April 28, 2017 at 4:42 p.m.
On his way: Work experience programs, therapy put Minocqua teen on path to self-reliance
On his way: Work experience programs, therapy put Minocqua teen on path to self-reliance
On a warm, sunny day in the middle of summer, a young man in his late teens can be seen riding a scooter around Minocqua. He wears basketball shorts, a T-shirt, a side bag and travels along the sidewalks of U.S. Highway 51.
He stops at McDonald's where he works and St. Matthias Episcopal Church where he practices the organ.
If he times his schedule just right, he can be downtown when the noon siren goes off above the fire station. He enjoys recording the siren on his iPad.
When he's ready to return home, he calls for a ride on the Northwoods Transit Connection and uses a ticket he's paid for with his own money.
Peter "Marshfield" Siegler, 19, has grown up with autism and his daily independence illustrates the possibilities for those on the spectrum.
After many years of treatment with behavioral, psychological and special education professionals, Siegler has become independent to the point where he can start thinking about a career and moving into his own apartment.
"My main thing is independence," Siegler said. "Because I do want to be independent. I want to live in Rhinelander and I want to join St. Augustine's [Episcopal Church]. And I want to also be a church organist for St. Augustine's."
Siegler's path to self-reliance hasn't been smooth and Lori Siegler, his mother, said there was a point when she could not imagine her son at this point.
"It has been so exciting for me as a parent because I will tell you 10 years ago, I never thought we would get here," Lori Siegler said. "Where he was at 8 or 9 years old, there was no way this was going to happen."
As a child, Peter Siegler was non-communicative and quickly became frustrated in certain situations. He was prone to tantrums involving kicking, screaming or throwing objects around the room.
"He would get frustrated and immediately go into major physical meltdowns," Lori Siegler said. "He was just a completely different kid from what he is now, which is pretty calm."
At 6, Siegler began working with behavioral therapist April Leanna, now located in Eagle River. Two years later he began meeting with Tomahawk-based psychologist Betty McCluskey.
"It started out at least once a week [with McCluskey] and now we're down to once a month," Lori Siegler said. "April [Leanna] he was seeing two to three times a week and we got it down to once a week for about four hours. And then we've slowly been able to back off that."
At 19, Siegler is still enrolled at Lakeland Union High School (LUHS), but will participate in the graduation ceremony this spring and spend the following academic year participating in ProjectSEARCH, a vocational program designed to give special needs students hands-on job experience.
"I'll work at the hospital, thankfully not as a doctor," Peter Siegler said. "I want to do stocking, sorting and cleaning, like I do at [McDonald's]."
Those participating in ProjectSEARCH will spend roughly eight hours a day at the hospital with the first and last hour dedicated to classroom time. The students will have a skills trainer and on-site instructor as well as a mentor in each department in which they work.
The students will rotate through three different job experiences throughout the year, each one lasting 10 weeks.
"It'll be a real job setting," Lori Siegler said. "It'll be a volunteer program, so they won't be getting paid but they will be learning how to work more hours and learn how to get their needs met appropriately, like asking questions if they're confused about something."
Employment First, an initiative of the Wisconsin Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, has also drafted the young worker as a student ambassador.
"I do presentations," Siegler said. "They encourage and promote youth with disabilities to work and earn money."
The program focuses on opening up job opportunities for special needs individuals and recently held a conference in Wisconsin Dells, where a particularly special presentation was made.
"I was a presenter there," Siegler said. "I'm especially proud of myself because I presented at a conference in front of a lot of people."
"It's been wonderful watching him do all these Employment First presentations," Lori Siegler said. "As I've watched him grow and blossom and be able to do these things, it's just been so exciting for me and given me the hope he will be as independent as he possibly can."
Lori Siegler, who is also a special education teacher at LUHS, said one of the most important factors in her son's success is repetition and the communication between every person participating in his treatment.
"It takes a lot of communication and coordination so everybody is on the same page," she said. "One of the things we know about autism is the more settings you practice something in, the more likely they are to transfer it to other places. So if April [Leanna] is doing something in a therapy setting and then I work on the same thing at home and we work on those same things at school, it's going to be more likely to transfer out into the community."
The young worker himself also acknowledges the help of those in his life and is thankful to have friends and family he can rely on.
"I'm not alone," Siegler said. "I've got a lot of people on my shoulders, thankfully."
Jessica Leighty may be reached via email at [email protected]
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