This document discusses plans to open a specialized school for individuals with autism in Portsmouth, Ohio. It provides background on autism as a brain disorder impacting social interaction, communication, and behaviors. It notes the growing prevalence of autism diagnoses. The school aims to address the lack of appropriate resources in the area by starting small with 10-15 students, and expanding over 3 years. Funding will come from non-profit sources and autism-specific scholarships. The goal is to model the school after an existing local program, while becoming more involved in the community.
3. What is Autism?
Brain Disorder
Social Interaction
Verbal & Nonverbal
Communication
Repetitive behaviors
Intellectual Disability
Motor Coordination
Attention Issues
Physical Health Issue
4. The Problem: Prevalence of Autism
1 in every 68 births in the US
60,000 individuals in Ohio alone
> 120% in the past 10 years
5. The Problem: Lack of Appropriate Resources
Therapies are not under the same roof
Understanding of the Spectrum
Not all of Ohio has resources
7. The Solution or Opportunity
Portsmouth, Ohio
Low Income Area
Autism Project of Southern Ohio
Shawnee State University
Marshall University
Haugland Learning Center
8. The Competitor: Haugland Learning Center
Graduated from OSU with his
PhD in Special Education in 2000
Specialized school for
those on the spectrum
First HLC opened in 2004
Currently: 5 locations and
300 students enrolled
THE DIFFERENCE:
Be more involved and an
active member within the
community
11. Funding for the Students
Age 3-22, diagnosed with autism, and have a current IEP
Autism Scholarship: $20,000 per year
Autism Help Network
Helping Hand Program
United Healthcare
Children’s Foundation
ACT Today!
Autism Cares
Autism Family Resources
Angel Autism Network
The Daniel Jordan
Fiddle Foundation
Jon Peterson Special
Needs Scholarship
12. Realistic Expectations
Starting Out
Work with the
Autism Project
of Southern
Ohio
Year 1
10-15
students
1 teacher
2 therapists
Year 2
25-30 students
2 teachers
2 therapists
Year 3
Expansion
and/or
Adult
Program
13. … in the process of making a childhood dream into a reality
Editor's Notes
Hello, my name is Courtney Heimberger. I stand in front of you this evening in hopes that you want to make a difference in people’s lives as much as I do. Today, I plan to discuss my aspirations of opening a specialized school for those on the Autism spectrum. Affable Awareness is where we welcome and believe in those on the spectrum.
Growing up, I had the privilege of experiencing autism first hand, thanks to my older brother Tyler. Tyler is unable to speak, unable to shower, and unable perform daily routine functions without assistance. My mother, realizing his needs, made sure we took advantage of every resource available to him. This experience has shown me what those blessed with autism are capable of accomplishing when given the proper resources. I want nothing other than to share my experiences to show other families what their son or daughter is capable of accomplishing.
Before I go into more detail about how I plan on doing that through Affable Awareness, I think you all should know a few things about Autism. Autism is a brain disorder that causes problems when it comes to social interactions, communication, whether it be verbal or nonverbal, and repetitive behaviors. Autism also causes intellectual disability through motor coordination, attention issues, and physical health issues. The hardest part about the spectrum is how much those on the spectrum varies.
Over the years, Autism has been talked about more and more. This is because now 1 in every 68 births in the US is diagnosed with autism. There are over 60,000 individuals in Ohio alone. This number has increased 120% over the past ten years and is expected to continue to increase.
What we have come to discover, at least those who are impacted with autism, is that there is a lack of resources for those on the spectrum.
The hardest problem when it comes to autism is understanding the spectrum - there is a reason that the puzzle piece represents it. I believe those who have been personally impacted by Autism are likely to know more about the disability; therefore, the resources who are ran by people who have this firsthand knowledge tend to be more effective.
Another major problem is that therapies are not located under the same roof as their schooling. Why is this such a big deal? Those on the spectrum need to learn major life skills, such as speech and occupational therapy, rather than math and English. However, many parents have a hard time using these resources in the community because most parents work and cannot drive their son or daughter to a bunch of different therapy appointments. Having therapies located under the same roof as the school can make a huge impact on these children’s lives.
And the biggest problem we face for those on the spectrum is the inconsistency of the resources throughout Ohio.
