Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Farina Visits Uptown School To Announce Expansion of Autism Services

 Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña said the city will open 41 new classes for students with autism.
Fariña Announces Expansion of Autism Services
View Full Caption

FORT GEORGE — Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña visited an Uptown elementary school Thursday morning to announce an expansion of the city’s programs for students with autism.

Fariña toured the Professor Juan Bosch School at 12 Ellwood St., which has offered NEST programming integrating high-functioning students with autism into mainstream classrooms since 2008.

Fariña announced Thursday that the city will open 41 new classes for students with autism, including 26 NEST classes and 15 Horizon classes, which serve children with greater social and academic needs.

“Today is National Autism Awareness day, and we couldn’t pick a better school to be at it,” Fariña said as she announced the plan.

NEST classes are smaller than traditional classes and are co-taught by teachers trained to work with students on the autism spectrum. The classes utilize a specialized curriculum to improve social interactions and academic success.

Fariña emphasized that NEST programs are about integration.

“One of the things that was very exciting today is that if you went into any of the NEST program classes, there was no way that you could tell the difference between students who were here because of autism and the regular students, or students who are mainstreamed.”

During a visit to one of the school’s second-grade classrooms, Fariña praised a student who had just given an oral presentation on Helen Keller.

“You did a great job of making eye contact with your audience, almost as if to make sure we were all listening,” Fariña told the girl.

Juan Bosch principal Deirdre Budd said that NEST offers many benefits for her mainstream students, as well.

“The NEST program has changed the conversation in this building,” she said. “We have incorporated all of the practices that are good for children with ASD. They’re good for all children.”

Fariña was instrumental in bringing NEST programs to New York City public schools when she served as superintendent in District 15 in Brooklyn. In 2003, she was a member of the team that helped develop the original NEST program, which was implemented at Brooklyn’s P.S. 32.

The city now serves more than 1,300 children through its programs for students with autism, including NEST and Horizon classes. Students in the Horizon program have greater academic and social needs, and they are assigned to small classes only for students with autism. They also receive services like speech and language therapy to help them develop communication skills. 

The new NEST and Horizon classes will serve more than 100 students at 32 schools spread across the five boroughs, the Department of Education said. Four of the new programs will be in Manhattan, including two in Harlem.

Fariña said the expansion of these programs marks a drastic change from a little more than a decade ago, when there were no such services for public school students with autism.

“In many cases these students had to go on to private schools to receive special services,” she said. “We are now in a place where we believe this is part of public education. I’m thrilled to be here today.”