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Alice WERTHEIMER <br />108 Brighton Court i <br />Chapel Hill, NC 27516 <br />(919) 942 -7417 <br />Presentation to Orange County Commissioners <br />June 8, 1992 <br />I represent about 15 families in the;ndistrict who have young <br />children with autism. <br />I speak for all of them in expressing my gratitude that we live in <br />a community enlightened enough to recognize the benefits to ALL <br />taxpayers in the long -run, in spending adequately now to provide <br />appropriate educations for our children. <br />Worldwide statistics indicate that traditionally, almost 50% of <br />people with autism are institutionalized by adolescence while that <br />figure is only 8% in North Carolina! <br />It is extremely fortuitous that division TEACCH, the universally <br />recognized experts in the treatment of autism, is headquartered <br />here at the UNC medical school in Chapel Hill. Because TEACCH <br />works collaboratively with the public schools across our state, the <br />success rate for our children has increased along with their <br />potential to be productive members of their communities. <br />Autism, a neurological developmental disorder, is the fourth most <br />prevalentidisability. It affects communication, behavior and <br />social relationships. <br />The very specific and effective TEACCH treatment methods consist of <br />highly structured, visually oriented classrooms with low <br />student /teacher ratios. <br />Two such specialized classrooms have been serving our Chapel Hill <br />youngsters at the elementary level this year. Thanks to superb <br />teachers, and supportive administrative and school personnel, our <br />children have demonstrated great progress this year. (I might add <br />that their peers in regular classrooms have also made progress in <br />their acceptance, understanding and helpfulness of children who <br />learn differently). <br />I call to your attention today the need for this progress to <br />continue. <br />Thank you for the opportunity to address this issue and for your <br />sensitivity to all the children in our schools. No matter what <br />their rate or style of learning, it is the quality of their <br />educations today which will determine the level of support they'll <br />require tomorrow. <br />