Harlan Hula Hooping for an Autism Cause
At Harlan, we have two ASD (autism spectrum disorder) center-based classrooms and several more ASD students integrated in the general education classrooms. As Harlan Huskies, we decided to expand on our LINKS program (which won a Promising Practice award in 2009-10) and put our Harlan Habits (Respect, Responsibility, and Kindness) into action by having our own Hula Hooping for an Autism Cause event! We videotaped each Harlan class and all Harlan staff doing fun, creative things with hula hoops during the week of February 15th–18th, 2011. Our video will be used at Harlan and possibly within the BPS district to promote autism awareness. Each class signed up for a 10 minute time slot and perfected their own routine with the help of P.E. teacher Denise Parr. There was a voluntary fundraising tie-in to purchase items in support of the ASD students at our school. The culmination of the project was the debut of the film on April 13, 2011, in conjunction with Autism Awareness Month.