmental brain disorders that typically appear during 
     the first three years of life. Very skilled professionals 
     often can see autism signs as early as six months, but 
     children are often not diagnosed until 12 to 18 months, and 
     many times much later. Symptoms manifest a wide spectrum of 
     behaviors impacting development of social interaction and 
     communication skills. Every individual is affected 
     differently. Many need to be taught what most people consider 
     basic behaviors--nodding yes or no, making eye contact, 
     eating with utensils, playing, potty training.
       As recently as 10 years ago, the majority of people were 
     completely unaware of the condition. Today, however, public 
     awareness has risen as more children are being diagnosed, 
     dramatically increasing the number of affected families. 
     According to the Centers for Disease Control, one out of 
     every 90 children will be diagnosed with autism. There is no 
     known cause or cure, and children do not ``outgrow'' it, but 
     research has shown that early intervention using Applied 
     Behavior Analysis (ABA) has a dramatic impact on reducing 
     symptoms and improving life quality.
       A major problem with achieving that crucial early 
     intervention is a lack of facilities providing help, 
     especially in communities outside major metropolitan areas. 
     Even getting into a diagnostic program can take a year or 
     longer. Many families who can afford it move near a treatment 
     center in order to get help for their children.
       In early 2008, a group of local families approached 
     Highlands Health System with the idea of forming a 
     partnership to establish a local center for ABA treatment for 
     their children who had been diagnosed with autism. They had 
     been primarily on their own, searching first for a diagnosis 
     of what was happening to their children and then, after 
     diagnosis, seeking treatment. They knew that ABA is a proven, 
     evidence-based treatment with decades of solid scientific 
     research supporting its effectiveness.
       After their meeting with the parents and additional 
     research revealing that a research-based program specifically 
     for children diagnosed with autism did not exist anywhere in 
     or near Kentucky, Highlands was prompted to move toward 
     fulfilling this need. Their research also indicated that the 
     Cleveland (Ohio) Clinic Center for Autism offered one of the 
     most prestigious treatment programs in the country. After a 
     visit to the Clinic by a group of representatives, Highlands 
     was ready to work towards establishing the first program of 
     its kind in Kentucky.
       A community meeting revealed an astonishing amount of 
     support from local families, schools, health departments, 
     social-service agencies and government officials, leading to 
     Highlands entering into a consulting agreement in September 
     of 2008 with the Cleveland Center for Autism to work toward 
     the goal of ``mirroring'' Cleveland's program in 
     Prestonsburg.
       Highlands owned an apartment building near the hospital 
     which became the Center's facility. Next began the search for 
     a director for the program. Another one of those ``miracles'' 
     happened when they found Dr. Shelli Deskins, a Paintsville 
     native who was working in Hazard treating children with post-
     traumatic stress disorder and who had an impressive 
     educational background and experience in ABA.
       Dr. Deskins was approached by the hospital in November of 
     '08. She began at Highlands in January of '09 as the Center's 
     only employee and with her office in a former elevator shaft 
     in the main hospital building! Aided by Karen Sellers, 
     assistant to Highlands's president, Dr. Deskins set about 
     creating the Center for Autism. She did everything from 
     helping with facility renovation, writing and establishing 
     procedures, ordering supplies, interviewing and hiring staff, 
     finding children anything necessary to create an outstanding 
     and one-of-its-kind, facility-based treatment center. Even 
     though she was already trained in ABA and had a doctoral 
     degree, she also spent six weeks at Cleveland's Center to 
     thoroughly absorb their program's procedures.
       From the beginning, Dr. Deskins and Highlands have insisted 
     that the Center be ``The Best,'' with no shortcuts or cutting 
     corners. The original staff went to the Cleveland Clinic for 
     two weeks to train in the Clinic's methods and learn their 
     procedures, and Cleveland staff members followed them back to 
     Prestonsburg to help open the Center. The Highlands Center 
     staff continues with follow-up training periodically. The 
     children at Highlands receive one-on-one attention from the 
     highly trained and dedicated instructors. Dr. Deskins says 
     staff members know very quickly if working with children 
     diagnosed with autism is something they want to do.
       The Center for Autism is a private, year-round day school 
     and has seven students enrolled at this time, but expects to 
     be at their capacity of 10 by summer. Currently, the children 
     range in age from 3 to 14, and include students whose 
     families have moved here from Alabama, Virginia, and Texas.
       The Highlands Center is not a place where you can drop off 
     your child to be ``fixed'' it requires total commitment from 
     the parents. Home visits are made by Dr. Deskins and each 
     child has a data book recording daily progress. Home 
     communication notes are sent home on a daily basis.
       The Center is guided by the principle that all children 
     deserve the opportunity to laugh and play and to become 
     healthy, happy, and productive adults. The Highlands Center 
     for Autism is well on its way to becoming a regional and 
     national resource for the diagnosis and treatment of children 
     with autism.

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