Autism Awareness Month

Autism Assembly was Felt Deeply

 

 

On Monday, April 6th, all Classical students were given the privilege of attending an Assembly about Autism and how it affects the individual and family. Guest Speakers were Gloria Ricardi Castillo and Scott Buchanan from the Autism Support Center of Danvers. They spoke of their personal missions in dealing with autistic children. The speakers not only explained, but showed actual videos of the difficulties that autistic children have with their families at home and with their environment in school. Classical High School has its own COACH Program for autistic students that teacher Erin Coburn discusses further down on this page.

               Picture by Tyler L.

 

Our students listened and watched intensely during the one-hour sessions. It both opened people's eyes and demystified the condition. Students became engaged in asking questions. There was a real sense of understanding and recognition of the types of autism in and around our world. The Guest Speakers, at the end of the program, encouraged students to consider making a career working with  challenged individuals in their future.

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Hello Everyone,

 

                As many of you know, this is the third year for the COACH Program here at Classical.  I have been fortunate enough to be a part of this  classroom from its very beginning,  and am really proud of the progress my students have made and of all that our program has accomplished as a whole.  My class has very much become a part of our school community amongst both our students and faculty and I would like to express gratitude for supporting and helping to make the high school COACH program so successful…

                With that said, Autism continues to make a very apparent presence within our world today.  Just this year, the numbers have showed that 1 in 96 children are diagnosed with Autism.  This is true for our city as well, the number of students in our system that are diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum are increasing tremendously year to year.  It is for this reason, that I think it is so important for us as teachers to educate our students as well as ourselves on what Autism is and its presence within our school communities. 

                To help raise this awareness for our students, I have planned an Autism Awareness Month for the month of April.  April has become a national awareness month for Autism, and I thought it would be a great opportunity to plan a few activities that could help our students and ourselves to understand a little more about the presence of Autism here at Classical and hopefully foster a greater sense of unity amongst our student population.

                I am confident that this will be a positive experience for our school as a whole and I think that if we try to incorporate this awareness as much as possible, it will be that much more beneficial. 

THANK YOU again for you support and help with this project.  Please feel free to email me with suggestions, opinions, questions… anything!

 

Thanks Again, 

Erin Coburn, COACH Program

Special Education Dept., Lynn Classical High School

email:coburne@lynnschools.org

 

 

**Autism Awareness Ribbons will be given out to all students and faculty members

**Autism facts will be read each day on morning news

**School wide puzzle project towards end of month