Psychology instructor, Dr. Ellen Domm, and
her son, Levi.

When Dr. Ellen Domm’s seven-year-
old son, Levi, was diagnosed at age
three with autism, a condition
affecting the brain’s normal
development of social and
communication skills, she and her
husband Perri immediately decided
on an applied behavior analysis
treatment program.

Photo by Ken Barbour

_ Musicians get a
boost: from Kawai

Beautiful music will continue to
fill the forest surrounding
Capilano College due toa
generous donation from Kawai
Canada Music Ltd. and through
the continued and much-needed
support of Capilano’s donors.

At Capilano College our mission 4

is to enable student success.

Although the scientifically validated
therapy would be expensive, it was
their son’s best hope for
improvement. But when they tried
to assemble a behaviour
interventionist team to implement
the program, Ellen said they quickly
found out how difficult that was.

“Even though we had a pool of
Capilano students to draw from and
train, the turnover rate is quite
high,” she said, “and we went
through 14 therapists in two years.”

Autism is now the most common
childhood developmental or
neurological disorder in the country,
affecting more than 4,300 children
in B.C.

“But we have only a handful of
board certified behaviour analysts,”
Ellen said, “and they have lengthy
waiting lists.”

So, she thought, why not offer

an ABA course at Capilano with a
practical component so families can
count on steady pool of motivated
students to work with their kids.

She pursued the idea with fellow
Capilano psychologist Dr. Cara
Zaskow and with her help, and
input from autism families and
professionals, the course has
mushroomed into Canada’s first
ABA bachelor’s degree program.
Scheduled to begin next January, it
will operate as a cohort program,
accepting about 20 students with
associate degrees in psychology to
train for work with autism cases,
among others.

Thanks in large part to his therapy,
Levi, a high-functioning autistic, is
now an attentive, affectionate boy.
He attends a mainstream Grade 2
class and receives 12 hours a week
of academic and behavioral therapy
at home.

“T still worry about his future,” Ellen
said, “but what mother doesn’t? And
Tm pleased that Capilano will soon
be producing the professionals the
autism community so desperately
needs so other families won't be left
in the lurch like we were.”

MOU benefits Capilano’s tourism students

Mad about tea

Students and faculty from Capilano’s Costuming program
entertained their dean and some colleagues from the ,
Textiles department in January at their second annual
Mad Hatter’s Tea party. More than 48 people enjoyed
refreshments and socializing.

Kawai discounted more than
$100,000 off of the purchase
price of a new concert grand
piano that will be housed in the
Capilano College Performing Arts
Theatre, and also donated a new
RX2 EP. Classic Grand Piano,
valued at $36,000, for a
classroom. Donors contributed
almost $75,000 towards the
price of the concert grand tha
is sure to please the thousand
of visitors who attend
performances in the theatre
annually. As a teaching tool,
these pianos will be played by
hundreds of young emerging
artists. The new concert grand
was introduced at a special
Duke Ellington tribute
performance held on January 2
in the Capilano College
Performing Arts Theatre.

DAA nominations
open

Capilano is currently accepting _
nominations for the 2008
Distinguished Alumni Awards.
This awards program recognizes
people who have attended _
Capilano and who have
distinguished themselves
through their achievements,
contributions to their
professions, and service to the _
community. Nomination forms
and guidelines can be found at
ww.capcollege.bc.ca/about/
development-alumni, or by |

alumni relations officer in the
College's Office of Development
and Alumni Relations, at
604.990.7968, or jconnoll@
capcollege.bc.ca. The completed
nomination package must be
February 29, 2008.

all about