A home with heart

Seven-year-old Cameron points to a calendar hanging above his bed, sounding out each day of the week. He reads slowly, trying not to mess up his lesson.\n"Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturd--"\nHis mentor interrupts. "No, Cam. What comes after Wednesday?"\n"… Thursday, Friday, Saturday," he says, looking up at her with a smile.\n"And what happens on Saturday?" she asks.\n"I go home."\nCameron, who has autism, lives away from his parents -- away from his home -- for much of the week. He stays at the Dunn Group Home, 2727 N. Dunn St.\nThe Dunn Home gives six children with varying degrees of autism a place where they can live as normal a life as possible. Their caretakers teach them things most people take for granted -- social skills like brushing their teeth, washing hands and getting a shower.\nThe staff works with the children's social and independent living skills so they will be able to function independently later in their lives, said Lindsay Wood, a community living specialist and an IU sophomore.\nOne of those skills is American Sign Language.\n"We teach them the basic signs they would probably need, like a beginner set," Wood said. "More, Drink, Eat, Finished. They start out with the basic signs, then they might move up to signs like the food that they like or the activities that they like to do, so they have that knowledge if they want to do that."\nNot all people with autism act the same. Even in the Dunn Home, each child has different characteristics.\n"Some of the kids will deal with their aggressions better if they're screaming," Wood said. "Some of them might aggress on themselves or on others. We remind them screaming is not going to get them what they want, and they should use sign language to tell us what they want."\nHome from school\nA maroon cargo van pulls up the driveway, bringing home six kids from schools all over the area. Cameron, Cutler, Garrett, Kyle, Omare and Ryan bound out of their seats and head for the back door. Each of them hangs up their coat and bag and heads to the kitchen to get a snack, or goes to bedrooms before it's time to take their medications.\nOnce everything is taken care of and the six begin to settle down, the staff goes through the children's individualized programs -- independent-living-skills exercises.\nKat Neth, the house manager, sits and works with Ryan in the basement on his money program, which teaches him how to count and handle money in public.\nShe pulls a toy Ryan wants off the shelf, offering it to him. He has his "fake" money in hand, ready to pay.\n"You can say to Ryan, 'The T.V. costs $563.80,' and he'll take his fake money, and he'll count it out and give it to you," Wood said. "He's really smart."\nShe said the program is a good learning exercise for the children.\n"It's just for them to recognize that you don't get things for free, you have to pay for them, so that when you go into a store and there's a big candy rack, they can't just take candy and run out the door because it's happened before."\nAs the children's programs wind down, Neth lets Ryan go upstairs to the kitchen. It's Monday -- the night Ryan helps the staff cook dinner.\n"They set the table for dinner, they wipe the table down after dinner," Wood said. "We don't clean up after them, they clean up after themselves. They have to learn they're just not going to have four staff members running around picking up all of their stuff."\nA normal home\nAlthough autism disrupts a child's development, it does not stop the children who live in the Dunn Home from leading normal childhoods.\nCameron's short blonde hair sticks up in the back, but he pays no attention. He talks about the Indiana Pacers, one of his favorite basketball teams. He likes elephants -- so much so that they adorn every wall in his room.\nWood said she knows people look differently at him and the other children because of their disorder, but that shouldn't be the case.\n"One of the parents from the home gets really upset when people look at her child and just stare at them like there's something wrong," she said. "Most of these kids understand everything. Garrett and Cutler understand 100 percent of what you say to them; it's just their actions are a little different and they can't talk. That's really the only thing that's different."\nThe Dunn Home works to give these children the normal life they deserve, especially during the holiday season. Many of the children at the home will not be able to spend it with their families.\n"It's nice if they can, but not all parents can afford to have their kids," Wood said. "Some parents work nights. They don't have the time to take care of their kids or they don't have the money to hire someone to work 24 hours with their kids." \nJoslin said many of the staff members take the children to their homes for the holiday. She said the company gives some money to buy presents for each child, so the staff picks names and shops for the kids.\nWood said the staff wants to buy the children an outdoor playground for Christmas this year.\n"They all fight over the same two swings, so something for all of the boys would be nice," she said. "People can donate to the house and we do get donations, but it's usually their kids' old toys or stuff like that. We all would really like something new for them this year."\nOrganizing the home\nOrganizing and supervising this house full of young kids is a big undertaking.\nThis is the job of Amy Joslin, the qualified mental retardation professional in the home.\nShe is in charge of writing the programs and overseeing the staff. She also has to make sure the children see a consistent environment, whether they are at the home, school or on an outing in the community. \nJoslin said she loves to do this job because of the kids.\n"They're just amazing to work with," she said. "It's one of the most rewarding jobs. From the time they come in to the time they leave, they grow so much with us."\nJoslin has worked with her fair share of children over the past four years in the home and also in her experience before joining the Dunn Home staff. She also worked as a peer tutor in high school, which she said helped her want to work in this field.\nChristole, Inc., a not-for-profit agency in charge of the Dunn Home and four others like it, emphasizes individual skill building within a community environment. The five group homes within Monroe, Bartholomew and Johnson counties provide services for children, teenagers and adults.\nWhere it all began\nWood, who has been working at the home for two years, got involved after waiting on the kids at Pizza Hut during their outings.\nShe knew one of the boys from school and had grown up with him since seventh grade.\n"His name was Jimmy," she said. "He ordered the same thing every time, which is pretty common in autistic kids. He knew the menu better than I did. It would amaze me because he would sit there and sing all the jingles from the commercials. He would also memorize the questions from 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?'\n"It was a lot of fun to wait on him. A lot more fun than waiting on anyone else."\nWhen Jimmy got older, Wood said she charted his progress to see how the home worked. She said he got progressively independent as he grew to be a teen, and he's currently living in his own apartment.\nJoslin said this is the goal of the Dunn Home.\n"We want to make them as independent as possible," she said. "Our ultimate goal is to get them to live and function with minimal staff later in life. We teach them the basic social skills, and they live off them."\nWood said she loves her job with the children, because they are one of the most important parts of her life.\n"There's really no point where you can actually quit the job and feel satisfied, because you get attached to the kids and they become a huge part of your life," Wood said. "They're on your mind in class. When you're with your friends it becomes something you always talk about. You can't get it off your mind."\nFor more information on Christole, Inc., visit their Web site at 204.73.170.156 or contact them at 988-1257. If you would like to help the Dunn Group Home children, send donations to: Dunn Group Home, c/o Lindsay Wood, 2727 N. Dunn St., Bloomington, IN 47408.