Dec.

1, 2009

By Garrett Valenzuela, Katie Nalder, Rickey Martinez, Ally Sewell, Mike Visser

The children and families come first. Behavioral science and educational practices are being
combined to aid young children with autism.

The UNR Early Childhood Autism Program is doing their part in the fight against autism by
using behavioral analysis and in-depth research to help children make significant progress in
their abilities and functions. The program is designed to monitor the behavior of the child, and at
the same time, provide UNR students a place to hone their skills in the exercise of behavioral
analysis.

Since there is not a cure, the program works with children so that they can live more easily with
autism. It will never go away, but the children learn how to control themselves and the
symptoms.

What surprises most people is that we all display symptoms that children living with autism
have: chewing on pencils, fidgeting, bouncing legs, and tapping feet.

The only difference is that these behaviors interfere with an autistic child’s learning. The
frequency and duration however can be more intense in an autistic child than in a typical child.

Children with autism are very different from each other. No two children with autism are
exactly alike. Many have deficits in areas including language, social skills, learning and
emotional stability.

Some children may also have what is called echolalia, which is when a child repeats exactly
what he/she hears. Tantrums and aggression are also very common.

Working out of the department of psychology through the Behavior Analysis Program, the Early
Childhood Autism Program attempts to correct the symptoms of infantile autism, such as
avoidance of people, self-stimulatory and repetitious behavior, and delays in language.
Individualized treatment in various categories of personal behavior allows the UNR students to
engage with the children and gives the children concentrated practice for maximum results of
improvement.

The program approaches their task with two types of programs for the children and families.
The first program is the Home Program, which assists residents in the Reno/Sparks area.
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is instructed by faculty, graduate students, and a team of
tutors from UNR in the home of the child. The parents are required to participate in their child’s
treatment.

The second type of program is the Outreach Program, targeting children that live outside the
Reno/Sparks area. This program is aimed at parents who would like to set up a home
development program for their child. It also provides assistance to teachers of preschool and
elementary schools that want to integrate a child with autism into their classrooms.

Currently nine children are enrolled in the program at a cost of $2,500 a month with a minimum
two year commitment. According to UNR professor and program director Dr. Patrick M.
Ghezzi, the benefits definitely outweigh the costs.

The Sierra Kids Foundation has helped parents cope with the high costs of the program through
scholarships. To date the annual basketball tournament put on by the Sierra Kids Foundation has
raised $100,000 over the last six years.

In years past such big names as Kyle Singler from Duke University, Austin Morgan from Yale,
and even UNR’s own Armon Johnson have participated in the tournament. This year expects to
be the greatest pool of talent yet says Ghezzi.

The tournament kicks off on Dec. 3 and concludes on Dec. 5 at Reno High School. This year
includes a slam dunk contest as well as a 3-point shootout. All proceeds go directly to the Sierra
Kids Foundation.

For a schedule of the tournament or donations visit www.sierrakidsfoundation.com.