Education/training
Caring for autistic childrenThis year, Seneca College -- and Algonquin College in Ottawa -- launched a new program that will relieve some of the problems associated with caring for autistic children. DAVID CHILTON |
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 [ 2005-12-07 ] |
Seneca College
Susan Bond, co-ordinator of the program at Seneca, says the college expected about 20 students to enrol this past September. Instead, Bond says more than 150 students are taking the course either in class or online.
"The numbers are indicative of a need across Ontario for instructional therapists, for that expertise in the autism field," Bond says.
According to Sharon Gabison, an instructor in the Autism and Behavourial Science graduate program at Seneca, one child in 166 is diagnosed as autistic, with four times as many boys having the developmental disorder as girls. Gabison, who has an eight and a half-year-old autistic son herself, says the program is well rounded so students acquire the necessary knowledge and professionalism needed to care for children such as her own.
Caring for autistic children isn't easy. Gabison says they have problems with social interaction, language deficits and exhibit repetitive or excessive behaviours. "They have difficulty making sense of the world and interpret sensory information differently," she explains. For example, a child in school will hear the recess bell and not be bothered by it. An autistic child, on the other hand, might be overwhelmed by the sound and resort to odd actions or behaviour to relieve the stress the noise causes.
The new program at Seneca is offered through the Continuing Education and Training department and graduates earn an Ontario Graduate Certificate in Autism and Behavioural Science. Applicants need a diploma or degree in a related field such as Early Childhood Education or Psychology and can enrol for Fall, Winter or Spring/Summer sessions. Instruction is either in class or online, says Bond.
She estimates about 75% of her students are women. The age range for both sexes is from the early 20s on. A good number of her students are parents of autistic children.
As well as the program's formal studies, students also have to spend 350 hours in work study placements.
Tuition can be paid by course. Most of the courses taught in class last 45 hours and cost $212 each. First term books cost about $400 and there's a $185 course package to buy too. Fees differ for students studying online. An orientation session is mandatory before enrolling in the program.
Natalia Wolynsky, a student in Bond's program, says she knew she wanted to work with children and became interested in autism as a psychology student at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo. Following graduation last year she did some research on the Internet and found the Seneca program.
"Bells went off, so it seemed like the perfect thing to do," she says.
Wolynsky expects to graduate next May after completing the required nine courses in such subjects as Introduction to Applied Behaviour Analysis. She says the workload is not as heavy as that of university and someone can take the course and work full time. Wolynsky pegs the difficulty of the program as a blend of first and second year university study.
As part of her field placement Wolynsky works four hours a day with a four-year-old boy and spends one day a week with another aged eight. She says she wants to continue to work in a private rather than institutional setting, and shouldn't have any problems find a job since prospects are so good.
Private client pay varies, she says, depending on the resources of the parents, so the hourly rate ranges from less than $20 to more than $30.
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