October 8, 2008
To Whom It May
Concern,
The Foundation
for Autism Training and Education (FATE) has been an excellent training
resource for our school district. Our staff and our students have greatly
benefited from FATE’s efforts and their ability to provide free or low cost
training in our state.
In 2005
Sedona Integrated Preschool Program was involved with a pilot program
based on the research-based practices of Applied Behavior Analysis and the
Analysis of Verbal Behavior. The guidance and support of these
professionals, Tom Caffery, in improving the design of the classroom and
helping us implement language-based programs for our students was
invaluable. More recently in the 2007-2008 school year, several of our staff
attended workshops in Mesa, Arizona and in Flagstaff, Arizona. Classroom
teachers and staff were able to immediately use the strategies presented in
the training and apply these teaching techniques with our students.
We are located in
a rural area of Arizona and it is often difficult to get teachers and
educational assistants to attend trainings, as travel is often required to
Phoenix. Continued support and training is needed to help improve and
maintain skills learned to further enrich the education of our students.
Ideally, we would
like FATE to come to our schools and provide additional training and support
on-site. A NOAZ training site could be secured to expand this option to
include other NOAZ districts. Providing the support and training at our
school site would provide training opportunities to our staff. It would also
provide an opportunity for parents of our students to attend these
workshops, and collaborate with their classroom teachers to effectively
support our children with autism.
We sincerely
thank FATE for the trainings offered in our state and we look forward to
FATE returning to Arizona.
Susann Terry Gage
Special Education
Director
Sedona-Oak Creek
School District
928.204.6836
September 22, 2008
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing this letter to support FATE
(The Foundation for Autism Training and Education) for funding to continue
its mission of helping individuals with autism achieve their highest lever
of independence within their home, school and community. FATE provides
targeted and sustained training in research-based programs that have proven
to be effective for children with autism and other developmental
disabilities.
Mental Health Association in Orange County,
Inc. has worked with FATE over the past few years to provide training for
family members and service providers of children on the autism spectrum in
our community. Parents have been able to attend the training and bring the
research-based protocols into their homes with wonderful success. We also
collaborated to bring information to school district professionals at a
special dinner so that all districts in our county were introduced to FATE
and the possibilities of utilizing the programs in their schools.
I feel that many children in Orange County
have been impacted by FATE through the presentations. Although parents will
not necessarily become specialists in shaping behaviors and learning, they
have become partners in their children’s programs as they become more
proficient in the methods presented. It has been demonstrated that the
parents who have attended the FATE trainings, are assisting their children
in becoming more independent and capable over all environments and are more
able to work with their children and the service providers.
We look forward to working with FATE in the
coming years so that every family who wants to learn about the
research-based methods will have the opportunity to attend training
sessions. It brings hope to many families who felt defeated and lost.
Sincerely,
Anne Klingner
CAPIS
Coordinator
The New York Autism Resource
Center, Inc.
199 Tally Ho Road
Middletown, NY 10940
September
15, 2008
To whom it may concern:
I am writing this letter to
express a deep appreciation for the training and support that FATE has
brought to New York. Many teachers, paraprofessionals and other school
staff have directly benefitted from the in-depth workshops that include
video-taped examples of students with autism successfully educated in public
schools.
As a direct result of FATE’s
systematic trainings and sustained support philosophy, several teachers have
a new found understanding and confidence in working with their students.
Equally important is the fact that local teachers are now training and
passing on the science and understanding to others including parents. Many
of our students are now moving ahead and demonstrating improvement in
crucial life skill areas such as language and social development.
The Warwick Valley School
District, a large school system in the Hudson Valley Region, has recently
announced their commitment to starting a program for students with autism as
a direct result of FATE’s mission.
Having stated that, it remains
vital that FATE’s support continue to be available throughout this area and
expand to other regions.
The New York Autism Resource
Center, Inc. is overwhelming indebted to the efforts of FATE for the positive impact on the lives of many of our teachers and families. It
is our hope that through continued collaboration and the availability of
resources to FATE that this success will expand to include many more.
Sincerely,
Sandra Brownsey,
Founding Member
Lisa Currao,
Founding Member
Paterson Public Schools
Department of Early Childhood
385-391 Totowa Avenue
Paterson, NJ 07502
Gloria L. Bodker
Supervisor of Early
Childhood Education
September 10, 2008
To Whom It May Concern:
On September 2, 2008 Mr. Tom Caffrey presented the
“Establishing and Maintaining Instructional Control with Children with
Autism in Early Intervention” to my preschool staff. FATE provided this
training free of charge. Paterson, the third largest city in NJ, is an
Abbott district. It is difficult to obtain trainers with his knowledge to
provide much needed training at no or little cost to the district.
Mr. Caffrey provided information and guidance to
teachers, child study team members, and administrators so they can increase
their repertoire of skills and work more effectively with preschoolers on
the autistic spectrum. Last year a number of staff applied for the Project
Pipeline training and were rejected. Mr. Caffrey, understanding the needs
of our staff, encouraged them to apply again.
It was encouraging to walk into classrooms the first
week of school and see the teachers beginning to use some of the strategies
that Mr. Caffrey discussed. Teachers and assistants were establishing
relationships with the children. Teachers reached out to parents to
complete the Reinforcement Assessment Form. Therapists were getting
additional information on the website. These are good beginning steps. My
concern is that without additional training and in-class support the staff
will not be able to continue or expand their knowledge and skills.
Our staff receives minimal assistance and support due
to budget constraints and the overwhelming number of preschool children in
our district. We currently serve 3500 preschoolers. Everyday we get
referrals from parents, early intervention, DYFS, and hospitals requesting
programming for children on the Autistic spectrum. Currently, approximately
2% of the children attending our programs are diagnosed with autism. Many
others appear to have autistic characteristics but are not diagnosed. The
children are placed in both general education and self-contained classes.
