Alumna Returns to Help Teachers, Parents Support Autistic Children

Dena Gassner, a 1980 Union graduate, returns to campus to help local teachers learn more about autism spectrum disorders and how to support affected students.

Dena Gassner, a 1980 graduate of Union College, returned to her alma mater in late October to share her expertise in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).

More than a dozen teachers, counselors and aids from the Knox County School System joined Dena on Oct. 25 for a presentation in the Black Technology Center on understanding the challenges faced by students with ASDs.

Dena’s personal and professional backgrounds combine to make her a nationally recognized advocate and trainer. Though she is a master’s-level social worker, it is her role as a mother that ultimately led her to focus her professional work on ASDs. Her son, Patrick, is autistic and has learning disabilities, while her daughter, Katie, has ADHD.

“I had no option but to dig in and learn all I could,” Dena said in a recent interview for Union’s alumni magazine.

In the process of researching her children’s conditions, she learned that she also suffered from an ASD: Asperger syndrome. Often considered the mildest of ASDs, people with Asperger can have challenges related to social interaction and communication. Another symptom of Asperger is a tendency to become obsessively interested in a specific topic, something Dena says became a gift.

“Learning to help [my children] exercised one of my own autism traits,” Dena said. “I gathered tremendous amounts of information from the research I did on their behalf, and I developed a reputation for being knowledgeable. Now I use that autism gift to provide support and services to other individuals and families affected by autism differences.”

Dena’s expertise makes her an in-demand speaker about ASD and a powerful advocate for those with the disorders. She has won multiple awards for advocacy, serves on numerous boards, gives presentations around the country, and is the founder and director of the Center for Understanding in Nashville, Tenn. The latter is Dena’s private practice and the only adult Asperger program in the region. Through the Center for Understanding, Dena brings in nationally recognized speakers and provides teen and adult support programs, caregiver recreational events and intensive one-to-one support.

During her visit to Union, Dena focused on topics requested by the teachers in attendance: how to help students with ASDs—especially those functioning at high levels academically—have social success, gain confidence, relate to peers and be accepted by others. Teachers and counselors from Knox County were also interested in post-secondary goals for students with ASDs.

Dena also took time to visit with education classes at Union.

To learn more about Dena and the Center for Understanding, visit CenterForUnderstanding.net.
 

November 8, 2010

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