May 28, 2009
Bowling
Green, Ky. - Tisha Ziemer considers the expansion of the Kelly Autism Program into Owensboro a
blessing.
KAP, which provides services to adolescents and young adults diagnosed along the Autism Spectrum Continuum, as well as their families, was established at Western Kentucky University. However, health and travel issues kept Ziemer from traveling from Owensboro to Bowling Green so that her 10-year-old son Corey could benefit from the program.
“Now that it’s here in Owensboro, we are on the ground floor and I feel we are going to be friends with Kelly Autism until he’s an adult,” Ziemer said.
Corey is one of three students who have been diagnosed with Autism participating in a new after-school program based on KAP. Housed on the Wendell Foster Campus for Developmental Disabilities, KAP-Owensboro, or KAP-O, helps students develop social skills while providing support for families.
“We utilize our materials in group activity and one-on-one counseling in order for them to develop their social skills,” KAP-O Manager Ashley Benthall said, adding the goal is to take those skills to their schools and community “and have better interactions with their peers and family.”
Benthall, who worked with KAP in Bowling Green as a WKU undergraduate student, started working with KAP-O in January. KAP-O began offering services in March. Those services are being expanded into two summer programs that begin in June.
“We’ll have more opportunities for the older students to get out into the community and develop some job skills that will result in job placements,” Benthall said.
KAP-O is offering a youth program for ages 16 and under that will meet on Mondays and Tuesdays. Benthall said the focus will be on social skills and community involvement and will include field trips and volunteer opportunities.
A program for ages 16 and older will meet Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and will focus on job skills and 
job placements. Benthall said participants will be assigned job coaches and will be placed in jobs in the community where they can use skills they practice at the KAP-O office.
The summer programs will run in two sessions: June 8-26 and July 6-24. Ten students have signed up for the two programs so far, she said.
KAP-O also offers opportunities for undergraduate and graduate college students to gain experience in teaching special populations. Benthall is working on a master’s degree at WKU and students from Brescia University, Kentucky Wesleyan College and WKU-Owensboro are assisting.
“Even though we’re starting out small, Bowling Green started out small several years ago and it has turned into such a great program. We feel that will be the case here as well,” Benthall said.
For more information on the services provided by KAP-O, call (270) 852-1438 or email kap.owensboro@wku.edu.
More WKU news is available at http://www.wku.edu/news/index.html and at http://wkunews.wordpress.com/.
For more information, contact Ashley Benthall, (270) 852-1438.
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