Interesting article in the NY Times today about autism. At least one museum in NYC has set up a program to assist children with autism by helping them improve their social skills through exposure to railroads. Apparently the regularity of railroad and transit services are something those with autism spectrum disorders find comforting and helps kids open up and better interact with the world.
A brief excerpt:
[H]e is only 5 years old.
Like many children with autism spectrum disorders, Ravi is fascinated by trains and buses, entranced by their motion and predictability. And for years, these children crowded the exhibitions of the modest New York Transit Museum, chattering about schedules and engine components and old subway maps.
“This is really their element,” said Ravi’s mother, Juliana Boehm, who brings Ravi and Oliver, his 8-year-old brother, who is also on the autism spectrum, to the museum almost weekly. “If I suggested another activity,” she added, “it may have provoked anxiety.”
Now, the museum, and others like it, are moving beyond accommodating the enthusiasm for trains and buses among children with autism and trying to use it to teach them how to connect with other people — and the world.
Marcia Ely, the New York Transit Museum’s assistant director, helped create the outreach after sensing the overwhelming demand: Schools for children with autism flooded her with requests for field trips; she was regularly stopped on the street by parents of autistic kids who wanted to talk when she was carrying her transit museum umbrella; and she saw the same children returning to the museum every weekend.
The museum created a “Subway Sleuths” after-school program for 9- and 10-year-olds with autism that focuses on the history of New York City trains but seeks to make the children more at ease socially. Oliver was allowed in the program a year early.
The response to the program been so positive that the museum is planning to expand it in the fall.
The link between trains and autism is well documented. Autism refers to a spectrum of disorders that typically includes impairment in social interaction and sometimes includes stereotyped interests, like trains. People with autism have difficulty processing and making sense of the world, so they are drawn to predictable patterns, which, of course, trains run by.
That explains why children with autism tend to be attracted more to subways, which travel on back-and-forth tracks, with little variability, than to planes, which move in more variable fashion. And they like subjects with a lot of detail that they can master...
[New York Times, Sunday, August 14, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/nyregion/children-with-autism-connecting-via-bus-and-train.html]
While not directly applicable to model railroads, because patience when building models can be such a challenge even for those unaffected by autism, those with autism could find model RR operations just as interesting as the real thing.
Anyone have any experience with autism and model railroading?
This could be a factor to consider in public outreach at train shows, during Model Railroad Month in November, and in operating sessions. Such programming will generate good press for the hobby while helping facilitate the way people with autism are able to interact with the world. Something to consider.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
mlehmanAnyone have any experience with autism and model railroading?
You might remember Spacemouse [real name: Chip] who was quite active on this forum until a few years ago. His young son Shane had autism, and he was quite actively involved with Chip in the hobby.
-Ken in Maryland (B&O modeler, former CSX modeler)
Interesting article and it reminds me some of this piece I read recently here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/books/story/2007/07/27/thomas-tank.html
Alvie
Ken,
Yep, sure do remember spacemouse, good guy, and yes, I did read a post or two about his son's autism disorder.
The interesting thing is that there is a wide spectrum of autism disorders and many people function well with very little help. I suspect a person close to me may have Aspbergers, but they have a graduate degree, are native-speaker fluent in another language, and holds an enterprise level programing gig.
It's news to me that railroads and transit are specifically helpful. This really opens up some constructive outreach opportunities between clubs, museums, educational institutions, and other organizations working with autism spectrum disorders.
I'm not suggesting we do the whole Shriners thing (bless them, their hospitals, and mini-trikes) but doing work that benefits others is an effective way to raise the profile and respectability of those willing to take part in it. I happen to be involved in non-profit management, so am intrigued by the possibilities this presents to model railroaders to help others.
By the way,where is Spacemouse.
Russell
I have known a few adult railfans -- not model railroaders but railfans -- who are fonts of information but are seriously lacking from a social perspective and might well have autism or a variant of it. I didn't realize it was a recognized link between a love of trains and the disorder.
The article was very interesting.
Dave Nelson
We just finished 2 weekends with Day out with Thomas at the Boothbay Railway Village, and had a number of children with autism visit our model railroad layout building. Most are very interested in watching the trains. We usually have a few young adults with autism from a local group home visit as well. Most are very interested in the trains, although some are troubled by the noises trains make. They will stay and watch our trains run for a long time.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
mlehman The interesting thing is that there is a wide spectrum of autism disorders and many people function well with very little help. I suspect a person close to me may have Aspbergers, but they have a graduate degree, are native-speaker fluent in another language, and holds an enterprise level programing gig.
It is quite possible that a person with Asperger's Syndrome (no b) could earn advanced degrees. WebMD states, "Because the level of intelligence often is average or higher than average, many people with Asperger's syndrome are able to function very well. They may, however, continue to have problems socializing with others through adulthood."
It is also thought that Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein had it. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2988647.stm
"No soup for you!" - Yev Kassem (from Seinfeld)
A few years ago I worked with non-verbal autistic children pre-school to 5 the grade. I had a 2' x 4' piece of plywood with an oval of 0-27 track. I brought in a steam locomotive with a whistle and smoke and a milk car (no cans) to their class. They watched the train go round and round and I let them push the whistle button. They also enjoyed the man coming out of the milk car even if there were no cans.