By Patricia Bogumil
Editor
Wisconsin Independent Life College (WILC), a new secondary education option for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders, will open its doors with a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 6, at 104B E. Main St., Waterford.
WILC is a new private, non-profit college serving young adults with autism who desire continued learning, explained Stephanie Mauck, who co-founded the new school with Chris LeRose.
Both Mauck and LeRose are professional educators with years of experience helping students with autism reach their highest potential.
The new school is located above Peoples Bank in downtown Waterford at the intersection of First and Main streets.
The college will operate as a commuter campus, with classes taking place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Thursday.
Classes start Sept. 4 with three to four full-time students, all of whom are from southeast Wisconsin, said Mauck.
In addition, some part-time commuter students will take part in individual and small group instruction for one to three hours per week, some coming from as far away as Illinois, said Mauck.
The downtown Waterford location is a space large enough for the school’s first academic year, said Mauck.
“We aim to double each year for the next couple of years, so we’ll quickly outgrow the current space,” she added.
“We are also accepting applications to begin working 1:1 with students for next year.”
The new college’s mission is to provide each student with the support and tools to not only have a successful college experience, but also become inspired to achieve his or her purpose in life, explained Mauck.
During their careers, both she and LeRose came to recognize a need for a post-high school experience for adults with autism that included not just life skill training but also extended educational learning, explained Mauck.
They soon learned that this type of facility does not exist in Wisconsin – and is very rare elsewhere – so about a year ago, they decided to start the college themselves.
The WILC is focused only on young adults with autism, Mauck noted. “Because of this, we have a very specific and rigorous mix of classes, exercises and therapies targeted solely for our students that is quite different than any other organization in Wisconsin.”
An autism treatment called Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) is a cornerstone at WILC and is incorporated into students’ daily curriculum.
The method uses academic instruction paired with students’ individual open learning channels as a bridge to communication, said Mauck.
“The focus is on the work,” explained Mauck, “and students quickly become comfortable learning and discussing novel information and sharing their opinions, thoughts and feelings on a variety of interests.”
When non-verbal students with autism are given a mode of response, it opens up a whole new world for them, added Mauck.
“They begin to find their confidence and learn to establish a rapport with others, self advocacy becomes possible and the future looks a whole lot brighter.”
She said the results from RPM seen by WILC staff have been nothing short of miraculous. “The lives we have seen changed by RPM are firsthand field evidence of the success of this method.”
Following the Sept. 6 ribbon cutting ceremony, a reception will be held at Martini MOz, 201 E. Main Street, Waterford.
For more information, go to www.wisconsinilc.org or contact Mauck at (414) 940-1658 or [email protected].
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