Jane Berman, 40, of River Hill, a special education teacher at Pointers Run Elementary School in Clarksville, teaches preschool autistic children.
Her class raised more than $1,600 for the Howard County Autism Society this school year by selling more than 200 copies of a cookbook with recipes it used from baking all year.
The funds will help support a day camp program in collaboration with the county Department of Recreation and Parks that will teach children with autism to ride bikes.
Your class includes a mix of students, even those without autism. Why?
Each class is paired with typically developing children who serve as peer and model for the children who have autism. These peers serve as models for behavior, communication and play skills. Wehave four children with autism and three peers. I have a lot of help with four instructional assistants, so there is a 1-to-1 teacher ratio.
What?s the biggest challenge in teaching these children?
[It?s] acknowledging and understanding that each child with autism does not fit a mold, [and that] they are an individual child with their own needs and strengths. Finding what makes this individual work and what is unique about them can often be a challenge because they can have deficits in communication and social issues, but never give up. Once you tap into their specific strengths, you will be amazed by their abilities.
What are some common misconceptions?
The biggest is that they don?t like to interact with others or be touched. We decided this year to play games with the other kids like ring-around-the-rosy, duck duck goose and musical chairs. They loved it.
