Kari Sassu, PhD, is presented with a Presidential Citation for her work to facilitate interactions between individuals with autism spectrum disorder and the community.
Sassu is strongly committed to service within the larger community, and does so not only through her academic work, but through interdisciplinary community-based projects. Recent projects include a collaborative project with law enforcement to provide opportunities for drivers with autism to practice routine traffic stops with active police officers. This project has bidirectional benefit, as the training video provides modeling and the mock traffic stops allow for individuals with autism and the law enforcement community to learn from and about each other in real-time interactions, thereby minimizing misperceptions and increasing understanding of best practices. Results from this project include a training video and protocol that have been shared at multiple national conferences. The mock traffic stop events are ongoing throughout the state of Connecticut and not only have improved shared understandings between participants representing these communities, but also increased awareness of the Blue Envelope Program, a Department of Motor Vehicles and Connecticut Chiefs of Police effort that was launched in January of 2020.
Recently, Sassu engaged in a project aimed at increasing opportunities for youth with autism to successfully engage in recreational activities within their local communities. This project was a multi-agency effort involving the collaboration of two Centers of Excellence at Southern Connecticut State University (the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders), two public school districts, and a local YMCA. Sassu led the team in designing, developing, and delivering a multidisciplinary training program for YMCA staff. The training was designed to increase the knowledge and skill of YMCA employees in employing successful strategies to benefit individuals with autism to engage in recreational activities at the YMCA. In addition to increasing internal capacity of YMCA staff in support those with autism, a parallel support program was delivered to their families. Preliminary data suggest that this program has had a positive impact on the participants’ desire to engage in similar programming in the future, parents’ confidence in the ability of YMCA staff to support their children in similar programming, and the ability of the YMCA staff to effectively engage and support youth with autism spectrum disorder.
Sassu is a member of her local Board of Education and serves on several state-level boards, including the Autism Spectrum Disorders Advisory Council for the Connecticut Department of Social Services, the Institutional Review Board for the Connecticut Department of Developmental Services, and the Connecticut Alliance to Benefit Law Enforcement.