Sumner County Schools - Autism Consulting

Cheryl Cooper, Lead Autism Consultant (615) 264-5804
Elizabeth Saunders, Autism Consultant (615) 264-5804
Melanie Wright, SLP (615) 264-5804

Sumner County Schools provide a wide range of services for students on the autism spectrum including General Education, Resource, Extended Resource Classes (ERC), and Comprehensive Development Classes (CDC). Each student's placement in his/her least restrictive environment is determined by each child's IEP Team.

The Autism Consulting Staff provides support to students with autism, their teachers, and their families. The consultants also provide in-service trainings for Sumner County Schools Staff, community education, peer education, information for families, networking opportunities, social skills camp, and an annual parent conference.

Autism is a neurological disorder that significantly affects a child's ability to communicate, interact with others, and learn in a conventional manner. It is usually diagnosed during the first three years of a child's life. It is a spectrum disorder, meaning that any two people diagnosed as autistic may have very different symptoms and/or characteristics. Children with the disorder range from very high-functioning (nearly indistinguishable from children who do not have autism) to profoundly impaired.

Autism is one of five disorders under the umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), a category of disorders characterized by severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of development, including social interaction and communication skills. The five disorders falling under this catergory are Autistic Disorder, Asperger's Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Rhett's Disorder, and PDD-Not Otherwise Specified (NOS). Each of these has specific diagnostic criteria as outlined by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR).

Links for Teachers and Parents