Autistic teens get help honing their social skills

Crouched on the floor of a chaotic classroom, James Farmer encourages a 5-year-old boy with autism to fit pegs onto a puzzle board.

The boy cannot speak and has difficulty focusing on the task at hand.

"Keep going, that's good," Farmer says as the boy begins to piece the puzzle together by himself.

Working with autistic kids is difficult. The neurological disorder disrupts connections in the brain that allow people to interact and communicate.

But Farmer, 15, has an unusual qualification for his summer job as an assistant teacher for developmentally disabled children at the University of Washington. He has autism, too, and knows how frustrating it can be, especially in school.

"It's hard to pay attention and stay focused, especially when there is a lot going on around you," said Farmer, who has high-functioning autism, a less-severe form of the disorder.

The frustrations can become even greater for autistic teenagers as they face the social challenges of adolescence. But jobs like Farmer's, arranged through a teen-mentoring program at the University of Washington Autism Center, are helping teenagers practice the social skills they need to succeed at school and work.

The program is part of a new focus on teens at the Autism Center, which is best known for its groundbreaking research into the early diagnosis and treatment of the disorder.

"The teen years are a big time of transition for these kids, so you can imagine that it's particularly stressful for kids with autism who have trouble picking up on implicit social communication, such as reading body language or understanding the dynamics of the lunchroom," said Sara Webb, director of the Autism Center's Psychophysiology Laboratories.

Added Felice Orlich, associate director of the Autism Center, "We've come pretty far in establishing what a younger child with autism might need, but we don't have a good handle on what we are supposed to be doing with middle-schoolers and beyond."

Orlich is a driving force behind the center's teen-mentoring program, which works with such organizations as the UW's Experimental Education Unit, where Farmer was a part-time assistant teacher this summer.

The Experimental Educational Unit places teens as assistant teachers in classes for children up to age 5, both with and without disabilities.

"This is a perfect opportunity to learn about job skills in a supportive learning environment," said Jennifer Annable, principal of the Experimental Education Unit. She thinks teens such as Farmer are good mentors because they have insight into younger children with disabilities.

Wide range of effects

The effects of autism can range from subtle difficulties in social interaction to a profound inability to speak or connect with others. Some autistic children also engage in repetitive behaviors such as hand flapping or rocking back and forth.

The term autism comes from the Greek word autos, meaning self or alone.

Researchers are investigating genetic, biological and environmental links to determine the cause of the disorder.

The UW Autism Center was created in 2001 through endowments from Susan and Richard Fade, the latter a former Microsoft executive, and from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Experts at the center say they've diagnosed children as young as 16 months with the disorder and, through treatment, have seen some improvement in their behavior and development.

The condition, which has become more common in the past decade, affects as many as one in every 167 children by some estimates.

"I don't want to necessarily use the word epidemic, but the number of kids with autism is increasing astronomically," said Ilene Schwartz, professor and chairwoman of special education at the University of Washington. "We know part of it is better diagnosis and the fact that diagnosis categories have broadened, but even those issues don't explain the increase in numbers."

In Washington state, the number of children with autism in public schools increased nearly 48 percent from 2002 to 2004, according to the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. More than 3,700 autistic children attended Washington public schools last year.

It's the adolescents that the Autism Center is trying to reach.

While these teenagers may be able to keep up with their academics, social skills such as reading a situation and knowing when it's appropriate to talk can be challenging. They also may have problems participating in class and end up being ignored, Orlich said.

At Tyee Middle School and Newport High School, both in Bellevue, the Autism Center helped set up a special classroom where kids with autism meet throughout the day to work on social skills.

"It's like the kids have a home to come to at school," Orlich said.

The program at Tyee and Newport gives children a sense of belonging to see others with autism facing similar challenges, said Amy Stay, assistant director of special education for Bellevue School District. Teachers also come to the Autism Center to get training and learn about the biology behind the disorder.

Teens' brains studied

A recent study at the center is investigating how the brains of autistic teens react to social situations. The center used an electroencephalogram to record electrical activity in the brain as the teenagers reacted to certain images or tasks. The study included 60 teens, both with and without autism.

Researchers think teens with autism may have difficulty in social situations because they have trouble integrating everything that goes into a conversation: body language, the context of the relationship and what's being said.

Most people read that kind of social information automatically, said Webb, the study's lead investigator.

As the study progresses, Webb shares her findings with doctors and therapists at the Autism Center, so the research can help teens such as Farmer.

He explains his condition by saying that he has "a little bit of autism." That means he has trouble paying attention and focusing on tasks.

"It's a learning disability," he said. "You're like a normal person, but you have a special different thing. I learn more and more as I go on through my years. I learn how to deal with my problems."

In many ways, Farmer is a typical 10th-grader. He likes video games and the television show "CSI." He's interested in learning more about computers and recently got a new laptop. As for his plans, he's not sure if he will work again as a teaching assistant.

"I think I might want to try a job with Seattle parks next summer," he said.

But his experiences this summer have helped him become more independent, said Pat Waterston, his aunt and guardian. She sees his therapy at the Autism Center and his work with kids building his own sense of worth.

"That's exactly what he needs," she said. "Without all of this, James would be in a sad place."