[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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