They hardly spoke. One boy had already wandered off alone for a few minutes; another had his face plastered to the glass casing of the Bent Spoon ice cream at Witherspoon's, and the others simply stood around, either clutching their therapists or fiddling with the communication devices strapped around their necks. These were the children of Eden Autism Services, a nonprofit organization based in Princeton, NJ that provides education, support and training for children and adults with autism. Founded by Dr. David L. Holmes and the families of autistic children in 1975, a time when autism was still a somewhat unknown and rare disorder, the well-known organization today operates out of an outreach center in Princeton Forrestal Village and is highly regarded throughout the nation for its diverse and comprehensive services and training.
We met the group from Eden on the main level of Frist. This was an atypical day for them — usually, the Princeton Student Volunteer Council members make the trip to Eden on Fridays to meet with the children, but in light of the autism awareness activities on campus taking place through Fashion Speaks and other fundraising efforts, the Eden kids were invited for the first time to the University to take part in an autism awareness scavenger hunt. The children, their therapists and the Princeton volunteers split off into smaller groups as they began locating the places matching the clues on the scavenger list, attempting to answer questions ranging from "How many Americans live with an autism spectrum disorder?" (answer: 1 to 1.5 million) to "How many dollars does autism cost the United States each year?" ($60 billion, though in 10 years, the cost will rise to $200-400 billion). Though the Princeton students could have easily followed the most efficient route and the Eden workers already knew the majority of the answers, they gladly ran up and down the levels of Frist with the children in pursuit of the answers. Some of the children tagged along quietly, others held tightly onto the volunteers' arms and a few even vocalized excitedly. [These were non-behavioral children — those who the therapists trusted not to act out or cause disturbances in public.]
Kristina Malzbender '15, who runs the SVC program, first began working with Eden her freshman year, having volunteered with children with autism and other special needs throughout high school. She chose Eden because of her interest in autism and her desire to stay involved with the autism community at Princeton. "The most rewarding aspect of my experience with Eden has been committing to volunteer every week and being able to make tangible and meaningful relationships with the students," Malzbender said.
With a total of 60 children and 50 staff members, Eden is often a busy place. Fortunately, the organization is aided by student volunteers, many of whom are Princeton students such as Malzbender. Sahana Jayaraman '16, who just recently started volunteering for Eden, also has experience working with autistic kids in high school. "It’s a lot of fun. We get to meet the kids after school, go out into the community with them and just kind of hang out and interact," Jayaraman said.
The after-school programs include weekly field trips, from visiting fast food chains like Dunkin' Donuts and Friendly's to going bowling and roller skating.
Malzbender credited the SVC program for providing the opportunities for her to engage in projects such as working with Eden. However, she noted the difficulties associated with mobilizing support for these programs. "One challenge with SVC in general is how busy most Princeton students are, and it's often a challenge to get students to commit to volunteer projects due to demanding schoolwork and other extracurriculars," Malzbender said.
Autism presents its own challenges. Since it is a disorder that impedes social interaction, it proved exceptionally difficult to engage with the children during the scavenger hunt. Our multiple attempts to converse with them yielded, at most, a nod of acknowledgement, but rarely a response. Indeed, there were moments of complete silence, when the volunteers and children walked side by side, both only focusing on what was ahead.
“Autism can seem really isolating," Malzbender said. “But over time, I realized that simply going out of your way to engage with them means a lot. Often, it’s all it takes."
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