Thirteen is usually considered an unlucky number but perhaps for autistic people living in Southwest Michigan thirteen can be a very lucky number indeed. Because it was on August 13, 2012 that the Great Lakes Center for Autism opened in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The center is the first of its kind in Michigan and hopes to serve 150 children and adolescents a year. Some will be residential patients and some will be outpatients.
At the dedication ceremony Michigan Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley, whose daughter has autism, said that he would like Southwest Michigan to be the best place to serve individuals with autism. Currently Michigan is ranked as one of the worst states to live in if you are autistic.
I don't normally post links but here is a link to the article: http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/. The keyword to search is "Great Lakes Center for Autism."
This is very exciting news for this area. I hope that the Center becomes a success so that it can expand its services to adults. As was pointed out in the comments, the 150 children a year will eventually grow up some day. "The most frightening part of all of this (the increasing rate of autism) is the fact that when we talk about autism, we're always talking about children with autism. No one has ever shown us a comparable rate among adults. That simple fact should be scaring us all," says Anne Dachel, Media editor: Age of Autism (http://www.ageofautism.com). By 2022 it is estimated that nearly 1 in 9 children will be affected by autism.
Clearly there is much work to do. But are we prepared to do it? Here are some sobering thoughts from Mlive.com writer Tom Watkins about the Detroit school system:
"The legacy of adult illiteracy, drop outs and children not prepared to survive, let along thrive in a hyper-competitive, disruptive, technology-driven, knowledge economy where ideas and jobs can and do move around the globe effortlessly is legendary. The U.S. Secretary of Education has called the Detroit educational system the worst urban school district in America. This is not just a Detroit problem. What happens to the children of Detroit impacts us all. These children will one day come to your place of business--as a potential customer, employee or with other nefarious ideas in mind. Put simply, the City of Detroit, our region, state and nation will never recover unless we address the educational genocide that is taking place in far too many of our cities."
It's not just Detroit. It's Kalamazoo, too. It's all over this country, in big cities and small towns. I see it all the time--people who treat school as a joke then complain that they can't find a job other than the most menial ones. Where will the skilled and educated people come from to run the Center and others like it?
The problem, I think, is education--and I mean real education--not just sitting in a classroom for 8 hours because the law says you have to, is not a priority for most people. They don't see the use for it. Recently an article appeared on this same site about several families who were going to lose their homes if the other people in their school district didn't come up with a considerable amount of money. Why were they going to lose their homes? Because, acting on the superintendant's advice they mortgaged their homes to pay for something the school needed. Now here is the interesting part. What was it that this school needed so badly that they were asking people to mortgage their homes? A new chemistry lab? New computers? Nope. A BLUE FOOTBALL FIELD. I kid you not. A BLUE FOOTBALL FIELD. Now people will squawk and scream if they are asked to help pay for something that will help special needs students learn but they will mortgage their homes for a football field. That shows right right there where their priorities are.
Even our colleges are not exempt. Around here if you ask the average person what the University of Michigan is known for, he or she will say, "football." Not its fine medical school. Can anyone tell me what Penn State is known for other than the football sex scandal? Now I am beginning to sound like my pastor when he starts ripping on entertainment. But it is true. We have elevated and glorified athletes all out of proportion to their importance. It starts in school with pep assemblies for football, basketball. Never any recognition for math or science or the other academic subjects. They're not sexy. They are, in the words of Paul Simon, "that crap I learned in high school."
This attitude must change if the Great Lakes Center for Autism is going to be a success. Because it is going to take special skills and dedication to do the kind of work they do. It is going to take education to know how to research causes and cures. And when I look around me quite frankly I am frightened for the future of my country. Right now we are the leader in so many ways, but the torch may be passing.
At the dedication ceremony Michigan Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley, whose daughter has autism, said that he would like Southwest Michigan to be the best place to serve individuals with autism. Currently Michigan is ranked as one of the worst states to live in if you are autistic.
I don't normally post links but here is a link to the article: http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/. The keyword to search is "Great Lakes Center for Autism."
This is very exciting news for this area. I hope that the Center becomes a success so that it can expand its services to adults. As was pointed out in the comments, the 150 children a year will eventually grow up some day. "The most frightening part of all of this (the increasing rate of autism) is the fact that when we talk about autism, we're always talking about children with autism. No one has ever shown us a comparable rate among adults. That simple fact should be scaring us all," says Anne Dachel, Media editor: Age of Autism (http://www.ageofautism.com). By 2022 it is estimated that nearly 1 in 9 children will be affected by autism.
Clearly there is much work to do. But are we prepared to do it? Here are some sobering thoughts from Mlive.com writer Tom Watkins about the Detroit school system:
"The legacy of adult illiteracy, drop outs and children not prepared to survive, let along thrive in a hyper-competitive, disruptive, technology-driven, knowledge economy where ideas and jobs can and do move around the globe effortlessly is legendary. The U.S. Secretary of Education has called the Detroit educational system the worst urban school district in America. This is not just a Detroit problem. What happens to the children of Detroit impacts us all. These children will one day come to your place of business--as a potential customer, employee or with other nefarious ideas in mind. Put simply, the City of Detroit, our region, state and nation will never recover unless we address the educational genocide that is taking place in far too many of our cities."
It's not just Detroit. It's Kalamazoo, too. It's all over this country, in big cities and small towns. I see it all the time--people who treat school as a joke then complain that they can't find a job other than the most menial ones. Where will the skilled and educated people come from to run the Center and others like it?
The problem, I think, is education--and I mean real education--not just sitting in a classroom for 8 hours because the law says you have to, is not a priority for most people. They don't see the use for it. Recently an article appeared on this same site about several families who were going to lose their homes if the other people in their school district didn't come up with a considerable amount of money. Why were they going to lose their homes? Because, acting on the superintendant's advice they mortgaged their homes to pay for something the school needed. Now here is the interesting part. What was it that this school needed so badly that they were asking people to mortgage their homes? A new chemistry lab? New computers? Nope. A BLUE FOOTBALL FIELD. I kid you not. A BLUE FOOTBALL FIELD. Now people will squawk and scream if they are asked to help pay for something that will help special needs students learn but they will mortgage their homes for a football field. That shows right right there where their priorities are.
Even our colleges are not exempt. Around here if you ask the average person what the University of Michigan is known for, he or she will say, "football." Not its fine medical school. Can anyone tell me what Penn State is known for other than the football sex scandal? Now I am beginning to sound like my pastor when he starts ripping on entertainment. But it is true. We have elevated and glorified athletes all out of proportion to their importance. It starts in school with pep assemblies for football, basketball. Never any recognition for math or science or the other academic subjects. They're not sexy. They are, in the words of Paul Simon, "that crap I learned in high school."
This attitude must change if the Great Lakes Center for Autism is going to be a success. Because it is going to take special skills and dedication to do the kind of work they do. It is going to take education to know how to research causes and cures. And when I look around me quite frankly I am frightened for the future of my country. Right now we are the leader in so many ways, but the torch may be passing.
