Anderson Center for Autism - New York Nonprofit Press

September 2012 New York Nonprofit Press www.nynp.biz 13
agency of the Month
bright and comfortable, while also offering a
range of technical and structural supports for
students and staff. Discrete alarms alert staff
whenever someone enters or leaves the building.
Exhaust fans turn on automatically when
students use the kitchen and bathrooms. “They
prevent our fire alarm system from generating
false alarms,” says Pollack, noting how these
can be a major source of friction between residential
campuses and the local community.
The reconstruction of Anderson Center’s
100-acre campus has been a major undertaking,
taking almost ten years and over $30 million
so far, with several projects still underway.
In addition to the 15 student houses, the
agency has constructed a lake-side recreation
facility with an outdoor pavilion and a Village
Center with outdoor pool, program and meeting
space, apartments where families can enjoy
private day visits with their children, and support
facilities including a supply storehouse.
Several original buildings have been retained
and are being incorporated into a new
administrative headquarters, program space
and housing for visiting student interns and
“fellows.”
“Unless you knew the old Anderson
School, it is hard to understand how different
the campus is now,” says Maria Espie, Director
of Business Affairs, who has managed logistical
issues involved with completely rebuilding
a 124-student residential school while still in
operation.
LifeLong Learning
While Anderson Center’s residential
school can serve young people up to the age
of 21, most students require intensive supports
as they enter adulthood. The agency currently
serves approximately 80 adults with autism
and other developmental disabilities who live
in16 homes licensed as Individual Residential
Alternatives (IRAs) by the NYS Office for
People with Developmental Disabilities (OP-
WDD). Many of these individuals lived at
Anderson School prior to its change of focus.
However, most still have a diagnosis of autism
in addition to other disabilities, says Mary
Doyle, Director of Adult Services.
When Doyle first took over Adult Services
in 2001, the agency had only six homes. Most
of the subsequent growth came in response to
demand for places in Anderson Center’s programs.
“Parents want their children to stay
with Anderson Center after they graduate,”
says Pollack. “They recognize that we have a
good system.”
Anderson Center has extended its use of
ABA to Adult Services and has adopted “Life-
Long Learning” as the guiding principle of
its programming in this area. “We don’t stop
learning when we leave school,” says Pollack.
“The same should be true for our students.”
To this end, Anderson Center has designated
its three day programs in Poughkeepsie,
Pleasant Valley and Saugerties as LifeLong
Learning Centers. The 25-30
participants in each program
work on developing new life
and vocational skills, while
also having opportunities for
recreation and socialization.
Anderson Center has
created many opportunities
for both students and adults to
find fulfillment through work
in the community. It begins
by preparing students with
the kinds of vocational skills
needed for many volunteer
jobs or competitive employment.
The school features a
“Vocational Training Room”
where students practice a
range of skills, including sorting items by size
and color; folding and stacking clothing; picking,
packing and delivering supplies, etc.
“We have partnered with a large number
of great companies and organizations in the
community around opportunities for volunteer
and paid employment,” says Pollack. “One of
our individuals won Employee of the Month
at Best Buy. We have a group of students
who work in the ‘dish room’ at the Culinary
Institute of America. That’s a pretty busy and
important part of their operation. We have another
group that goes to the Baptist Home to do
cleaning, although they tell us that their most
important role is engaging with the senior resi-
Over the past decade, Anderson Center has rebuilt virtually
its entire campus.
dents there.” In all, Anderson Center’s adults
engage in volunteer work at approximately 20
community organizations.
The agency also creates alternative employment
opportunities for those who are still not
ready to go out into the community. “We’ve developed
a ‘cross cleaning’ program where individuals
from one LifeLong Learning Center will
go to one of the other centers and do the cleaning
there,” says Doyle. “It’s a satisfying work experience
for them. They travel to a different location
and perform the tasks that they’ve learned.”
Anderson Center recently rolled out a new
initiative titled “What’s the Next Step?” which is
Anderson continued on page 14