Hench Autism Studies Program
Frequently Asked Questions

Question: What is the Hench Autism Studies Program?

Answer: The Hench Autism Studies Program is a program to serve individuals and families facing challenges associated with autism with an emphasis both on academic preparation and direct service. The program has a dual benefit – to improve the quality of life for the individuals and families served, and to enhance the educational experience at Defiance College.

Q: Why is this program valuable?

A: There is a lot of awareness now on early childhood diagnosis and early childhood intervention, and that’s really important in the core development of an autistic person. But what is not being adequately addressed is what happens to this population when they reach adolescence. For young people and families alike, adolescence can be a time of great challenge, even crisis.

Q: What does the Hench Autism Studies Program do?

A: Defiance College is bringing together expertise and developing services in an innovative way. Elements include:

• An on-campus public school classroom for late adolescents with autism;
• A resource and referral center for families of children and adults with autism;
• Specialized training for undergraduate students to have peer interaction with students with autism;
• Focused coursework for undergraduate Social Work majors and additional training for licensed social workers;
• A new licensure within the Master of Arts in Education Program for Intervention Specialist, Mild and Moderate K-12, with an emphasis in Autism

Q: How did the program get started?

A: As parents of a child with autism, Eric and Deb Hench often felt frustration and isolation as they searched for suitable educational, health, and support services. Sometimes, after much searching, they found what their son needed. Oftentimes, they didn’t.

Seeing what he calls a core need in northwest Ohio, Eric Hench says there are few services “and a huge lack of information” involving autism. The Defiance couple worked hard to help school officials find the right classroom setting. They looked endlessly for physicians, dentists, therapists, psychiatrists, babysitters, and summer camps that were appropriate for youth with autism.

So it was with 19 years of first-hand experience that the Henches sat down in 2006 with Defiance College administrators to design a one-of-a-kind program to address the multi-faceted needs of a growing population of individuals with autism. 

Q: What partnerships has Defiance College formed with this program?

A: Defiance College administrators and faculty were able to pull together existing expertise on campus and beyond to develop a model with tremendous potential to make a difference. The vision of the Henches provided the catalyst for collaboration between the College and Defiance City Schools.

Q: How is the classroom structured?

A: In their home school districts, students with autism are often placed in a multi-handicap classroom where teachers must address a wide range of physical and mental challenges. In the classroom unit, programming is specific to the student with autism and includes emphasis on peer interaction, one of the greatest challenges in a typical high school.  A state-of-the-art classroom was created with indirect lighting, a special heating/cooling system that disperses air gently, and other accommodations.

To provide peer interaction, Defiance College created a curriculum for DC students. Incoming first-year Bonner and Citizen Leaders were given the opportunity to volunteer for the program, and planners hoped to get 10 or 12 students. They had to draw the line at 23 volunteers. Many signed up because they have friends or relatives whose families have been affected by autism. The students are in a special class in which they study and discuss autism, and they have volunteered at Bittersweet Farms, a Northwest Ohio residential facility.

The college students provide socialization by having lunch in the cafeteria with students from the program classroom or sharing activities such as knitting and reading.

Q: What new educational programs are parts of the Hench Autism
Studies Program?

A: In development as part of the program is a new special education licensure that will fill an unmet need voiced by area school administrators. Defiance College will offer courses focused on autism within its Master of Arts in Education degree program as part of licensure for Intervention Specialist, Mild and Moderate, K-12.  The social work program is also developing courses toward certification in MR/DD case management.

Q: Is there room for the program to grow?

A: If this program grows like the McMaster School has grown, (http://www.defiance.edu/mcmaster_school.html) in several years Defiance College could have a clearinghouse for families providing information and support services; a thriving graduate program where people come who are interested in autism; undergraduate students committed to service seeking out Defiance because of their interest in autism; and through the public school classroom, an ongoing presence of young adults with autism on the DC campus with the entire campus community attuned to the kind of diversity these students represent.

Defiance College administrators envision the program as eventually emerging as a model for college-community partnerships dealing with adolescents with autism, for support of families who have a child with autism, and for providing best-practice education to both undergraduate and graduate students around the intellectual problem of autism.

Have other questions? Email us at autism@defiance.edu