Bowling Green, Ky. - “I had a celebration today.  For the first time in over a year, and this time with intention, my son said ‘mama.’  It is in those moments that my heart leaps forward, and I am thankful that there are those who have gone before me to show me the way,” said Tracy Lawrence, a Bowling Green mother of a beautiful curly-haired, four-year-old son with autism. 

Lawrence and other parents and caregivers like her gathered to continue celebrating on Aug. 25, at the dedication of the new Western Kentucky University Clinical Education Complex, which brings together under one roof six different community services for people with disabilities. Before the CEC, these services were spread not only across campus, but across Bowling Green.

Dreams becoming reality.  Does it ever really happen?  For a handful of devoted parents, their dream not only became a reality, but it went beyond anything they dared to imagine, becoming a source of help and hope unlike anything else in the country.

After funding was cut for a developmental play group for developmentally delayed children, grandparent Suzanne Vitale took action. The benefits of the play group were vital for her grandson, Phillip, who has autism, and for other children in the community.  In July 2003, Vitale, Fred Dent, and Julie Allen submitted a proposal to WKU provost Barbara Burch encouraging WKU to undertake a similar group.  Many of the other children in the developmental play group also received services from WKU's speech clinic. Could WKU serve as a center for services and information for people with certain types of disabilities?
And the dream was born.

Dr. Burch liked the idea so much, she agreed that WKU would undertake the play group, and combine it with other programs. With the help of parents and WKU faculty and staff, the play group turned into so much more.
“I am so excited that this dream is now a reality,” Vitale said.  “Whenever I would get discouraged, all I had to do was look at Phillip and his progress, and I realized that it was worth every sacrifice I ever made.”
The dream is now a one-of-a-kind complex housing the Early Childhood Center, WKU Speech Clinic, The Kelly Autism Program, The Family Counseling Center, Traumatic Brain Injury Center, and the Family Resource Program.  The CEC prepares pre-professional students across disciplines while conducting research to enhance education and service.

“The CEC will give WKU students the opportunity to get hands-on experience in the field with children and young adults with disabilities,” Vitale said.  “After the students graduate, they can then go out into the community and help others with the knowledge they have learned.”

With this arrangement, information can be shared across disciplines, so the total picture of the client can be realized.  For example, a 3-year-old autistic child could join the developmental play group and receive speech services, and the parents could get counseling from the Family Counseling Center. When the child turns seven, he may begin the Kelly Autism Program, and the staff in the other two programs relay information to each other to better meet his needs.  Before the CEC, this same child may have received services from several private agencies who knew nothing of each other.  Researchers have known for years that an interactive team approach is the best way to treat disabilities. 

“Services are typically provided so people have to go here and there, and the missing link is providing continuity,” said Mary Lloyd Moore, CEC director.  The configuration of our programs is unique.  “The CEC will be the anchor for families as they progress into the future.”

The developmental play group that started this whole ball rolling is now the Big Red Camp at the Early Childhood Center. The ECC helps to advance the development and learning potential of children of all abilities 18 months through kindergarten.  It offers early childhood services to clients and hands-on training for WKU students who will be future educators, therapists, or early childhood professionals. 

“I was really happy to see this idea come to fruition, and be involved in this process,” said Lisa Murphy, director of the ECC.

The Kelly Autism Program helps adolescents and young adults diagnosed within the Autism Spectrum Continuum transition into adulthood, and also provides help to their families.  Vitale’s grandson Phillip serves as a mentor in the program.

“We provide academic, behavioral, and social supports, as well as helping our clients get involved in the community,” said Dr. Marty Boman, director of the Kelly Autism Program.  “Part of our current staff members are speech communication students.  The beauty of being in the CEC is that now the Speech and Communication Clinic will be in the same building.”

The Acquired Brain Injury Resource Program offers information, services and support to people with acquired brain injury, and their families.

“We try to serve students and families of students who have suffered brain injuries,” said Richard Dressler,” director of the ABIRP. “We want to help them return to school, and be successful. They work on problem solving, how to study, what to concentrate on, and other things that a non-brain injured person would be able to do without much thought.”

One student they helped was a young woman who suffered a brain injury in a car wreck while she was attending WKU.  After the wreck, she became a client at the ABIRP. 

Her mother said this program was the only one of its kind that could help her daughter.   It allowed her to do many of the things that she was doing in college before the wreck, even allowing her to attend events on campus.

The Family Counseling Clinic provides affordable, professional counseling services to families and individuals in need. 

“So many families of people with disabilities need counseling, and many professionals are not trained to deal with these kinds of issues.  The FCC will give students a chance to enhance their knowledge so they will have a broad range of experience, in addition to learning about the typical issues of substance abuse or depression,” said Tammy Shaffer, director of the FCC. 

This forward thinking program will serve families who are already involved with other areas of the CEC.  It is open to the community as well.

The Communication Disorders Clinic provides assessment and treatment services to individuals with communication disorders and serves as a state-of-the-art training facility for students in the Communication Disorders Program. Student clinicians under the supervision of licensed and certified Speech Language Pathologists and/or Audiologists provide the services.

My own son, a 6 year old named Chandler, has autism.  About a year ago, he began receiving services from a student involved with the Communication Disorders Clinic.  Before then, he could only say about 20 words.  After a year of intense therapy, his vocabulary has increased dramatically.  I can’t even count the number of words he says now.  I am so grateful this program exists.  In the last couple of months, it’s like a light bulb turned on in his head.  He would get so frustrated by the lack of communication.   The simple words “yes” and “no” that we take for granted have decreased his outbursts, and he can finally communicate his needs.

The Family Resource Program will serve as the unifying point of the CEC, said Mary Lloyd Moore. “It will provide educational support and resources for families, help with transitional issues, and create, promote, and organize volunteer opportunities and provide referrals as necessary,” she said. 

The CEC is now open and taking referrals.  For more information, visit their website at http://www.wkucec.com/cec_home.cgi.

Families now have somewhere to turn for help with their children or loved ones.  It all started with a handful of parents determined to get help for their children.  They shared their ideas with others, and now many other parents are benefiting from it, including Tracy Lawrence’s son Christian.

 “I am so impressed with Suzanne’s dedication and passion for her grandchild,” Lawrence said.  Where there were no services, she lobbied for them. There is a saying by Gandhi. You must be the change you wish to see in the world. She is that for her grandson and the many others that can benefit from this support.”

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

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