Its been two weeks back in Ghana and things have picked up right where they left off. Before leaving from the U.S. I had the pleasure of meeting with Prof. Joel Arick, the author of STAR and FACTER autism therapy programs. After explaining my background and role in Ghana, he very kindly agreed to donate some items to the schools here. To my utter amazement, he was able to acquire the entire first and second levels of STAR, and the FACTER program with 3 training DVDs. I was blown away by his kindness as well as endlessly thankful towards STAR Autism Support for their generous donation.

As mentioned in the previous entry, my time here will now be shared. During the week, I will be doing speech therapy at Coledic (soon to be Multikids) as well as helping with the development of a program called Towards Independence. This is an hour long class everyday geared toward teenagers with autism who are in need of enhancing their life skills. So far we have done lessons on dish washing, going to restaurants, talking on the phone, times of day and telling the time, useful measurements, watering the garden, ect. No only are we teaching the students, it also gives me a chance to teach some of the other teachers here about lesson planning and essential adaptations and/or additions for students with autism in regards to curriculum. This increases the program's sustainability.

Using the STAR program guidelines and training DVDs, I'll be doing staff trainings at AACT every Friday. The first training, next Friday, will be focusing on positive behavior reinforcements, something that I feel particularly passionate about.

On top of all of this, International Autism Awareness Day, the 2nd of April, is only about 9 weeks away!!! This may sound like a long time to start preparing although not to Ghana. Over the next 2 months, I plan to really focus a lot of my spare time (haha) on networking and planning for events.

As for my re-entry back into Ghana... well according to most, I have lost all my tan and apparently ate too many Christmas cookies. Ah, it's nice to be back.

Many thanks for reading.
Casey

P.S. Good luck to the Ghanaian national soccer(football) team as they face Egypt in the African Cup of Nations Tournament finals this Sunday.

A New Year in Ghana

Dear Readers,

I first must apologize for the lapse of time since last writing. I hope the holiday season has brought you and your loved ones an abundance of health and happiness. Since the last update, there have been changes to my role as country director for the Global Autism Project as well as many new developments at AACT.

Back in October and November, AACT had an incredible influx of new volunteers. From US study abroad students to Ghanaian community members, the center was consistently flooded with bodies. For the most part, the increased ratio of caregivers to students was beneficial, especially when focusing on the outcome of new program developments. The most influential volunteer-initiated growth was the introduction of an adapted physical education program. This not only proved to be an essential break and energy release for the students, it also gave the caregivers a chance to teach in a more alternative environment.



My personal favorite addition is swimming Friday's. After a large clean-out session of the center, we found many usefully toys and resources, one of them being an unused, blowup pool. Unfortunately though, due to the size of the pool, only the younger two classes are able to safely use it. Just as every student learns differently, not every teacher is able to thrive in the same environment. Through these added programs, we found newly excelling students and caregivers.

Throughout this fall, AACT continued the ongoing process of fund raising and increasing public awareness. Auntie Serwah and I presented to the 120 member University of Ghana choral group about autism and AACT which lead to them choosing he center as their focus for an annual fundraiser. We set up booths at two different bazaars, one more monetarily successful than the other.

As a representative for AACT, I was also given the opportunity to attend the National Inclusion Forum. This conference brought together teachers, parents, doctors, government officials, and any other professional working in the field of special education. The idea was to learn about current policies and adapt them to accommodate all people with any disability, including learning disabilities. This forum was a first of it's kind and needs to happen more frequently in order to provide these children with the education they deserve.



So what does 2010 look like for the Global Autism Project in Ghana? For the next few months, one of our main focuses will be helping to organize events for April, International Autism Awareness Month. Using previously established connections in conjunction with a newly formed parent support group, increased program development, and heightened volunteer communication we will strive to put autism in Ghana on an international radar.



Over the past 6 months, I have worked hard to really highlight the positive growth within AACT. However, this does not always come easy. Just like anything else in this world, not all of our plans or proposed programs work perfectly. In fact sometimes what works in one environment, will not work at all in another. I have learned a great deal about flexibility, not only within my own expectations but also accepting criticisms of programs, trainings, and the lack of follow-through.

On a more personal level, I was asked to become a part of Ghana's first "all-inclusive" school, COLEDIC [The Communication Learning Difficulties & Counseling Center], as a part time Speech Therapist and Autism Specialist. My presence at this school has allowed me to help AACT increase their involvement with a population of special education advocates in the local community. Originally, my position as the country director of the Global Autism Project in Ghana was going to end in the beginning of December. This has since changed. Thanks to agreements between COLEDIC and GAP, I have been asked to return in mid-January and continue in the effort to help the development of resources available to people with autism in Ghana.



Thank you to everyone who has been reading our blog over the past months and hope you will continue to follow throughout 2010!

Sincerely,
Casey