West Virginia

New support group at WVU aims to help parents awaiting autism evaluation, services • West Virginia Watch

Published

6 months ago

July 4, 2024

New support group at WVU aims to help parents awaiting autism evaluation, services • West Virginia Watch

West Virginia parents may face long waiting periods to get their child services for autism, or even to see a provider for an evaluation. A new support and education group at West Virginia University aims to help them in the meantime.

Dr. Amy Kurowski-Burt

The WVU Center for Excellence in Disabilities is starting Mind the Gap in August. The group will be facilitated by Dr. Amy Kurowski-Burt, an occupational therapist and Heather Merritt, the center’s positive behavior support curriculum developer.

Burt said the idea for the program came about working with families at the center, noticing that parents can wait sometimes two to three years for an autism diagnosis or to get services for autism.

“Research tells us that early intervention is the most effective for really any pediatric diagnosis,” Kurowski-Burt said. “The sooner you get to it the better they will be long-term through teenage years and adulthood.”

The group will focus on supporting and teaching parents what they can do for their children while they’re waiting for evaluations and services like therapy or an individualized education plan for school, Kurowski-Burt said.

“It’s not just the therapist, it’s people who are with them all the time that can make the difference,” she said. “So that’s the parents, the siblings, the grandparents, the neighbors. So what information can we give them to help their child be the best they can be.”

Merritt and Kurowski-Burt did a survey and got more than 150 responses from parents about what topics they’re interested in learning about through the group.

“Across all age groups, we found parents all want the same type of information, and need the same type of support,” Merritt said. “And so, we took that coupled with the nationwide Mind the Gap curriculum and kind of just developed the plan to support families the best that we can here.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of one in every 36 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder. The disorder is characterized by ongoing social problems including difficulty communicating with others and repetitive behaviors as well as limited interests or activities. Symptoms typically are recognized by the time the child is two.

Due to a nationwide shortage of providers such as psychologists, psychiatrists and developmental pediatricians, parents can wait two or three years just to have their child evaluated for autism, Burt said.

Many parents are interested in learning what autism is and what it means for their child, along with how to get the child ready for school and what behaviors to expect.

“I’ve run a similar group like this in the past at a previous agency I was at, and I have found that the support alone, parent to parent or caregiver to caregiver is so valuable, because what may work at somebody’s house, somebody else might not know,” Merritt said. “And so when they share those ideas it carries on within the community, and so they can lean on each other not only for support, but also with ideas of how to help their child.

Kurowski-Burt said she’s excited to support families who are falling into a “gap” for services and to empower people with disabilities not to wait for a provider.

“If we give these families strategies of things that they can do in their home or community that’s going to make a difference,” she said. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be someone who’s specialized – they can do stuff too. Providers also are awesome, but families don’t have to wait for someone to tell them what to do.”

Mind the Gap will meet from 6 to 7:30 p.m. each first Wednesday of the month beginning in August. Participants can attend in person at the center in Morgantown or virtually.

The support and education group is free to attend, but registration is required. To register, visit https://cedwvu.wufoo.com/forms/mind-the-gap-parent-education-and-support-group/

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West Virginia

No. 14 West Virginia Upset in Boulder Following Brutal Fourth Quarter

Published

8 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

No. 14 West Virginia Upset in Boulder Following Brutal Fourth Quarter

Boulder, CO – No. 14 West Virginia took an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter but shot 2-12 from the field and committed four turnovers in the final 10 minutes as the Colorado Buffaloes (10-2) went 9-11 from the floor and stormed back from a 16-point second half deficit to upset the Mountaineers (10-2) Saturday night 65-60.

West Virginia junior guard Jordan Harrsion led the Mountaineers with 18 points and five assists, but Frida Formann put in a game-high 22 points and forwards Lior Garzon and Jade Masogayo led the second half comeback to combine for 22 second half points.

West Virginia junior guard Syndey Shaw started the night with a three and a pair of steals in the backcourt by Harrison that led to layups gave the Mountaineers an early 7-6 advantage.

Frida Formann was off to a hot start, hitting her first three field goal attempts for seven of the nine Colorado points, including a three to give Colorado a 9-7 lead at the 4:30 mark of the first quarter.

The Mountaineers finished the first quarter with a 9-0 run with freshman forward Jordan Thomas leading the way with four points and a 16-9 WVU lead heading into the second quarter.

Jordan Harrsion opened the second quarter with a three to extend the lead to 10, but West Virginia went 3-9 and committed five turnovers while Colorado was 7-15 from the field and cut the deficit to three, 28-25, at the break.

Frida Forman led all scorers at the break with 15 points as Harrison scored a Mountaineer-high 12 points with two assists.

Jade Masogayo cut the WVU lead to one with a lay-in, but West Virginia responded with a 19-4 run, led by guard Kyah Watson putting in five of her eight points on the night for a 47-31 lead with 3:05 left in the third quarter.

Colorado began to build momentum heading into the fourth quarter, despite West Virginia leading by 11.

The Mountaineers went cold in the fourth quarter while the Buffaloes got hot. West Virginia missed its first four shots from the field while Colorado dwindled the lead to five before Harrison got the contested layup and ended a five-minute scoring drought.

The Buffaloes continued their momentum, while West Virginia struggled from the field and extending their run to 22-4 behind nine points from Garzon to build a seven-point lead with 36 seconds remaining in the game and held on for the 65-60 victory.

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West Virginia

How to Watch & Listen to West Virginia vs. Mercyhurst

Published

16 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

How to Watch & Listen to West Virginia vs. Mercyhurst

The West Virginia Mountaineers (8-2) host the Mercyhurst Lakers (6-8) for the first ever meeting between the two programs.

