“Physics was the one class that really resonated with me. Being good at both math and science just sort of led me to engineering,” Kellem said.

After earning his associate’s degree at ECTC, transferring to the University of Louisville’s was a natural next step for the Nelson County, Ky., native.

Kellem had excelled academically at ECTC and he continued to excel at UofL, where he has a 3.9 GPA. He will graduate this month, earning a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering.

“I decided to go for mechanical engineering because I didn’t want to pick anything that was too specialized. Mechanical engineering seems to be like the most general engineering program. You get lots of experience in different fields.”

While at UofL, Kellem explored a wide variety of engineering opportunities through work at the Louisville Automation and Robotics Research Institute and Speed School’s co-op program. His outstanding academics led him to membership in the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, Mortar Board and Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.

Kellem completed his co-op experiences with SCHOTT North America – Home Tech, where he worked in quality control for heat-resistant glass such as would be used in a fireplace window or glass cooktop.

“That was probably the most fun I’ve ever had working,” Kellem said. “I enjoyed the quality control because it involved physical tests, having their data broken down and analyzed to look for trends. I found ways to optimize the cutting process and even helped develop a way to cut at a much faster rate. I think quality control is something I’d be good at as a career.”

He enjoys working in a team environment, particularly engineering group projects. For his capstone project, Kellem’s group designed and built a conveyor belt.

“Teaming up with other people kind of makes it a little easier to parse through stuff because I can bounce ideas off of other people. Sometimes you explain things to them, they explain things to you, and things make a little more sense.”

Valuable mentor support

Kellem said Mike Miller in the College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development’s was especially helpful. Miller mentored Kellem, who has an autism diagnosis, in developing relationships and connecting with other offices at the university.

“My first two years here, he was pretty much helping me get through everything I needed to do. He was helping me schedule things. He was talking to different offices on my behalf. He actually got me a ton of scholarships that I would not have gotten. That was definitely helpful,” Kellem said.

The Autism Training Center helps neurodivergent students navigate many aspects of university life, from connecting with social and academic organizations to ensuring they get the right parking permit. The center also helps faculty members provide an environment that fosters success for the students.

Miller is impressed with Kellem’s work ethic and willingness to stretch – joining clubs, making friends, exploring new situations.

“He is just an amazing student.” Miller said of Kellem. “There is not anything this young man will not attempt. He has drive and leadership capabilities.”

After graduating this month, Kellem and his family plan to celebrate with a vacation in Orlando, Fla.

In January, he will turn his focus to landing a job in engineering.

Recognizing a need��

“The J.B. Speed School of Engineering and the Kentucky Autism Training Center share a common purpose,” said KATC Executive Director Dr. Larry Taylor. “That is to provide a supportive environment that enables students with autism to achieve their goals, and those goals vary with the individual needs, wants and desires of each student.”

This collaboration, believed to be the only of its kind in the country to specifically pair engineering studies and students with autism, involves a veritable village of support from KATC partnered with Speed School’s student services from advising to co-op to faculty and staff, as well as external supports such as the Disability Resource Center and Vocational Rehab services. KATC is a university-based program with a legislative mandate to enhance outcomes for all Kentuckians with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Housed at the University of Louisville’s College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development, KATC provides hands-on training for educators in the classroom, hosting workshops for families, and conducting professional development sessions.

The partnership with Speed School took root in 2017 when Mike Miller, KATC’s Family Field Training coordinator, was asked by Heidi Neal, director of Student Success and Strategic Initiatives, to present to Speed School faculty and advisors about the holistic and evidence-based educational services and strategies KATC can provide to assist students with ASD.

“Engineering is a perfect fit for kids with autism,” said Miller. “Studies often involve individualized work in silos and they don’t have to communicate with a lot of people. The main subject areas like math and science are their bailiwicks.”

Miller, a native of Murray, Kentucky, is a professional educator whose expertise in autism has helped UofL lead the charge to help engineering students with autism become more self-sufficient, independent, and then graduate and find employment. A self-proclaimed “off-the-wall instructor,” Miller is tremendously passionate about his job and the group of 12 engineering students he is working with this year.

