Asperger Initiative expands with boost from federal grant An infusion of federal funds is allowing Mercyhurst to expand its array of services and outreach to students with Asperger Syndrome (AS). Congress approved the $100,000 grant for the Asperger Initiative at Mercyhurst (AIM) at the prompting of U.S. Senators Arlen Specter and Bob Casey.
When Mercyhurst launched a pilot Asperger support program with
The Asperger program also received a $5,000 grant this year from
four students in 2008, it was among only 20 programs nationwide
the William H. Albers Foundation to help fund an innovative summer
that specifically addressed the needs of students with AS. By fall 2010,
program for high school students with AS. The Watson Institute of
about 20 students are expected to be enrolled at Mercyhurst.
Pittsburgh, which designed ACCLAIM (Asperger’s/Autism College
“These individuals are very bright, but have challenges in social skills,” said Dianne Rogers, director of the college’s Learning Differences Program. “We need not only to educate them but to work on their
and Community Life Acclimation and Intervention Model) to give students a preview of college life, partnered with Mercyhurst to offer the first residential version of the program.
social and life skills so that they are able to negotiate the college
ACCLAIM students at Mercyhurst lived in a campus residence hall
community – everything from living in a dorm to time management.”
for three weeks, took a college-level course, and experienced the
AIM plans to hire students from Mercyhurst’s graduate program in
independence and social demands of college life.
special education to work with AS students as they acclimate to
For information about the Asperger Initiative at Mercyhurst, contact
college life, offering counseling support, academic services and social
Rogers at (814) 824-2450 or drogers@mercyhurst.edu. You can
coaching to help them succeed.
read more about Mercyhurst’s many services for diverse learners at
The federal funds will also allow AIM to work with local partners like Kaleidoscope and the Barber National Institute to provide social skills training and job preparation for students. In addition, AIM will expand continuing education about Asperger for its own staff, for college personnel and for the Erie community.
mercyhurst.edu/learning-differences.