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For more information about Stacey Jones Bock's work, review her profile.

Stacey Jones Bock: Collaborating and developing to discover more about autism

By Lauren Huffman

"If you show initiative, an initiative or a desire to start a project or be engaged in something, the College stands behind you." — Dr. Stacey Jones Bock, associate professor of Special Education

(July 9, 2010) When Stacey Jones Bock first started teaching, projections about the rate of autism in America were 1 in every 10,000 people. Currently, the rate suggests that 1 in every 91 has an Autism Spectrum Disorder. In her career thus far, Bock has certainly witnessed a significant increase in the wealth of research on the Autism Spectrum.

"When I was in school, people would ask, 'Oh what are you going to school for?' I would reply, I'm learning about children with autism, I'm learning to teach children with autism—they didn't even know what it was. Now, you drive around and there's a magnet on every tenth car you see, there's the Autism Awareness puzzle magnet. You see them all over."

Since her career began at Illinois State ten years ago, Bock has likewise played a significant role in the development of the Autism Spectrum Institute (ASI) on campus. Out of their office, Bock and her colleague, Nikki Michalak, run the Illinois Autism Training and Technical Assistance Project, which is funded through a grant that they receive through the State of Illinois. The project enables Bock and her team to do action planning for families in the greater Central Illinois area. Not only do they locate community supports for families with children with autism, they go in and provide training and technical assistance to their schools.

"We start with the family, we stay with that family for at least a year, and we provide ongoing, weekly support. We've had some families for up to 3 or 4 years, but we stick with our families and provide that support."

Bock also works with Unit 5 children who have autism and their families throughout the summertime. When she first came here ten years ago, she worked with Karla Doepke and Chuck Hartseil to start a camp for children with autism that has been ongoing. "We started with 15 students our first year, and I think we had 92 students last year. So that's a huge accomplishment," said Bock.

Bock, along with her two daughters and colleague Nikki Michalak, spend 6 weeks each summer at the camp. Bock's daughters volunteer with the students as peer mentors, and Bock and Michalak provide behavioral consultation. This summer will be the camp's tenth year.

Bock's prime area of interest in teaching and research is in traditional autism, although she focuses on the whole spectrum. She has created a diagnostic assessment for Asperger's Disorder, which is at the other end of the spectrum. "I primarily do most of my work on the traditional autism side, though. It's kind of my obsessional interest," she says.

"I'm most interested in things that are going to impact the kids. That's the kind of work I do—more like intervention research or communication research. I want to see a direct result with the kids in the classrooms."

Bock's research has validated her tremendously. Another point of validation for her has been the grant that she has received from the Illinois State Board of Education, which has allowed her to reach students outside of Central Illinois who are interested in learning about autism.

"The most valuable part of the grant has been the creation of the online courses in autism. We have had students pretty much all over the world enrolled in those. For the non-credit-seeking, we've had a student from Kuwait, and we've had several from Thailand. In my graduate courses, I've had people from Pennsylvania and Oregon."

Several courses are offered through the ASI office. Bock and other faculty members teach classes for undergraduate and graduate level students, as well as a free course that is available to anyone who wants to learn more about autism. An undergraduate autism course offered is taken by general education students, special education, speech language, and social work majors, as well as nurses, and a variety of others across campus.

Bock teaches classes both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and tries to model her classroom the way that she would like the students to model their own. "I use those same strategies that I want them to use with their students. I think that's the best way to learn. Model it for them," she says.

One of the things Bock admires most about the College of Education is the support that she gets from her colleagues, and the support the College provides for its students, as well. "If you show initiative, an initiative or a desire to start a project or be engaged in something, the College stands behind you."

"There are many opportunities at the graduate and the undergraduate level to be involved in research projects and honors projects, if they're in that program. So our faculty readily invites undergraduate and graduate students into their research projects. You don't see that at all institutions."

As for Bock's next move, she is beginning an iPod touch research project with Debbie Shelden and Nikki Michalak to help educate children with autism. "We're going to take iPod touches out to three students with traditional autism, and we're going to use a program called Picture Scheduler. We will embed videos in it, and use this to teach oral hygiene, as well as some exercise movements for the students to build upper body strength. So we're going to shoot videos of it and set up a study, and chart their progress."

Judging from Bock's track record for success and development, this project sounds like it will surely be another success.