Miller utilizes evidence-based strategies that accommodate the unique way that students with autism may process information. “They are rule followers, they want structure and want someone to say, ‘This is what you have to do. When advisors ask students to select from a choice of flight plans, for example, they say aren’t you supposed to be deciding that?” said Miller.

Graduate student Ben Mitchell shows Dr. Kunal Kate the status of his lab project.

“A student with autism might want to go into a lab group project and say, ‘You sit here, I’ll do the work and get us an A. You are all incompetent,” Miller said. “Of course, that’s not going to win many friends.”

But once Miller introduced “14 Steps to Doing a Lab” that instilled structure into the process, it helped the students understand their responsibilities while tempering the all-or-nothing approach students with autism might tend to employ.

Miller meets with his students weekly and in each year he asks students to do some things out of their comfort zone to help them grow and mature.

“For freshmen year, it’s join an academic club in their major, sophomore year a social club, and junior year, it’s volunteer work in the community,” he said. Miller and the students also work on incidental conversations by picking a professor to initiate a conversation with. “They don’t like sarcasm and humor because they don’t understand it, so we work on that, too. It’s the little things. They don’t know how to advocate for themselves because their parents have generally taken care of everything for them.”

To an untrained eye, Miller’s strategies might seem unconventional and even a little odd, but his evidence-based methods help students and produce results.��

Making a difference for students��

Ben Mitchell today is not the same kid as the freshman who walked into Miller’s office.

“We started off meeting (with Mike Miller) during my freshman year one or two times per week to help me develop some social and communication strategies I could use to help advocate for myself in difficult situations,” said Mitchell, now a graduate student in mechanical engineering.

“As a freshman, I saw the immense challenges before me in my early courses and something within me really wanted to rise to that challenge,” said Mitchell. “I wanted to see if by reaching out and asking for the knowledge and expertise of those around me, such as my peers, my professors, tutors over at REACH, I would be able to reach new heights that I never thought I’d be capable of.”

What Mitchell found in his academic career at Speed School was his highly analytical brain was an asset.��

“As I’ve progressed through my mechanical engineering courses at Speed School it’s useful for me to be able to think single-mindedly, objectively, analytically about these more abstract situations – to be able to look at things like differential equations and realize that there’s usually one or two different solution methods that allow me to always get to that right answer that we’re looking for,” said Mitchell. Along with his academic success, Mitchell has expanded his social world, recently discovering the Cardinal Marching Band.

Ben Mitchell challenged himself to learning to play the baritone well enough to audition for the Cardinal Marching Band.

“I wanted to see if I could play music like my parents do as my own personal hobby,” said Mitchell. “Thanks to the analytical pattern recognition skills I developed at Speed School advanced social skills that Mike’s helped me learn I have been given the honor of performing multiple scores from memory as a baritone player at every home game for the UofL Football team this season.”

Mitchell said Miller has been a wonderful friend as well as mentor. “From phone conversations to face-to-face talks, Dr. Mike Miller has had the pleasure of shaping my journey as I grew from a young freshman into a seasoned master’s student preparing to graduate from the University of Louisville.”

Collaboration brings multi-disciplinary supports

Miller’s success with autistic engineering students has not happened in a vacuum, nor has it been overnight. In fact, Miller said it is the teamwork and collaboration with Speed School that has been the key to success.

Speed School advising, co-op and faculty work closely with Miller and KATC to ensure holistic services for students with autism.

Academic Counselor, Sr., Jen Zoller, who has been with Speed School for more than seven years, said Mike Miller has been a “godsend.”

“He’s an incredible resource,” said Zoller. “I have an immense amount of respect for Mike and the solid and genuine relationships he forms with students.”

An advisor’s role is to talk to students about what classes they are taking, challenges or struggles, what requirements they need for their degree and so forth.

“We do this with all students but students who identify on the spectrum do have other challenges,” Zoller said. “Our institutions intrinsically are designed around the white hetero-normative male, and anyone outside of those parameters may have struggles navigating these systems that aren’t built for them.”

