Tailor Institute continues to guide autistic adults

Josiah Wynn has his own philosophy, the crux of which is encouraging honest discussion.

"Generally, I think there is a very strong push toward diversity and pluralism and how everyone can be equal by speaking their own mind," he said. "The way it's being carried out is undercutting actual diversity. Although our belief systems are not the same, we can come to understand them without agreeing with them, but you have to address those differences. If we want to solve problems, we have to talk about what the problems are. All this multiculturalism is about not talking about how we disagree."

Wynn has a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Southeast Missouri State University, and he is pursuing a graduate degree in English. While he's going to school, he has a job pushing carts at Sam's Club. He feels his calling in life is to be a teacher, but he's not sure whether that should be through the written word, as a professor or even as a minister.

"I don't have delusions of grandeur," he said. "I want to find a way to talk to people and communicate as much as possible. I'm not going to fix the world."

Wynn also falls within the realm of autism spectrum disorder and has been receiving services at the Tailor Institute for the past seven years.

"I've had a very difficult time interacting with other people. I have had a difficult time looking people in the eye. My organizational skills are very bad. I have a very difficult time making friends," he said. "I'm concerned about thinking about the world a certain way, but that doesn't mean I'm able to talk about the weather or talk to a new person. I can speak to people in a certain context. It's very difficult to have a personal relationship, but talking to a crowd, I can do it."

Wynn is an example of the about 160 clients that have been served by the Tailor Institute since its founding in 2003. Wynn said he has experienced breakthroughs working with other intelligent adults who fall within autism spectrum disorder. He feels his peers challenge him but ultimately have a better understanding of the way he feels.

"That's what helped me the most -- interacting with people in a way that was heavily structured but also open," Wynn said. "That's the strength of it; we're doing it together."

Tailor Institute clinical director Rhonda Overbeck said group meetings among clients are important in improving the growth and development of participants' social cognition skills, soft vocational abilities and independent living skills.

"Participants not only increase in their abilities but also form strong bonds and friendships with their peers," Overbeck said.

The goal of the Tailor Institute is to find the gifts of young adults who are within the autism spectrum and help them to find employment -- developing skills to find and keep a job -- and live independently, executive director Carrie Tracy said.

"Someone with autism, they have a hard time coming out of their shell because they're uncomfortable, and we help them with that," Tracy said.

The Tailor Institute relies on eight staff members, paid part-time, to work with clients on social interaction -- often things such as eye contact -- but also to develop their particular skills.

For Wynn, that is language and other soft skills, but he said many of his peers have expansive historical knowledge. Tracy said some clients are gifted in mathematics or other disciplines. Although the Tailor Institute focuses on high-functioning adults on the autism spectrum, Tracy said the organization does not turn anyone away.

"We look for an area of strength," Tracy said.

Overbeck added there are individual sessions available for clients that could include needs in mental health, social cognition training, vocational skills assistance and assistance with college enrollment.

There have been some changes with the Tailor Institute since founder David Crowe died in March 2014. The main facility has moved from Southeast Missouri State University to 3095 Lexington Ave., which the organization rents. Tracy said the institute outgrew its last location, and the new site is closer to the highway.

The Tailor Institute tries to have 15 to 20 new clients each year, Tracy said, each going through four- to six-month assessment sessions analyzing their characteristics and medical records, which cost $300 a piece. The Tailor Institute also is starting a new group in St. Louis, although those clients are autonomous from the fundraising efforts in Cape Girardeau, Tracy said.

The Tailor Institute just held its biggest fundraiser of the year Nov. 13, raising about $32,000. The institute also benefits from a state grant, although Tracy declined to say the amount. In 2012, The Tailor Institute received $200,000 in a work-force grant.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

3095 Lexington Ave., Cape Girardeau, Mo.