When: Sunday, December 22

Location: Morgantown, WV, WVU Coliseum (14,000)

Tip-off: 2:00 p.m. EST

Stream: ESPN+

Announcers: Nick Farrell, Warren Baker & Amanda Mazey

Radio: Tony Caridi (PBP), Brad Howe (analyst) Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield IMG College (Radio affiliates)

WVU Game Notes

– Mercyhurst is the 193rd different team to play a game vs. West Virginia in the WVU Coliseum (non-exhibition).

– West Virginia is 154-38 against teams making their first appearance in the Coliseum.

– West Virginia is currently ranked No. 28 in the latest NCAA NET rankings.

– West Virginia has won 88 of its last 96 games at home in the month of December.

– Javon Small was named co-Big 12 Player of the Week and Tucker DeVries was tabbed as the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 2. Both were named to the Battle 4 Atlantis All-Tournament Team.

– Small was named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week on Dec. 3.

– Small has scored 20 or more points in fi ve of WVU’s last seven games.

– With a win over No. 3 Gonzaga, WVU defeated a Top 5 AP team for the second consecutive season. Last season, the Mountaineers downed No. 3 Kansas in Morgantown, 91-85.

– West Virginia played three consecutive overtime games for the first time in school history.

– WVU is 142-13 at home against nonconference teams in the last 23 years, and has won 123 of its last 134 games.

– WVU is 615-187 (.767) all-time at the WVU Coliseum and 256-73 at the WVU Coliseum in the last 21 seasons.

– West Virginia is 206-56 against nonconference teams in regular season games in the last 21 seasons.

– The Mountaineers have posted a winning nonconference record in 32 of the last 33 seasons.

– WVU is 268-99 in its last 367 games against unranked teams, including winners of 151 of its last 183 at the WVU Coliseum.

– West Virginia is the only team in the country that has two players on the same team who averaged more than 20 points per game from last season — Tucker DeVries (21.6 ppg) and Jayden Stone (20.8 ppg).

– Darian DeVries, who led Drake to six consecutive 20-win seasons and has a career .735 winning percentage as a head coach, was named the 23rd head men’s basketball coach at West Virginia University on March 24, 2024.

– DeVries has a record of 158-57 (.735) in seven seasons as a head coach, including a 63-17 (.788) mark in the last two-plus seasons.

– West Virginia returns just 2.8 percent of its scoring from last season’s team (Ofri Naveh).

– The Mountaineers are led by a pair of transfers in Tucker DeVries (Drake) and Javon Small (Oklahoma State). Last season, DeVries was named an Associated Press All-American Honorable Mention selection, while Small earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors.

– In addition, Eduardo Andre (Fresno State), Joseph Yesufu (Washington State), Sencire Harris (Illinois), Amani Hansberry (Illinois) and Jayden Stone (Detroit Mercy) were added from the transfer portal.

– WVU has a wealth of experience on its roster who have college basketball experience. Entering this season, they have combined to play 806 games, made 442 starts, scored 7,606 points, grabbed 3,304 rebounds and dished out 1,248 assists.

– Tucker DeVries was named to the 20-member Julius Erving Preseason Watch List, giving annually to the nation’s top small forward.

– Tucker DeVries was named to the preseason Naismith Trophy Men’s College Player of the Year Watch List.

– Tucker DeVries has scored the most points (1,867) of any senior (four-year players only) entering this season. He ranks eighth overall for career scoring by returning players (including fi fth-year) and third in the Big 12 Conference.

– Entering this season, Tucker DeVries has scored the fifth-most points in college basketball since 2021-22. He’s one of 12 players who have scored 1,800 or more points since 2021-22.

– Tucker DeVries has recorded 99 games in double figures.

– Tucker DeVries is 14 points shy of reaching 2,000 for his career.

– Toby Okani scored his 1,000th career point against Georgetown on Dec. 6.

– Javon Small is 17 points shy of scoring 1,000 for his career.

– Darian DeVries is 73-2 when scoring 80 or more points in a game and 139-17 when scoring 70 or more.

– Darian DeVries is 113-21 when holding opponents to 69 points or less and 53-6 when holding opponents to 59 points or less.

– West Virginia was predicted 13th in the Preseason Big 12 Poll by the league’s head coaches.

– West Virginia has made at least one 3-point fi eld goal in 874 consecutive games.

– The Mountaineers have won 150 of their last 168 games when holding opponents to 69 points or less.

– WVU has won 161 of its last 182 and 217 of its last 245 games when holding opponents to less than 69 points.

– West Virginia is 20-5 all-time in games played on December 22.

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West Virginia

West Virginia Contacts Washington State CB Transfer Stephen Hall

Published

23 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

West Virginia Contacts Washington State CB Transfer Stephen Hall

It’s no secret that the West Virginia coaching staff will be dipping its toes in the transfer portal this offseason, particularly on the defensive side of the ball in the secondary. The Mountaineers were one of the worst pass defenses in the Big 12 and ranked 121st out of 134 teams, allowing 267.9 yards through the air per game.

One player they have identified as a potential helping piece is Washington State transfer cornerback Stephen Hall, who received an offer from West Virginia on Friday. In twelve games this season, Hall recorded 45 tackles, three pass breakups, 2.5 tackles for loss, and an interception. Prior to his two years at Washington State, Hall spent the first two years of his career at Northwest Mississippi CC at the junior college level, where he made it to the national championship.

In addition to West Virginia, Hall has received offers from Houston, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma State, UNLV, USC, and Virginia Tech.

Technically, he has one year of eligibility remaining, but with the NCAA’s recent ruling regarding eligibility with those who took the junior college route, he may have an additional two years.