The Meredith Autism Program Provides Intense Learning Experiences to Children with Autism and Meredith Students
By Andrea Weaver

The Meredith Autism Program (MAP), founded in 1995, serves about 30 children with autism annually in Raleigh and several other North Carolina cities. The program offers two services – the clinical/research model and the workshop model.

In the clinical/research model, MAP’s professional staff teams up with Meredith undergraduate students to assist five to seven children each year. They conduct intensive applied behavior analysis (ABA) sessions using a program developed by Dr. O. Ivar Lovaas, a well-known teacher and researcher at UCLA who has studied autism for more than

30 years. In fact, MAP is the only Lovaas Institute for Early Intervention (LIFE) research site in North Carolina, and one of only 11 research sites worldwide.

“We’re affiliated with UCLA. We’re one of their research replication sites,” said Dr. Doreen Fairbank, MAP director and associate professor of psychology. “That gives us a lot of credibility.”

In the workshop model, MAP staff conduct training sessions that prepare families to establish in-home ABA programs. The workshop model staff also provides consulting services to several school systems in North Carolina.

Autism, a developmental disorder, affects the development of behavioral, linguistic and social skills in children. Symptoms typically appear by age three. The type and severity of symptoms varies greatly among individuals, and Lovaas’ research indicates that early intervention programs like Meredith’s are effective in helping children with autism reach their full potential.

“Our goal is to mainstream as many children as possible,” Fairbank said.

About 45 percent of the children who have completed MAP’s clinical/research model have achieved normal intelligence scores and are indistinguishable from their typical peers by age 7. In the field of autism research, they are known as “best outcome” children.

Meredith students are an integral part of MAP’s success. To participate, students enroll in an autism practicum course offered each semester. Dr. Fairbank and other members of MAP’s professional staff train the students in Applied Behavior Analysis techniques and guide their sessions with children. Each student spends six to nine hours a week working one-on-one with a child.

The program requires commitment, dedication and professionalism from students, Fairbank said, adding, “The students mature faster.”

Meredith students often work with the children in the MAP classrooms in Ledford Hall, but they also attend family outings and other events with the children. They help the children learn to talk and listen, dress and feed themselves, move their bodies with coordination, and interact with others.

“I love to see the progress of the children. When they reach different levels in their growth, it makes you feel good to know that you were a part of that,” said sophomore Britney Smith, a child development major from Raleigh.

Through MAP, Meredith students acquire hands-on experience in scientific observation and research. They also contribute to their community and, frequently, discover new ways to use their own talents.

“We had a dance major who worked with the kids” on movement, Fairbank said, adding that art and music majors have also found ways to incorporate their interests into their interactions with the children.

Smith values the concrete skills she has acquired through MAP, but the intangible lessons have been as meaningful.

“I have learned not to… dwell on the problems in life. Life is too short. When I work with the kids and see the joy that they have and, no matter how frustrated some of them get when they can’t get the right answer, they never give up. I think that this is a lesson that all of us need to be reminded of,” she said.

Autism Program Staff
Dr. Doreen Fairbank, Director
Kathryn Cole, Director, Intensive Research Program
Consultants Lisa Jones, Hilary Wilkinson, Asumi Sakae
Kathryn Everette, Workshop Director
Workshop Consultants Julie Jensen, Summer Gainey

Faculty and Staff Invited to Support the Meredith Fund

Faculty and staff can choose to support the Meredith Fund, the College’s annual giving program, through a one-time contribution or through a monthly payroll deduction.

Meredith community members who would like to use the payroll deduction option can do so through the College’s Payroll Deduction Program.

“This option allows faculty and staff members to decide how much to have deducted from their salaries, at what intervals, and to decide which fund or program to support,” said Adrienne Cole, Meredith Fund director.

Payroll deduction authorizations must be received by Monday, Dec. 1, in order to begin in January.

“The Meredith Fund provides much needed unrestricted income for Meredith, serving a wide variety of needs,” Cole said. “Annual gifts to the Meredith Fund, when combined with other gifts to the Fund, provide a powerful and flexible tool to address the most pressing needs on campus.”

For more information, contact Adrienne Cole at ext. 8392 or colea@meredith.edu.

Angela Gouge: Recipient of the Staff Recognition Award
By Kristen Scott, ´05

This spring, Meredith College presented Angela Gouge with one of the college’s two Staff Recognition Awards.

The awards, presented annually, recognize staff members who, through their job performance, have demonstrated initiative, teamwork, extra effort and outstanding customer service to the Meredith community.

Gouge has demonstrated the qualifications for this award as a database administrator in technology services. An employee of Meredith College for 15 years, Gouge heads Information Systems Services. This group is responsible for the administration and maintenance of the College's core information systems including the Datatel software (Colleague) and the legacy systems residing on the AS400. The completion of the Colleague implementation, as well as expansion of the system's functionality, continues to be the group's top priority.

“Receiving the Staff Recognition Award last spring was a very rewarding experience. Knowing that my friends and colleagues appreciate my work at Meredith is something I will always cherish,” Gouge said.

Gouge’s favorite aspect of her job is the atmosphere of a small college. She said, “I enjoy working in such a close-knit community, where we are friends as well as colleagues. I am in a position to continually learn new things and I have had many opportunities at Meredith. It’s great to work in a department where everyone works together as a team.”

Profile: Susan Squires, Laura Harrill Presidential Award Recipient
By: Erin Hege ’04

Meredith College reference librarian Susan Squires received the Laura Harrill Presidential Award at the Faculty and Staff Awards and Recognition Celebration last spring.
With surprise and appreciation, Squires accepted the award. A true team member, Squires said, “we all are working very hard to continue to enhance the educational experience students receive at Meredith.”

Squires has been essential in the expansion and the development of the library during her 16-year tenure at Meredith. Her most recent project is the implementation of the new Information Literacy Program. This program, developed in concert with College’s new general education program, further equips the library with ways to advance students’ research. Training in critical thinking and research skills are incorporated into the first two years of required English courses and in major research courses.

Squires’ own research interests are in the field of Native American studies. When not researching or helping a student, Squires is teaching in the classroom. When asked about the most rewarding aspect of her job, she replied, “Without a doubt, teaching. My time in the classroom, whether associated with library resources, Native American history, or the Context of Culture course, is the most rewarding part of my day.”

Squires received her MLS from UNC-Chapel Hill. However, as an alumna of Radford University, which was a women’s college when she attended, Squires feels a special bond to Meredith and its students. She enjoys working at a small school where she can interact with faculty members from all disciplines and personally know students.

Squires said, “I am able to know students as individuals who are growing in all aspects of their lives…as I think back on the years, I feel lucky to call many of them friends.”

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