Colorful wall paintings, shelves stocked with kiddie toys and munchkin-sized chairs adorn room 242 of the Science II building. Textbooks are out and coloring books are in at this new home of the autism clinic at Fresno State.

The autism clinic is set to open later this month after more than a year of planning. Dr. Amanda Adams, a first-year psychology instructor and director of the new center, said a lot has gone into planning and building the program.

“One reason I was hired was to open the autism clinic,� Adams said. “It took us one semester to get off the ground and secure funding.�

Autism is a disorder that severely impairs social interaction and communication. Autism patients vary widely in their abilities, with some who live lives very similar to their non-autistic peers with others unable to function past a preschool level. The disorder is almost always diagnosed in childhood, with males four times as likely to have autism as females. One out of every 166 births is autistic, Adams said.

Adams said the clinic will focus on three things: treatment for autistic children in the area, research and training for Fresno State students.

Much of the funding for the clinic will come from state-funded regional centers for autism and similar disorders, Adams said. As a vendor for these centers, Fresno State will get referrals for those in the area requesting tutoring services, with the centers paying for part of the children̢۪s learning.

“Our cost is about half as that of similar programs and in-home models in the area,� Adams said. “The university supplies housing and many materials.�

Four rooms will be used for the classroom sessions, Adams said. All four are adjacent to one another in the narrow hallway just across from room 242. Adams described the first room as “bare bones,� with only a table and a few items to attract the kids’ attention.

The rooms get progressively more detailed in both scenery and learning options, with the fourth room set up like a preschool, with the possibility of several kids interacting with each other. She said the child̢۪s level of functioning, not age, determines placement in the rooms.

The bulk of the student tutors are from Adams̢۪ Psychology 179 class for field experience. A few others are volunteers. Students choosing this career path can use accumulated hours toward certification in the program, Adams said. All tutoring will be supervised by board-certified behavior analysts, which includes Adams. Some paid positions are available, such as for supervisors.

One student tutor is Alesha Hixon, a senior psychology major who has a lot of experience working with autistic children and others with similar disabilities over the years.

“I’ve always been some kind of babysitter,� Hixon said. “We’re really excited about getting kids. With no children right now, we have to do a lot of administrative things and housekeeping to do. And we do a lot of planning and role-playing.�

Hixon said the program for incoming kids will focus not only on discreet trials, but also play times and building rapport with the children. She said building that rapport was her favorite part of the program. Time will also be set aside for research, such as building language acquisition, Hixon said.

Another tutor who is fairly new to the program is junior Hugo Curiel. “There were flyers in the science building saying they needed volunteers,� said Curiel, a psychology major. “I said ‘OK’ and went to their first meeting.� Curiel said the tutoring program quickly grew on him and he decided to stay with it.

“The actual kids have been sparse,� Adams said of practice subjects. “We’re pretty good at role-playing by now.�

Adams said she has brought in her daughter for the students to practice their skills on, as well as children of other employees in the department.

“Fresno State has a very strong program in behavior analysis,� Adams said. “This is the area where psychology majors can make a living out of.�

Autism clinic tours are planned for April 16 at 6 p.m. and April 18 at noon at Room 242 of the Science II building. These tours are open to the public. The clinic will also hold an open house at the office on April 27 at 6 p.m., where parents and others can meet the behavioral therapists.