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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday December 13, 2008 - 3 RON KUZYK / OAKVILLE BEAVER HANDS ON LEARNING: Instructor Daniella Berardesca works with four-year-old Adam at the Joy of Learning private learning centre for children living with Autism Spectrum Disorders and special needs. The Burlington school serves all of Halton and has three Oakville children among its current school enrolment. Celebrating success one word at a time By Tim Whitnell METROLAND WEST MEDIA GROUP her year. Hundal is an instructor/therapist at The Joy of Learning Centre, a Halton-based private school for children living with Autism Spectrum Disorders and special needs. It celebrated its first anniversary in November. The Joy of Learning Centre, located at 5051 Mainway, Burlington has two classrooms. It is in the same building that houses the Glenn Arbour Academy private school. They are separate entities, however, sharing only a gym. The centre accepts children 4-13 years old with autism or other special needs. Ten staff members work with as many as 13 kids; the current pupil complement is eight (three from Oakville), three girls and five boys. Hundal said the progress of the children, some of whom come to the centre non-ver- W hen some of her students speak, it not only makes Jassy Hundal's day, it is arguably the highlight of "We want our children to experience confidence, success and joy. We believe that every child deserves to enjoy life to the fullest and we want to make that possible for them." Debbie Doherty, owner and director, Joy of Learning bal, is her biggest reward. "It's challenging, but when you see those moments it's wonderful ­ being able to see the growth with them when you work with them from the beginning. To see language (evolve) is the best thing because getting eye contact and getting them to focus is a big thing." Hundal said she is especially proud of the progress made by one student. "I'd have to pick Matthew," she said of a nine-year-old boy with autism. "He uses sign language and pointing. He is non-verbal, but the odd time he says words like, 'I'm mad'. It's spontaneous. He's doing amazing. He can tell us what he needs." "Most are fairly high needs. They all do an individualized program and they are at all levels," said Debbie Doherty, the owner and director of The Joy of Learning Centre. "We have had many non-verbal students and we give them skills through pictures and gym time. Music is an awesome tool. Communication is huge for all of them. They don't quite understand the concept of if they are being rude or not," noted Doherty. "We have parents and grandparents who tell us, 'Thank you for giving us back our child.'" "The ultimate goal at age 16 or 17 is can they function in society," added Hundal. Autistic Spectrum Disorder is a complex condition that can affect the normal function of the gastrointestinal, immune, hepatic (liver), endocrine (glands and hormones) and nervous systems. It impacts normal brain development leaving most individuals with communication problems, difficulty with social interaction, prone to repeat specific patterns of behaviour and a restricted repertoire of activities and interests. Individuals on the autistic spectrum tend to have varied degrees of and combinations of symptoms therefore treatment will be as varied as the individual. "The focus is to improve behavioural, social, academic and language skills so that each child may achieve their maximum potential. We want our children to experience confidence, success and joy. We believe that every child deserves to enjoy life to the fullest and we want to make that possible for them," said Doherty. Besides communication and language skills, The Joy of Learning Centre also focuses on gross motor and fine motor activities, sensory integration and social skills. The centre has trained therapists and language and social skills consultants, as well as a supervising psychologist. Instructor therapists have a minimum of a college or university degree. The centre teaches in a one-on-one, 1-to4 or 1-to-8 teacher/student ratio formats. "Students participating in the one-onone program benefit from the intensive instruction of their teachers at the centre. Those children are reached through a com See Joy page 5