PSU to offer summer autism training courses

Portland State is offering courses this summer that aim to educate children with autism and educate special education teachers and members of the community who work with children who have autism.

The classes can be taken by students working toward a certificate in autism training at PSU. Two different classes will be offered during summer term: the first about educating children with autism and the second on the PSU-developed Strategies for Teaching Based on Autism Research (STAR) program.

The program and training offered at PSU are unique to the state, and are unavailable at other Oregon universities, according to Joel Arick, director of the PSU Autism Training and Research Center. A practicum related to each course will also be offered.

“We are kind of the specialists in the state,” he said. “We’re the ones who’ve been doing research the longest.”

Though both classes offered in the summer are required for students pursuing the autism certificate of completion at PSU, the courses are open to anyone who is interested. Arick said the courses would best benefit professionals who work with schoolchildren with all types of autism.

But anyone who wants to work with kids who have autism would find an interest in the class, Arick said.

“Right now ours is the only program open to everyone,” said Leah Hershey, program specialist in the extended studies department.

The autism certificate of completion requires that 19 credits be taken at PSU through five different classes and four practical field experiences. The certificate can be earned for undergraduate or graduate credit through the departments of special education and continuing education, both housed in the PSU Graduate School of Education.

Because of limited resources and professors, each class is offered once during the year, according to Hershey. The classes do not have to be taken in sequence, however.

“We’re trying to up the frequency of the courses we offer,” Hershey said, adding that the program could soon expand.

Arick said there has been a great deal of response to the program from people who want to be autism specialists. He said they hope to offer courses year round in the next few years.

Hershey said there are currently 30 people in the certificate program, which is the greatest number of students the program can accommodate.

“That’s the limit, and we’re reaching the limit every time,” Hershey said.

The autism certificate program has been offered at PSU since 2005, but Arick said training and research operations have been going on for the last 30 years. He said he became involved in autism education in 1972, when Professor David Krug started research in the field at PSU.

The PSU Autism Training Center has received several grants for its work, according to Arick, most recently from the Oregon Department of Education for training teachers in their STAR program in 2003.

Autism is a disorder with varying degrees of severity. Arick said that some children with autism have a difficult time learning and acquiring speech, and other children with less severe cases have minor social or behavioral problems.

The PSU program works to train educators dealing with all types of autism. For additional information on the Autism Training Center, the certificate program at PSU, and class schedules, visit: www.ceed.pdx.edu/autism.