All of these stars represent a specialized school for those on the autism spectrum, according to the Autism Education Site. I realized there were plenty of specialized schools for Autism in Northern and central Ohio. However, Southern Ohio lacks for those on the Spectrum. I continued my search by population and then narrowed it down to Portsmouth, Ohio.
I decided Portsmouth, Ohio was the best area to place Affable Awareness. After doing my research, I realized quite a few things.
The first was that Portsmouth, Ohio is a low income area. This means that I can start Affable Awareness will relatively low start up costs, compared to if I were to open a school in Columbus, Ohio. It also means that I have a chance of gaining funding from the city and public. Affable Awareness being the only specialized school in the area will get a lot of people talking and has potential to bring a lot of positive influence to the city.
I continued to research to come to find out that the Autism Project of Southern Ohio is located right in Portsmouth. After speaking with the president of the project, Mrs. Walker, I discovered that this group represents all of the Tri County area because it is the ONLY resource available for those on the spectrum. The fact that this group represents a large portion of those on the Spectrum in Southern Ohio and was located right in Portsmouth shows me that Autism is definitely prevalent in the area.
I was also key on Portsmouth due to Shawnee State University being located just minutes away. Shawnee State has an occupational therapist masters program. I plan to partner with the University, in order to receive interns to work with the students.
Marshall University is also near and they have a speech therapy program.
I really liked the idea of interns with multiple reasons. They are capable of giving the students that 1 on 1 feel, something most parents desire. And they have the most up to date information and are more likely to know things specialized towards autism since autism has been on the rise while they have been in school. It is also much less of expense for me.
And last but not least, after speaking with the director for the special education unit for Portsmouth City Schools, I realized there was once a private school in the area. He didn’t state much, except that there were questions of degrees and the school did not offer what it stated it was going to, causing the school systems and families to be upset. However, this validated that there is a need for a specialized school in the area.
Once I spoke with Mrs. Walker (APOSO), she informed me that private school was Haugland Learning Center.
Haugland Learning Center is a specialized school for those on the spectrum and is considered to be the best in Central Ohio. He graduated from OSU with his PhD in Special Education. He opened his first center in 2004. In the past 10 years, he has expanded. He currently has 5 locations and 300 students enrolled.
When speaking with Mr. Kemp (PCS), he made it sound as if HLC and the public schools did not have a very solid foundation. This is critical when it comes to specialized schools. The difference between myself and HLC is I will be more involved and active member within the community, constantly working on forming my relationships. Mr. Kemp and Mrs. Walker informed me that I already have their support within the community.
HLC may be the best in Central Ohio; however, I expect to be the best in Southern Ohio.
This sounds great and all, but is there money to be made? There is plenty of money to be made. This is a financial sheet from last year in a school in Texas. After subtracting their expenses from their revenues, it still had a profit of over SIX million dollars.
The school will be classified as a nonprofit; however, it will operate like a business, with revenues (in the forms of grants and scholarships) and expenses.
I would like to pay my teachers $60,000 per year. This is above average; however, I want to attract the best talent. And the same with the therapists, I would like to pay them $70,000 a year. These will be the mass amount of my expenses for the year.
Nonetheless, it costs each student $20,000 a year to attend Affable Awareness. This will be the mass form of our revenue.
If Portsmouth is a low income area, how are parents going to pay for their children to attend this school? The families do not have to pay.
Where do I expect to start out? I believe in order to really work on my relationships within the community and in order to show them my passion, I believe I should start out by working with the Autism Project of Southern Ohio and with the school systems through volunteering my time.
After a year of doing that, I plan to open my school with 10-15 students. HLC started their first year with 16 students.
Year 2, 25-30 students
And by Year 3, I believe we are capable of expanding, going to another location in Southern Ohio. And/Or I would also like to begin an adult program. One of the hardest things for those on the autism spectrum experience is there is absolutely nothing for them after they turn 21. They no longer receive any form of funding. I would like to use some of my profits to create a fund to provide an adult service program for these people that spent at least a year with us. Not only will we be the ONLY adult program in the area, but we will be more likely to get students for the school year as children since they will have to have spent a year with us to receive this adult program.
After doing my research, I have come to believe this school could be extremely successful in the Portsmouth area, especially after speaking with Mrs. Walker and Mr. Kemp.
With your help, I could help make my childhood dream a reality. Thank you for your time.
