Autism: A Different Way of Thinking Part 2

In part two of this two part special, Steve Adubato hosts “Autism: A Different Way of Thinking,” a forum of New Jersey educators, advocates, parents, non-profit and government leaders as well as medical professionals to discuss the specific challenges faced by children and adults with autism. The forum also examines access to services in suburban and urban areas, the state’s impact on autism services, the availability of employment opportunities and ways businesses and healthcare systems can better support individuals with autism from youth into adulthood.

Guests Include:
NJ Asw. Valerie Vainieri Huttle
Suzanne Buchanan, Exec. Director of Autism NJ
Michele Adubato, Founder & CEO, Center for Autism
Dr. Shereef Elnahal, Former NJ Commissioner of Health
Nadine Wright Arbubakrr, Pres & Founder Nassan’s Place & Parent of Child with Autism
Hetal Narcisco, Director of Vocational Rehab Services at Jewish Vocational Services
Dr. Corinne Catalano, Assistant Director for Consultation Services, Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health, Montclair State Univ.
Kate Fiske, PhD, BCBA-D, Author, Autism and the Family: Understanding and Supporting Parents and Siblings & Rutgers–New Brunswick Assoc. Professor
Cornelia Gilpin, Nurse Manager at Overlook Hospital
Mark Mautone, Director of Special Services for the Hoboken Public School District & 2015 NJ Teacher of the Year
4/24/19 #2209

Excerpt:

"Hi this is Steve Adubato, coming to you from the North Ward Center in Newark, New Jersey. This is part two of a conversation you can see behind me. It's called Autism: A Different Way of Thinking with ten experts from around the state, the region, who deal with the challenges of autism. For those who are diagnosed or not, and their families. I'm gonna jump right into this. Part two. One of the issues that many of you said, "Hey, we need to talk about..." I guess it's called "aging out" at 21. Commissioner, Commissioner of Health, what happens at 21 for someone who was 20, now 21, diagnosed with autism? What's different? So as I mentioned before Steve, New Jersey is leading the country in many ways, in the services that we've provided to children with autism, and as a result, more and more people are able to successfully transition... I shouldn't say "successfully," they are reaching the age of 21 where a lot of these services end up falling off. And so New Jersey has recognized that, I think, earlier than most. The New Jersey Department of Human Services, for example, has an Office of Autism, and more and more counties in the state are getting into the area of making sure people can successfully transition into adulthood. That means finding stable employment, that means making sure that the services people are dependent on don't immediately drop off, and there's a good transition. And it means in education, in many cases, higher education, people getting the certifications they need to successfully transition into jobs that they want and they can perform. And again, all of that needs to be individualized to the person with autism and their families. Can..."