Karlins Center Specializes in Autism
by Julie Peters
The Loher family of
Crystal began looking for a day program for their son a year
and a half before he was to graduate from high school. They were discouraged
by the lack of choices they found for Nathan, who has autism.
Nathan is sweet and funny but struggles with feeling safe in new surroundings
and needed more staff support than most programs offered. Then
they toured Opportunity Partners’ Karlins Center
in Plymouth and knew it would be a good fit. Its 1:4 staff to client
ratio and customized programming was just what Nathan needed. That
was four years ago and Nathan continues to progress. “I just
can’t say enough about the staff,” said Nathan’s
mom, Bobi, adding that a Karlins staff person spent hours getting
to know Nathan at their home before he was to start the program.
Karlins staff created
an area at the center just for Nathan, a room filled with some
of his favorite things that made him feel safe yet in close proximity
to others so he could watch and interact. Over time, he felt
comfortable participating in classes, even going on community activities
like fishing and taking part in simple work projects. “To
see him get up every day and be happy about going to work – that
means the world to us,” Bobi said. “It’s telling
us that what they are doing there is working.”
Karlins Center is operated by Opportunity Partners, a Twin Cities
nonprofit that serves 1,300 people with developmental disabilities,
brain injury and other special needs at sites across the Twin Cities.
Company-wide, Opportunity Partners offers programs to meet employment,
education and residential needs and make it possible for clients to
live and work in the community. Opportunity Partners expanded Karlins
Center in summer 2004, increasing license capacity from 30 to 50 individuals
and reducing its three-year waiting list. More than half of the clients
served at Karlins have autism; the others have special behavioral needs
making the program a good fit for them.
Karlins Center is a sought-after program because it offers more choices
than many other programs:
Employment Opportunities
It
is the only Minnesota day program focusing on adults with autism
with an employment focus. Karlins center clients have worked on
supervised teams at local parks doing cleaning and at an area greenhouse.
Karlins
offers onsite contract packaging jobs for individuals to learn
work skills.
Community-Based Classes
Community
focused classes, which are developed with clients’ interests
in mind, include activities like going to the library, learning to
cook and swimming. “We take advantage of community resources
and attractions like the Maple Grove Community Center with its calming
water and fountains and the Basilica’s wide open spaces and
its unique architecture,” Fries said.
Karlins Center also has a kitchen for a cooking class and a computer
lab, and the center contracts for on-site occupational and speech therapy.
Many of the clients face communication challenges and use communication
devices to help them communicate with others.
Enhanced Environmental Experience
Even the center’s physical design takes into consideration
the unique needs of people with autism and other high needs.
It has spacious hallways, low-glare lighting, neutral paint colors
and other features, such as a sensory room with an ocean-scene mural,
black lighting and other soothing elements.
“Many people with autism experience sensory overload which can
interfere with their ability to communicate, maintain appropriate behaviors
and connect with the world,” said Sue Fries, Karlins manager. “Our
staff developed the sensory room to be a place clients can go that
is calming and interesting, away from stress, a place to come back
to one’s self and regain composure.”
Opportunity Partners has offered specialized programming for adults
with autism since 1986. The autism program moved to the Plymouth location
in 1996 and the building was named after Miriam Karlins, a nationally
known leader in human services and long-time Opportunity Partners board
member. Miriam passed away in August 2003, but her memory lives on
at the center. The program is beginning to see a younger population
with an influx of students graduating from high school. A growing need
for these services will continue to be as more students with autism
progress through the school system.
For information about
Karlins Center, contact Sue Fries at sfries@opportunities.org or
763-553-1933 x 201.
