Autism Acceptance in Caribou County

April is Autism Awareness Month in the United States, but many have taken to calling it “autism acceptance month.”  “People are already aware of it,” Jake Reeves said.  “We want to move to acceptance.”  Reeves’ son Liam is a student at Black Canyon Pre-school, a program with a staff that is very responsive to the needs of a diverse student population.  The pre-school shares the mission statement of the elementary, which is to “Cultivate individuals of strong character, exceptional work ethic, and academic excellence, preparing them to make a positive impact in the world.”

At four years old, Liam has already made a profound impact on those around him.  He is one of 18 students currently enrolled in the program, which is staffed by a dedicated crew that includes Jasey Hagen (Early Childhood Special Education Instructor), Tina Rigby (Speech-Language Pathologist), Cami Clark (Occupational Therapist), Hope Kendall (Speech Paraprofessional), Kassie Cash (Preschool Paraprofessional), Amber Crookston (Preschool Paraprofessional), and Kristine Boyd (Preschool Paraprofessional). 

“Before students enter into the Preschool program, we conduct an overall developmental inventory which looks at adaptive, social emotional, communication, motor, and cognitive skills,” Liam’s teacher Jasey Hagen explained.  “Tina [Rigby—Speech Therapist] also does a speech and language assessment. This helps us design an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) for each student. We are a developmental Preschool so all students who are enrolled in the Preschool receive one or more of the following services: developmental therapy, speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, and/or physical therapy.”

Jake Reeves explains that, “This is his second year in preschool.  With kids that have anything from delayed speech to development issues, they can start preschool at three at Black Canyon.  To go to preschool there, you have to meet certain qualifications based on development.”

As Jake goes on to relate, their family’s path to Black Canyon was a little circuitous, but something of a homecoming. 

“My wife and I work just across the border in Utah,” Jake says.  “Last year he had started school in Grace, but we decided to move closer to our work in Logan.  We thought, ‘bigger state, more populated town, there’s probably more opportunities for him there.’  He started to go to preschool in Logan.  The school itself was entirely for kids in his situation, but we felt like he was not getting the same kind of advancement and care that we had been getting here in our little town.  That’s part of the reason that we decided to buy a house back here.  It’s the biggest reason, really—how good the teachers and the program are.”

The Reeves’ stayed in Logan for about six months before they made the difficult decision to move back.  “We’re done moving for now!” Jake laughs.  “At the end of the day, we have to do what’s best for our kid, and that’s why we decided to come back.  We’ll just make the drive—it’s worth it.”

“As far as programs,” Reeves says, “Tina Rigby does speech therapy.  She actually did speech therapy with me when I was in school.  They also provide occupational therapy with Amber Crookston.  His teacher, Jasey Hagen, works with the therapists and works a lot on his advancement.”

Liam, who is nonverbal, has a PECS board (Picture Exchange Communication System) for communication, which is helping him to interact more fully. Jake also notes that being around other kids is vital to his development.  “School also provides a social element for him that he wouldn’t get at home or at one on one therapy,” Jake says.

Like many parents, Jake and Taelor began to suspect something was different about Liam early on.  

“We had him diagnosed at 18 months.  That’s as early as a psychologist will diagnose a child with autism.  They need to wait to see that they miss some of the important developmental milestones.  My wife was amazing.  She started to suspect before he was even a year old that something was going on.  She didn’t know for sure it was autism, but  by the time we got him diagnosed we were pretty sure.”

Liam was experiencing many of the common symptoms.  “He wasn’t responding to his name—that was a big thing.  No hand gestures, waving, clapping on command…things kids generally hit as far as milestones. And no talking, of course.  A lot of overstimulation responses when he was little.”

Liam has an older sister who is two, and hasn’t shown any signs of developmental delay.  His younger brother is not old enough yet for any kind of signs to manifest.