Zoller said Miller can provide that extra layer of support and individualized attention these students may need to be successful. For example, many students with autism don’t drive due to anxiety and Miller can help with driving lessons or understanding the TARC bus system.

“His approach with the students is very similar to mine. He has a challenge and support style, a problem solver cheering for them but not sugar coating things. He keeps them accountable. Coming to college is not just about getting a degree, but becoming an adult,” Zoller said.��

“This collaboration with KATC works because the people at Speed School – my co-workers in Office of Student Success, Admissions and Advising – we are all very passionate and committed to student success,” she added. “We get fired up about it and if we see something not student-friendly we will speak up about it, remove unintentional barriers and make it a better experience for our students.”

Mary Andrade, director of Co-op and Career Services, said she too believes that a successful collaboration comes from the right place – “a place of caring about our students. Our advising, co-op, admissions staffs – we all want to see these students as engineers, so we communicate, come to the table, put in time, effort, attention. To me, that’s what collaboration is – people who care coming together to support students that need it.”

Andrade works closely with Miller, meeting with students to develop a case plan tailored to their needs, and supporting them throughout the placement process and in the workplace setting.

Andrade praised the Autism Training Center’s commitment to Speed School students.

“Mike’s central to their success and their willingness to let Mike put his time specifically to [Speed] students makes all the difference.�� I couldn’t do this on my own – he’s the glue that holds all this together … He has advocated for these students on every level. We appreciate that the training center has done that. It’s a model for the entire country,” Andrade said.��

This collaboration between Speed School and KATC also relies on the referrals and instructional support of Speed School faculty. Miller said one example of how he has worked with faculty is when a student may be headed for an emotional meltdown in class, they now have a designated place to walk out and an amount of time to cool down before returning, whereas previously it was disruptive to the class. While the flexibility of Office Hours TBD may appeal to most students, those with autism struggle with the ambivalence, so Miller worked with instructors to accommodate.

Dr. Ibrahim Imam, Associate Professor for Computer Science and Engineering, who taught Ben Mitchell, said that for students with autism, there are certain considerations that faculty have to be aware of to just facilitate their success.

“They just need a little extra. Sometimes it might be an extra 10 minutes on an exam or they need to work in different circumstances, like maybe they like to be in a room by themselves. Once the faculty becomes aware of it, it is very easy to work with the student and to facilitate their success,” he said.

Imam said seeing students with autism grow and succeed is very rewarding: “Oh, this is like the cherry on top, I enjoy teaching very much, and that’s why I’m here. It’s even more gratifying to see these students through.”

Giving all students tools to succeed

UofL has embraced a commitment to diversity in all its forms, though it may not be top of mind to recognize ASD as such.

“It’s very important that Speed School recognizes atypical neuro development as something that makes a place diverse,” Zoller said. “We typically think of diversity as race, ethnicity, perhaps gender identity, but in the last five years neuro-divergence is being recognized as also making a place diverse and unique. It’s important to appreciate all the uniqueness of individuals and how those differences should be celebrated, especially in engineering, which is global.”

Essentially, what engineering boils down to as a profession in a simplified definition is problem solving. We need people from diverse backgrounds and with unique perspectives that may look at a problem differently and solve it better.��

“I don’t believe the world of work in engineering has been as embracing of diversity as it should have been in the past, added Andrade, “but diversity is coming.”

Beyond the classroom��

��

Milo, a social robot, is used for research in working with children with autism in the Louisville Automated Robotic Research Institute, (LARRI)

The collaboration between Speed School student services and KATC is not the only way Speed School is making a difference in the autism community. Research being conducted at the Louisville Automated Robotic Research Institute, (LARRI) may one day make it easier for children with autism to participate in social interactions with peers.

Using kid-friendly robots to teach social interaction, Karla Welch, associate professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering, is leading research funded jointly by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

“The goal is to do research on the next generation of robots for human robot interaction, specifically for working in interventions for children with autism,” she said. “We focus on social interaction, because that’s a hallmark of something that is difficult for children with autism – initiating social interaction, asking appropriate questions as well as responding to questions, and if they’re not interested in the topic, they might not give any response.”

