Dear Readers,

It has been a great couple weeks at AACT!

Back during the first week of the service project, Brad and Lori took baseline data on functional communication opportunities. Their data was taken during snack time on 15 separate students. According to the observations and despite dedicated staff, the baseline showed minimal to no spontaneous communication. After three weeks of training, making communication aids, and modeling effective techniques, we found their spontaneous communication rose to an average of about 6 opportunities during a 5 minute period. Over the past weeks, I have taken follow-up data. In most cases, the students’ opportunities to functionally communicate had stayed consistent, while a couple others actually increased. This was great news! The caregivers are continuing to use their acquired skills and resources and the students are learning meaningful communication, slowly but surely.


Along these lines, back in July the Global Autism Project volunteers made many new PECS pictures available in each classroom. These are proving to be very useful, especially within the youngest classroom. In addition to this and after a meeting with Auntie Baaba & Auntie Serwah, we found it necessary to being creating visual schedules for each student. With the help from one student, one caregiver and Auntie Baaba, we made 14 individual schedules along with an extra sheets of various motivational pictures. Providing the caregivers use the time tables effectively and the students positively respond, a new PECS organizational system has been put into place to make it easier to create more of these in the future.

On Friday, July 21st Auntie Serwah and I presented to 31 New York University study abroad students about volunteering at AACT. It was organized by their academic director and included many other Ghanaian schools, NGOs, and businesses looking for volunteers. Personally, this was a remarkable opportunity. Just five years ago, I was that same study abroad student being first introduced to the beautiful country of Ghana.


Last week, I began to focus on fund raising ideas. With families in and out of this center every day looking for services and one serious traffic problem in Accra, there is a true need for a second facility. Keeping every day needs in mind, I anticipate raising enough money to fund an entire new center will be a long process. With that said, we decided to start fund raising ASAP. The first fundraiser, the Caregiver Challenge, will begin this Friday. The objective behind this is to have the staff compete to see who can raise the most amount of money in one month. There will be a chart displayed publicly that tracks each caregivers progress and an overall total. As incentive the person who raises the most will earn 20% of the grand total, with second and third places also receiving a portion and certificates of accomplishment.

Other planned fundraisers include professional days at the center, monthly benefit dinners, and a Walk for Autism Awareness in April. The key behind all of these is that they rely on a local population. Everything that I have been doing here is done with the idea of sustainability first. Always asking: Will the center be able to maintain the work the volunteers have been doing in the future? Will they use these resources, trainings, and fund raising ideas to continuously enhance the services provided? For now the answer is yes. According to our data, although only officially on communication opportunities, there has been a heightening of motivation to work more effectively as a center.


As for me, life in Ghana is exciting as always. Over the past two months, I have already learned more both personally and professionally than I anticipated for my entire stay here (including a tolerance for geckos in my bedroom and a serious love for plantains in any form).

Take care,
Casey