Vernon Hills educators have created a new program to help more students with autism disorders live and go to school independently.

With the number of autistic students increasing from three in 2006 to 14 this school year, Vernon Hills High School have introduced a new curriculum, “Tutorial: A Program for Independence,” said Robin Myerberg, Special Services Department supervisor.

“There was a growing number (of autistic students); their needs were just as great. We needed to come up with a program and devise a strategy to help them become more successful,” Myerberg said. “The bottom line is the social skills is what keeps them from being successful, whether it’s in the hallway or in the community.”

Nine more students with autism disorders are expected to enroll at Vernon Hills High School in the next three years, according to a presentation given by special services educators.

While many have excelled in academics, students with autism disorders often don’t pick up on social cues, lack the ability to understand another’s point of view and have difficulty carrying on conversations, according to Vernon Hills High School educators. Basically, it’s hard for them to get along with others, which is hard on the students, Myerberg said.

In order to help students inside and outside the classroom and to help them prepare for college, educators  in the program rely on several techniques to help students socialize.

The students meet with special services educators during the first and last periods of every school day, when they check-in with a teacher who also serves as a case manager. Often, the students rate their mornings, afternoons and weekends on a scale of “dreadful” to “perfect.”

Previously, the special services department met with students in one classroom period, but the tutorial program added the end-of-the-day period in order to help students wrap up their days, Myerberg said.

The checking-in and –out times are crucial because it can help teachers and the students prepare for the days ahead and help students process the events of a full school day, said Rebecca Garcia, special services teacher.

Having two classroom periods has helped special services faculty expand skills sets students continually develop, Myerberg said.

During the two classroom periods, teachers, a social worker, occupational therapist and speech pathologist work with students to expand their social and emotional skills, develop stress management techniques, increase self and environmental awareness, help students recognize their strengths and areas for improvement, and identify a social support system, according to the program’s curriculum.

The special service educators also help the students work on time-management and organization, break down large assignments and plan for life beyond high school, Myerberg said.

Students role-play in conversations to expand their social awareness.

Mentoring from regular education students has also been incorporated into the program. Regular education students model appropriate behaviors and give the students with autistic disorders another avenue to socialize, according to the program’s curriculum. An after-school activity “bridge group” has also been established to ensure students with autism disorders keep active and social.

“All this stuff comes naturally to me and to you, but for children in this spectrum, this is something they need to think about, said Kelly Garrison, a social worker at Vernon Hills High School. “Children have tunnel vision. Our goal is to make them more aware so they can notice their behavior when they enter the social world from college to the grocery store.”