Welch adds that it’s a little more comforting or less challenging for children with autism to interact with a robot, especially because of the technology’s simplified facial features and facial expressions

“Human faces can be very expressive, can be unpredictable. Initially, for children with autism, there doesn’t seem to be this apprehension of interacting with robots, because it’s less stimulus,” she said.

Welch said the mission is also to make a robot that can adapt to different people.

“While we’re kind of focused on children with autism, there’s some variety within that subject pool because we recognize that as humans there’s a lot of individuality, and that is also true for those who are neurotypical,” she said.

Culture of caring

Whether it’s marshalling the efforts of many to ensure college students with autism are successful or researching autism in younger children to intervene earlier to enhance social learning, UofL is looking to create a better world for people with autism. Miller said he has been overwhelmed by how dedicated Speed School is to its students, and explained one of the times he realized the extent of that commitment. When Ben Mitchell was preparing for an overseas travel opportunity and needed a birth certificate from California that seemed destined not to arrive in time, Speed School Dean Emmanuel Collins offered to fly with Ben to California and then to Chicago so he could get his passport.

“That was when I thought, ‘wow, they really care about these students,” he said.��

Check out more about the relationship between .

Ginevra Courtade, chair of the Department of Special ����ֱ��, Early Childhood, and Prevention Science in the College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development, received the grant, along with colleagues from the University of North Florida and the University of Oklahoma. While the entire grant totals $3.5 million, UofL will support six scholars with $1.25 million.

“The part-time program is meant to allow administrators to stay within their respective districts, while building their skills to advance the field,” Courtade explained. “This could be individuals who are already working in administration, or those who are currently special education teachers who show potential to move into leadership roles.” ����

Doctoral students will be supported through three existing degree programs at the University of Louisville, University of North Florida and University of Oklahoma that prepare special education personnel for rural school systems. These schools will work together to accomplish the project objectives of recruitment of diverse students, implementation of high-quality programming, preparation of scholars and support for communities through an enhanced network of special education leadership. ��

The project will leverage the combined strengths of the faculties at all three schools to prepare and increase the number of personnel needed to address shortages of leadership personnel in high-need, rural areas.

“Each school presents unique strengths,” Courtade explained. “The University of North Florida is strong in special education policy, the University of Oklahoma is strong in research, and we here at UofL bring strength with our community partnerships.”

The curriculum of Project SPIDERS scholars will be enhanced through shared access and mentorship across faculty; joint seminars and coursework; and collaborative applied and disseminated scholar projects.

The need for increased leadership and support for special educators in rural districts is high.

“The SPIDERS grant affords the opportunity to address the personnel deficit in rural districts,” sad Larry Taylor, executive director of the Kentucky Autism Training Center.��“Having worked in the rural areas of the Commonwealth, I know firsthand of the challenges for the recruitment and retention of qualified personnel, and it is critical that efforts are made to increase the availability of qualified personnel.��SPIDERS is a great step toward addressing this personnel challenge.”

“Leadership skills afforded by an earned doctorate make a difference for those working in rural areas,” Taylor said.��

To learn more about the College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development and the Department of Special ����ֱ��, Early Childhood, and Prevention Science,

“” combines informative online modules with a virtual roundtable discussion. The roundtable discussion is scheduled for March 16, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Any faculty or staff member may sign up .

Featured in the training are Heidi Cooley-Cook, assistant director, and Mike Miller, family field training coordinator, of the , and Colleen Martin, director of UofL’s .

“We currently have 40 students who are receiving support from the DRC,” Cooley-Cook said. She added that a total of about 333 students enrolled in fall 2020 identify as having ASD — a number that is expected to continue to grow.��

KATC is a university-based program with a legislative mandate to enhance outcomes for Kentuckians with ASD. It is a statewide resource for families and educators. The DRC provides support for UofL students with documented disabilities.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 88 traditional college-age individuals in the United States identify as having ASD. But the CDC also estimates that by 2022, that number will increase to 1 in 59. The CDC defines ASD as “a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges.”

