Honors students mentor children with autism

Robin Walker’s 13-year-old son, Ryan Casazza, doesn’t have much of a social life. He doesn’t go to the movies and doesn’t usually play with other kids. His classmates don’t come over to his house.

Life presents many challenges, but to those with autism, something as simple as making friends can be a problem.

In 2003, Alexander Murphy-Nakhnikian, then an IU freshman, created an autism mentoring program through the Hutton Honors College.

The program aims to help children with autism  interact in social situations.
Casazza’s mentor, junior C.J. West, is his best friend.

“It is literally my son’s first experience with having a best friend,” Walker said. “It’s very heartfelt.”

Walker said the program has helped Casazza gain independence and start to overcome his separation anxiety.

Casazza and West have gone to the library numerous times, which is Casazza’s favorite place. They have also gone bowling, to the WonderLab Museum and have made frequent trips to McDonald’s.

“It’s been beneficial for us as a family, and it’s been an overall great experience for him,” Walker said.

Walker said there can be a few setbacks. West is older than Casazza, which can make the relationship a little awkward.

She also said Casazza doesn’t always understand the way life works, mentioning a time when he got mad at West for having car trouble, but she definitely sees the benefits.

“C.J. has been wonderful. It has to take a commitment from your heart,” Walker said. “Every visit counts.”

West became involved with the program after participating in a similar program in high school. He said he looked at other volunteer programs, such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, but decided on the mentoring program.

“I thought it would be a cool new experience for me and I’d learn a lot from it,” West said.

He said he has enjoyed helping Casazza improve his social skills.

“I know he’s gotten a lot out of it and how much it means to him,” West said. “He’ll be asking about his brother C.J.”

The program currently has about 10 mentor and child pairs, said Brian Donley, a senior and the program’s student intern.

He is also a mentor and has been since summer 2010.

“I was looking for a long-term program,” Donley said. “It sounded like something I could really get involved in.”

He said one of the goals this year is to get more families involved. There are currently waitlisted student volunteers.

The program is volunteer-based, and students must apply to be mentors. Then they must go through a short training and interviews. Parents review the students’ applications and pick a mentor they think will work well with their child.

“It’s a very one-on-one program,” Donley said.

The mentors have a lot of independence in the program, and they are free to go where they want with their child, but they must meet with the child once a week for a year.

“I think it’s just a great program for anyone interested in making long-term connections,” Donley said. “What could be cooler for the kids than having a college friend to hang with?”