Wicomico schools report rising autism caseload, highlight services and community partnerships during April update

Kevin Smith, director of special education for Wicomico County Public Schools, reported an increase in the district’s autism caseload and outlined current services and community partnerships during the board’s April meeting.

"As of April, we serve 267 students with autism, an increase of 26 students since October," Kevin Smith said, citing district service numbers. Smith reminded the board of early-intervention and preschool programs housed at the district’s early learning facility and described a weekly sensory-friendly event for families called "Mother Goose on the Loose." He also noted that the district’s Office of Special Education and Early Intervention works with school teams, parents and community leaders and, in cases with parental consent, medical providers to develop specially designed instruction through the individualized education program (IEP) process.

Smith described partnerships and supports available to families and schools. He said the district is a project partner with the Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities and its behavior psychology department and that the district has worked with Beaver Run Elementary and West Salisbury Elementary. He also mentioned a recent Special Education Citizens Advisory Committee meeting that featured Pathfinders for Autism and urged families and community members who could not attend to contact the district for resources.

Smith and staff highlighted safety materials developed after statewide drownings of nonverbal autistic children, and he pointed listeners to resources on Pathfinders for Autism’s website and provided a district contact phone number: (410) 677-5952. Smith said the district has a team of 10 school psychologists and a dedicated team of related service providers to support communication systems and sensory needs.

Why it matters: The rise in identified students with autism and the description of supports and partnerships provide local families and providers with current caseload figures, service capacity and contact points for community resources. Board members thanked staff and emphasized the need for broader community mental-health supports.

Additional context recorded in the meeting - CDC and state figures referenced: the transcript cites a CDC estimate that one in 36 children are affected (May 2024 figure) and Maryland monitoring that one in 43 children in Maryland were identified as children with autism; those national and state comparisons were presented to situate local trends.

- Programs noted: Mother Goose on the Loose (weekly sensory-friendly session at the infants and toddlers program), district early-intervention services, and partnerships (Kennedy Krieger Institute, Pathfinders for Autism). Staff noted community events such as sensory-friendly Easter egg hunts and walks planned for autism awareness month.

Board response: Board members thanked special education staff for their work and discussed the challenge of limited community mental-health resources in the region and the district’s role in supporting students in the absence of broader community capacity.

For families: Smith invited community members to contact the district office for more information and resources at (410) 677-5952.