While coping with the transition from high school to college can be challenging for many incoming students, for those with ASD, these challenges may be amplified. The modules combined with a Feb. 10 roundtable discussion explored various aspects of this issue, including students’ difficulty making friends and working on group projects.

Junior Nathaniel Newcomer, a student with ASD who is majoring in health and human performance, said group projects can be vague for someone on the spectrum. “Be specific about what is required to work with a team,” he suggested.��

Cooley-Cook said students with ASD may become unsettled when there are changes in their routines or may have trouble with loud noises or other sensory experiences, such as experiencing a sound as a taste. Professors and staff who recognize these signs are more prepared help students remain calm when they are upset.

Miller and Cooley-Cook emphasized that UofL is providing students with ASD much more than just a degree: These students learn life skills from professors and fellow students who become their role models.

Miller works one-on-one with 10 ASD students each academic year. This year, his group includes students in engineering, business, biology and exercise science.

He takes a photograph of every student he works with as a freshman, and then another of them as a senior. When he asks the student which version they like better, they always pick the senior photo, he said. Every student he has worked with has found employment after graduation, Miller said.

Miller said he’s worked with the J.B. Speed School of Engineering to ensure that classes are videotaped (even before COVID-19). That way, students who need help taking notes can refer back to lectures. This also helps the entire student body, because the recording is available to every student in the class who may need it, he said.

Speed mechanical engineering senior Ben Mitchell, who participated in the roundtable, has worked with Miller for four years and is maintaining a 4.0 GPA. He plans to go into the Master’s of Engineering Program at Speed after he graduates.

“Mike has always been available to listen to my successes and my struggles ever since I first met him, and I know he’s so proud of how far I’ve come from when I first started out here,” Mitchell said.

In addition to the KATC and the DRC, “Reframing Autism” is sponsored by the Dean of Students office and the Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning.

UofL is doing its part to help those families through a creative partnership — the Autism Friendly Business Initiative.

The , announced in February, includes the University of Louisville Autism Center (ULAC), a part of the School of Medicine, and the Kentucky Autism Training Center (KATC), a component of the ULAC and part of the College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development.

These centers are joined by Meaningful Day Services and FEAT of Louisville, which has oversight for the program.

The centerpiece of the initiative is a where families can look for autism-friendly businesses.

“What we found was that families would go to a therapy appointment and then go home,” said Heidi Cooley-Cook, family field training coordinator for KATC. “They weren’t going to the movies or the grocery and, as almost any therapist will tell you, it’s important for individuals to be engaged in their community.”

Businesses can earn an AFBI designation by having at least 80 percent of their employees watch a film and answer questions about how to recognize and respond to the signs of autism. This is level 1 of the AFBI program and it is available now. Soon, two more levels will be introduced. Those levels will require businesses to make environmental changes (level 2) and adopt hiring and training strategies to support people with autism (level 3).

UofL worked closely with its partners to create the training video. In fact, UofL alumnus Cody Clark, who is on the autism spectrum and has dual degrees in theater and marketing, was prominently featured in the final production.

Molly Dubuque, a ULAC behavior analyst, said the idea for the AFBI came about in 2015 when Deborah Morton, executive director for FEAT, put together teams to look at support systems for those with autism.

Dubuque said it was during those meetings that they began to realize that “participation and access to the community” was just as important as treatment.

“Citizenship involves enjoying parks, museums, getting haircuts, going grocery shopping—all of the things that enrich one’s life,” Dubuque said. “It quickly became clear that the best we could do to support families was to open the community to them.”

Nearly everyone who was part of the previously launched program contributed to the AFBI project. That meant numerous meetings to keep the project moving, writing a script, recording and directing the video, designing the AFBI brand and getting input from local businesses and leaders.

“This has been a powerful collaboration,” said Dr. Gregory Barnes, who heads the UofL Autism Center. “It takes a village to build something like this program and we are thrilled to be part of such a worthy initiative.”