Our dedicated teachers and therapists are desperate for training and
guidance in implementing strategies appropriately in a variety of settings.
It is, therefore, extremely important that FATE
continue its efforts to provide training and assistance to districts like
ours.
Sincerely,
Gloria L. Bodker
South Bergen Jointure Commission
Scott H. Rossig, M.Ed., BCBA
Principal -Maywood/SouthHackensack
September 8, 2008
Dear Funding Administrator,
My name is Anna Marie Kent and I am a special
education teacher at the South Bergen Jointure Commission. Our school
currently serves approximately twenty towns in Bergen County providing
educational services to students with disabilities, primarily those with
autism. We are dedicated to providing the best possible education for our
students as well as our professional staff.
Through the FATE organization, I am enrolled in
Project Pipeline (a fully-funded comprehensive ABA training program for
public school teachers). As a classroom teacher, I have experienced
benefits of this training first-hand and have also seen the residual effects
in the children I teach.
This year FATE joined forces with my school in order
to provide free district-wide training for all parents and select
professional staff. FATE serves as a huge network of support for both our
parents and staff through on-going training and website resources.
As with most public schools, the budget for
professional training is limited yet the need is vast. Our professional
staff, students and districts would benefit greatly from continual training
in order to streamline our program and bring all professional staff up to
speed on the best teaching practices. I have seen the organization's results
first-hand and can only hope that each of my colleagues will have that same
opportunity.
I am forever grateful to the FATE organization and
its amazing staff. I know by working together the impact we have on our
students will be immeasurable.
Sincerely,
Anna Marie Kent, Special
Education Teacher
Sharon Dickstein, Principal
Bicentennial
Elementary
929 Route 209
Cuddebackville, New York 12729
M.T. Wieboldt,
Assistant Principal
To Whom It May Concern:
I first heard about FATE’S
workshops in the fall of 2007 when a teacher I work with raved about the
first training in the series. I am a speech pathologist currently working
in the Port Jervis School District in a classroom for students with autism.
This is a brand new program that began last fall. We (the special education
teacher, myself, aides, and other related services personnel) had had no
formal training with verbal behavior and wanted to learn how to best meet
the needs of our children. Fortunately, FATE began to offer these workshops
in the Warwick School District. I have been able to attend the first three
trainings, along with Dr. Sundberg’s workshop on the VB-MAPP. The trainings
have provided me with valuable information that I can implement into the
classroom and in my individual sessions. FATE first provided me with a
framework, and now through the other sessions, I am learning specific
teaching strategies for each skill.
The teacher and I are doing our best to
implement the new skills we have learned into the classroom. We have
already seen a positive change with the students. Our children are learning
how to use language to communicate their wants and needs, they are
interacting more with their peers, and they are attending to a variety of
different activities. We structure their day as much as possible to limit
downtime. One of the most gratifying things for me is to hear that the
parents are seeing progress at home. They are thrilled with our program and
have become our strongest advocates.
It would be great if our area had more
training sessions, so that our parents, aides, and other related services
personnel could attend and benefit from the information presented. It would
also help to have more consultants in the area to not only help our
classroom, but possibly to go in to the homes. Unfortunately, our resources
are limited, but we are doing the best we can with what we have. We are far
from being the verbal behavior classroom we want to be, but the little steps
we take are making a positive difference in the lives of our children.
Thank you FATE!
Sincerely,
Lisa Ryan M.A.CCC-SLP
1312 East 84
Street
Brooklyn NY
112366
718 251
0527 Fax: 718 210 3518
www.mytimeinc.org
info@mytimeinc.org
Executive
Director Lucina Clarke Secretary Kirsteen Sotillio Treasurer Sharon
Morrison Program Director Jennifer St. Hill Board Members: Marielle Schank
Dr. Perlita Young Mr. Winston Fearon Gwendolyn McPherson Tzghe Redda
Advisory Committee: Isabel Morales Maribel Ellis Debbie Sharon Dr.
Benjamin Gozun
9/7/08
FATE
PO Box 1157
Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632
To Whom It May Concern:
It is with great pleasure
that I send this letter of support on behalf of the Foundation for Autism
Training and Education (FATE). It is with the intention of
helping them acquire necessary funding to expand the reach of their vital
services that I willingly share our experience with their wonderful
organization.
My Time, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization
whose mission is to support, empower, educate, enlighten and uplift parents
and caregivers of children with autism and other developmental
disabilities. Our organization shares FATE’s vision and provides
services for families in Brooklyn, NY. Most
of the families we assist are of low economic status and underserved. Many
families cannot afford to pay for training even when it is available.
FATE has worked with our
organization by providing valuable training free of charge to parents
and professionals in the communities that we serve. This much needed
training allows them to utilize strategies which enable children to lead
more functional, social, and productive lives.
All of our workshops with
FATE have been hugely successful. Our first workshop had over 200
attendees. We actually had to turn people away because the facility was at
capacity. The need for targeted and ongoing training is crucial. Parents
and professionals want to achieve the best outcome for every child affected
with autism. When given the appropriate support and training, they are
armed with the most important tools for the best possible outcome.
Feedback from parents
about FATE workshops consistently mentions “effective” and “practical.”
Parents and professionals frequently comment that they can immediately
implement strategies learned at the training. We are constantly receiving
requests about future workshops to be given by FATE.
My Time, Inc. would be
honored to collaborate with FATE in the future.
I welcomed the opportunity
to offer this sincere letter of support. If I can be of further
assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Lucina Clarke, Executive
Director, My Time, Inc.
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