“We don’t have any siblings or anyone close in our life that has had autism before Liam,” Jake says, though since he was born Liam has impacted his family and opened their eyes to some extent.  “As far as our family and our close friends are concerned, I think it has really changed a lot of their minds about what a person with autism was like.  I think there’s still a lot of questions—Liam is definitely not the first person in the community who has had autism—there have been community members in Grace before.  But it is uncommon.  I would say that like a lot of places, there are a lot of people who aren’t really sure what autism is, especially the other kids in the school.  There are some jokes and interactions that are probably the result of some misunderstanding, but I think he’s changed a lot of people’s minds and helped them be more considerate of kids like him.”

As far as Jake is aware, Liam is the only student currently diagnosed with autism at the preschool.

“My wife and I were very adamant that the shirts we got say ‘acceptance’ rather than awareness.  One thing I would like people to know about autism is that if they ever have a kid or a grandkid with autism they need to not stress trying to make them fit into the world, but to try to make the world fit them.  You can waste a lot of time with any kid trying to make them fit into the world, but if you can do your best to make the world a good fit for them, then that’s the best way to go.”

In terms of what living in Grace with an autistic child has been like so far, Jake explains that there are some things he’s noticed that he otherwise wouldn’t have.  “Soda has a really awesome corner of their park with a fenced in area.  Our park isn’t fenced here, and some of those safety measures would be nice.  But I also think there’s a lot of responsibility on parents of kids with autism to make their neighbors aware of their child, especially if they don’t have a fenced in yard.”

Reeves mentions the recent fatal police-involved shooting of an autistic teenager in Pocatello.  “I think some people are afraid of autistic people, and awareness can go a long way toward getting rid of some of that and moving to acceptance.  We’re lucky to live where we live, and where most people know us.  We had an incident where Liam got away from the babysitter and was running down Main Street.  Luckily, one of my mother in law’s friends saw him and kept him safe.  He can’t tell us about what happens to him, so it was really lucky.  You don’t think it’s that big of a difference between Pocatello and towns like Grace, but it is.  The community-feel is good for us.”

When Liam gets to kindergarten age, his IEP (Individualized Education Plan) will be re-evaluated.  Depending on what his developmental status is at the time, he will likely attend the grade school with an aide if necessary to sit with him in class, and continue on with some of the same programs he is currently engaged in at the preschool, which he has been getting a lot of value out of.  

The program is a strong one, and it’s no wonder that Reeves returned from Utah for it.

“There are so many strengths in the Preschool class,” teacher Jasey Hagen says. “We have an amazing group of students! They all work really hard and make coming to work so enjoyable. One great thing about Early Childhood Education is the growth you get to see in your students. Another strength is the strong relationships we have built with parents and family members of the students. This is such a vital step to the process and our parents are so actively involved and willing to work on things at home. Lastly, each Preschool team member has different strengths and we work really well together. We all hold a passion for Early Childhood Education and recognize that each student has diverse learning needs.”

Hagen acknowledges that not every day is easy.  “Some challenges the students face include communication delays, cognitive delays (challenges with memory, attention, and problem solving), difficulty with self-regulation, social challenges (difficulty interacting with peers, sharing, taking turns, understanding the perspective of others), and motor delays. Though these can be challenging, we try to promote learning these skills through play and activities that motivate and interest our students.”

The nature of the preschool and the variety of students enrolled also presents some complications for the staff.  “Challenges for staff would be the varied developmental levels,” Hagen says.  “Each student has different IEP goals and different learning paces so we want to make sure we are providing the right support and collaborating with each other to ensure we meet each student's specific needs. We try our very best and have a great team but sometimes scheduling and time constraints make this a challenge.”

Despite the challenges that come along, Hagen and her staff are proud of the program that they run, and would like more people to know about what they actually do. “I would like the community to know that Preschool is so much more than just learning pre-academic skills like ABC’s and counting. Through play and engaging hands-on activities, they are learning how to interact with their peers, manage their emotions, share/take turns, problem solve, think critically, explore their curiosities, and so much more.  We are really building a foundation for these students and instilling a love for being curious and learning.” 

So far, Jake Reeves and his wife Taelor have seen that foundation being built, and are grateful for it.  “This is a great place for him to be!”  Jake says.