By Betsy Scheinbart
The only Queens organization soley committed to serving people with autism marked the grand opening of its newest and largest facility in Hollis Thurdsay.
Gary Maffei, the executive director of Quality Services for the Autism Community, better known as QSAC, welcomed Queens elected officials to the celebration at QSAC’s new 2000-square-foot school building on Woodhull Avenue in Hollis.
Speakers at the event including state Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose), a longtime supporter of QSAC.
Hiram Monserrate, the city councilman-elect for District 21, gave the keynote address, speaking about his own experience as a father of an autistic child and pledging to be a city council representative for every family touched by autism, regardless of where they live.
Autism is a common developmental disability that interferes with the normal development of the brain. Its effects on different individuals vary greatly.
A single cause of autism is not known and there is no ultimate cure, but early intervention is key to helping a child develop into a productive member of society.
QSAC, a non-profit organization based in Long Island City, was formed in 1978 by a group of concerned parents dedicated to finding ways for their children to form social relationships, get jobs and have more enjoyable lives.
QSAC offers a variety of services for children, parents and adults affected by autism, including a pre-school in Whitestone, after-school programs, group homes and day-habitation programs for adults.
The QSAC services are free, except for a fee of about $2 a day for the after-school program, said Lisa Veglia, the associated executive director of QSAC.
The new Hollis center, which began to operate last month in the former St. Gabriel’s Episcopal School building on Woodhull Avenue, already has 53 people in its day habilitation program and 57 kids in its after-school programs.
Parents like Kerry Coumihan, of Elmhurst are relieved by the services QSAC offers.
“I’m a single parent with an autistic child,” said Coumihan, the mother of 6-year-old Sasha. “His father doesn’t help out, so I was really in a bind.”
Sasha started coming to the Hollis center after school last month, which gives Coumihan a little extra time to run errands and do things around the house without Sasha constantly under foot.
Many children with autism have trouble developing social and language skills and may engage in unpredictable behavior. Sasha just started speaking a few words at a time and recently bit his mother unexpectedly, Coumihan said.
She is taking parent counseling classes at the QSAC center and hopes Sasha can learn to play on his own while she is cooking or doing other chores around the house.
“I love him to pieces, but I have my limits,” she said.
QSAC serves about 800 individuals in the borough of Queens as well as nearby parts of Long Island, Brooklyn and the other boroughs. It also runs several group homes for teens.
Esther Wilson’s son, Jason, 17, lives in a QSAC group home near her house in Rosedale.
“He’s very happy there,” Wilson said of Jason’s group home, “he has learned a lot of daily skills and is very independent.”
She said Jason has improved by leaps and bounds since he started attended the QSAC programs 10 year ago.
Kenya Clay, the director of applied behavioral analysis at QSAC, said the instructors of the after-school programs take a unique approach to learning by studying the behavior of each individual child.
Because the effects of autism vary so greatly, there is no way to develop a uniform teaching plan for a class, Clay said. On an academic level, some students in the after-school program are functioning at grade level, while others are far behind, she said.
Gershon Allweiss, the director of adult services, explained that QSAC instructors work to integrate people with autism into the community at a variety of volunteer jobs sites, while also providing speech therapy and addressing the needs of each individual.
For more information on QSAC, call (718) 7-AUTISM.
Reach reporter Betsy Scheinbart by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 138.
