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Rachel Nadell \u201920 (CLAS), a human development and family studies major, is the current president of UConn\u2019s Unified Theater chapter. The club\u2019s students have visited S.T.A.A.R.\u2019s classroom weekly this semester, where they play theater games, do improv and other icebreaker activities, and organize and produce an original theater production with S.T.A.A.R. students. Nadell says the games they play are, to her, the most enjoyable part of Unified Theater.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody kind of lets loose a little bit,\u201d she said. \u201cEverybody lets their guard down from their regular day of classes, for both UConn students and the S.T.A.A.R. students. Things always get kind of crazy, and things are always silly, and everybody\u2019s always laughing the whole time. I think that the games are the things that really help us to befriend each other the most and get to know each other the most.\u201d<\/p>\n
The class has also partnered with faculty members to work with students enrolled in certain classes or programs. Each semester, two-to-four UConn physical therapy students meet with S.T.A.A.R. students at the Mansfield Community Center, where they exercise and do other physical activities at least once a week.<\/p>\n
The S.T.A.A.R. program\u2019s biggest faculty \u201ccheerleader,\u201d according to Gomes, is Inge-Marie Eigsti, an associate professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences. Eigsti researches autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and she teaches a one-semester, biennial, advanced undergraduate seminar on autism and other developmental disorders \u2013 a requirement of which is that her students interact and work with students in the S.T.A.A.R. class.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo really understand the diagnosis [of an autism spectrum disorder], it helps a lot if people learn about it not just by reading journal articles about the diagnosis, but by really meeting people who have that diagnosis,\u201d Eigsti says.<\/p>\n
She says there is \u201chigh value\u201d for members of the UConn community \u2013 even those not studying psychology or developmental disorders \u2013 in partnering with S.T.A.A.R.\u2019s teachers and students.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe benefit just as much from this interaction and the opportunity to have this experience as the S.T.A.A.R. students do,\u201d says Eigsti. \u201cWe have students that are pre-med, or are going into other kinds of careers that might not be focused on developmental disabilities, but boy, you sure do want a physician to understand what the signals of ASD might be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Physiology and neurobiology student Aditi Sirsikar \u201922 (CLAS) had spent time with students with developmental disabilities as part of a high school club and an internship, and her interest in researching autism \u2013 and the opportunity to partner with the S.T.A.A.R. program \u2013 drew her to enroll in Eigsti\u2019s class even though she\u2019s only in her freshman year at UConn. She\u2019s done crafts or played games, like the card game Uno, with her S.T.A.A.R. partner, but also helped him one day while he was searching for potential jobs near his home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you can study autism, and that\u2019s nice, but you actually have to meet people with autism to understand,\u201d says Sirsikar, who hopes to research screening methods for depression in people with autism. \u201cEvery single person has a different experience, and I think that\u2019s so important. Each person is so unique and the more people you talk to, the better idea you have of the condition, and some of the challenges and some of the joys associated with autism.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unlike Sirsikar, Jillian Wilson \u201920 (CLAS), a psychology student, didn\u2019t know about the S.T.A.A.R. class before enrolling in Eigsti\u2019s seminar, but she wanted to learn more about developmental disorders and wants to become a school psychologist. She and her S.T.A.A.R. partner text each other on days when Wilson can\u2019t visit the class, and they visit UConn\u2019s horse barns, ride the buses around campus, or play games in the classroom on days when she can.<\/p>\n
\u201cStarting out, I was a little nervous, because I\u2019ve never really done anything like this,\u201d says Wilson. \u201cBut that was only really the first time, now it\u2019s totally second nature. They\u2019re so nice over there, and they love when we come. They just get so excited, not only our peer partners but everybody in the classroom. It\u2019s very rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n Nadell and her vice president in Unified Theater, Alex Gutierrez \u201920 (ED), \u201921 MA \u2013 a Spanish education major in the five-year integrated bachelor\u2019s\/master\u2019s teacher education program who was involved in drama clubs and Unified Theater in high school as well \u2013 say that they both learned about Unified Theater in the Daily Digest email when the club was just starting out.<\/p>\n \u201cI have been with some of the same people for three years, and they\u2019re graduating this spring,\u201d Nadell said.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to think about it,\u201d quipped Gutierrez.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re getting upset because it\u2019s just crazy how I really feel like I\u2019ve made friends, and I feel like I\u2019ve made really good connections with people who I wouldn\u2019t have had the opportunity to make a connection with before, without this club,\u201d says Nadell. \u201cI\u2019m thankful to the S.T.A.A.R. program for letting us be a part of their classroom. I think it\u2019s really awesome that they trust us enough to be a part of their weekly schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n Nadell and Gutierrez encourage other UConn students who might be interested to join Unified Theater, or another group, like Best Buddies, if theater doesn\u2019t interest them.<\/p>\n Sirsikar advises other UConn students considering a club or partnership with S.T.A.A.R. to be open-minded.<\/p>\n \u201cEach person in the S.T.A.A.R. classroom is very different,\u201d she says. \u201cSome people are non-verbal, some people are working to live independently in a couple of years, and those are two very different and distinct groups. Just going in and wanting to have a good time and to brighten someone\u2019s day, it can be really fulfilling, and just embracing the opportunity is really important.\u201d<\/p>\n For their part, program administrators Gomes and Zabilansky say the S.T.A.A.R. program is always looking for opportunities to expand, and they\u2019re open to creative ideas about vocational, cultural, or community partnerships with UConn faculty, departments, and organizations.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of good young people who are making their way down to the basement of Sprague Hall to make a difference that often goes unseen outside of our program,\u201d says Gomes. \u201cThe act of taking the time to care is incorporated into their day. That is why we are truly grateful to be in this partnership, and we continue to be excited about all the possibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n For more information about the S.T.A.A.R. class, or to connect with program staff about partnership opportunities, visit staarprogram.weebly.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/starr190426a145-1024x683.jpg\")