Take advantage of new Harper series

I would like to thank Linda Hoeck over at Harper College, for her presentation and organizing of the parent orientation to introduce Harper’s new vocational program for special needs adults over the age of 18, set to begin Sept. 5th, called the Career Skills Institute.

I also wanted to let all special needs parents and especially parents of adults on the spectrum know of what enrichment classes Harper will also be offering in the fall for this student population.

Harper will be offering Beginning Cooking, Cooking II: Seasonal, starting in August and repeating in October. Magic Tricks for Beginners and Practice an Active Lifestyle starts in September. Art Exploration in 2-Dimension and Basic Baking start in October. There are no out-of-district fees.

The Schaumburg Autism Society has set up a scholarship fund at Harper, called the Schaumburg Autism Society Enrichment and Vocational Fund. It is the only scholarship fund at the college strictly set up for adults on the autism spectrum. It will award up to 10 students $80 each to enroll in a continuing education enrichment class and provide one student $200 to enroll in the Career Skills Institute program in the fall.

To qualify for aid, adults on the autism spectrum must be older than 18 and not able to take regular college courses without support or modifications to the curriculum. The Office of Scholarship and Financial Aid will choose the scholarship recipients.

For people interested in learning more about signing up for Harper’s Careers Skills Institute two-year vocational program set to begin on Sept. 5th or finding out more on fall enrichment classes,

click on goforward.harpercollege.edu/ce/enrichment/specialneeds.php or call (847) 925-6300 for more information. If a parent has questions about the scholarship fund, email me at mbaker721@comcast.net.

Mike Baker

Schaumburg Autism Society