A&M faculty members work with the Autism Clinic and
Project RICOTA.
Researchers work
with apps tailored
toward autistic kids
POLITICS
In the ear of
the president
Technology
works to
improve
communication
skills of
people across
spectrum
By Gracie Mock
To assist people with autism in the
r area, the Brazos Valley Rehabilitation
Center partnered with the Center on Dis
ability and Development at Texas A&M
in 2010 to create a specialized clinic of
fering diagnostic assessment and behavioral
intervention.
Now, five years later, A&M faculty
members are working with the Autism
Clinic and Project RICOTA, two pro
grams in the CDD, to utilize augmenta
tive and alternative communication apps
to help those with autism improve their
communication skills. The apps, “TapTo-
Talk” and “Go Talk Now,” use interactive
pictures and speaking functions to teach
people with autism how to clearly convey
their message.
Jennifer Ganz, professor of educational
psychology and affiliated faculty at the
CDD, said she and her students are using
communication apps specifically to study
autism. Ganz said the characteristics of au
tism lie on a spectrum — an individual’s
behavioral habits can fall anywhere from
not speaking at all to above-average speech
capacity.
One approach employed by the apps
to help people with autism is called “vi
sual scene display,” Ganz said. For ex
ample, an app will display a photo of a
child surrounded by various toys. When
the user taps on different images of toys,
the app will play a sound bite naming
the item. They may see one picture at a
time or the grid might be more complex,
Ganz said.
When teaching a child to use a com
munication app for the first time, the re
searchers use several behavioral techniques
to motivate the child to communicate, said
AUTISM ON PC. 3
■ • i
CAMPUS
White House veterans Axelrod and Fleischer address Rudder crowd
By Bethany Irvine
■ 1 ormer White House staffers
j blurred party lines Wednes
day, discussing their experi-
JL- ences in central roles under
the two most recent American presi
dents.
David Axelrod, senior advisor to
President Barack Obama and Ari
Fleischer, press secretary for President
George W. Bush, addressed a crowd in
Rudder Theater.
The discussion, hosted by the Wi- ’
ley Lecture Series, focused on defin
ing moments in both administrations
while detailing how the White House
staff plays a large role in the presidential
decision-making process.
Fleischer said working as press sec
retary allowed him an inside look into
the mind of the president.
“You’re a firsthand witness to his
tory -— you sit in these meetings and
you hear it all, you see it all,” Fleischer
said. “My job is to council the presi
dent on what to say.”
Axelrod, who. has advised Obama,
for six years, said the White House al
ways faces unexpected problems.
“When you’re in the White House
you learn to respect not only the peo
ple who sit in that Oval Office, but all
the people who work for them,” Axel
rod said. “They come from different
sides of the political rail. The adminis
tration is often defined by same major
crisis that you couldn’t even imagine. ”
For the Bush administration, that
crisis was Sept. 11, 2001. Heischer said
on that day, he realized the importance
of his job.
“On Sept. 11 I knew everything
about what the president was doing,
WILEY ON PG. 3
BASEBALL
Pitcher
Turner
Larkins
winds up
for a pitch
against
Abilene
Christian.
A&M squeezes past Abilene Christian
njm
JUUk'
IRIS
H
1
f
m
s
On-campus parking permit
prices will increase 3 percent
for fall 2015 and each of the
next four years thereafter — a
15 percent hike, all told. After
that, an inflationary increase
of 2 percent will be assessed
each year.
The increase comes at
the request of Transportation
Services, said Texas A&M
chief financial officer Jerry
Strawser in an email to faculty
and staff.
Revenue generated from
the increases will go toward
as many as five parking
garages set for construction
within the next 20 years. It will
also be used to maintain roads
and sidewalks on campus and
to construct surface parking
areas, according to the email.
The most recent increases
came in 2009 (10 percent) and
2010 (4.2 percent).
Mark Dore
By Carter Karels
Logan Taylor and Blake Allemand
accounted for all three scores to
register a 3-2 small-ball victory over
Abilene Christian Wednesday.
The bullpens of both squads amassed
top-notch performances, and the bats
were cold for the most part for the No.
1 Aggies all evening. However, Taylor
and Allemand combined to go 6-for-
8 to make up for only two other hits
from the team.
The Aggies took the lead in the
seventh inning and never looked back
as Taylor brought in Allemand after a
hit to right. Allemand doubled earlier
to right center, and headed to third to
load the corners after Mitchell Nau
reached first on fielder’s choice.
ACU (8-26) took the advantage
in the second after loading the bases
and Marcelle Carter was walked on a
full count. Fans were unhappy, as the
previous batter, Russell Crippen, was
called for being hit by the pitch, which
was ultimately decided by a meeting
between the umpires.
The Aggies (34-3) evened the score
in the bottom of the inning. Nau
reached first base off a walk, and Tay
lor stepped up to the plate and drove a
pitch to right center, bringing in Nau
for the game’s lone RBI.
The third inning was more of the
same, as both teams talked another run
onto the scoreboard.
Turner Larkins pitched the first four
innings, and accumulated two strike
outs while only allowing three hits.
Kyle Simonds carried the workload
after Larkins, coming in during the
fifth and pitching two hidess innings.
Despite starting the inning allowing a
base hit, Mark Ecker came onto finish
it in the ninth to keep A&M perfect in
weekday games.
The Aggies will stay at home for an
SEC weekend series against Arkansas,
which begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
\
The
graduating
seniors
of The
Mugdown.
PROVIDED
Founders of satire outlet reveal identities
Seniors of The Mugdown
have 'Coming Out Day'
By Aimee Breaux
One year and more than
500,000 hits on their web
site later, the seniors of The
Mugdown — an anonymous
satirical student-mn newspaper
— released their names to the
public via social media.
Called “Senior Coming Out
Day,” The Mugdown’s reveal
came just days after it caused
a stir on campus after planting
controversial yard signs about
the relationship between the
Corps of Cadets and fraterni
ties. With almost 3,000 follow
ers on Twitter, the outlet has
developed an online following
through “stunts” like the yard
signs and satirical articles with
headlines like, “Best Friends
Accidentally Walk Under Cen
tury Tree Together, Now Gay.”
Now, it plans to distribute its
first print issue by the end of the
semester.
The Wednesday reveal strate
gically left out who was associated
with each of the writers’ aliases.
According to The Mugdown’s
six founders, the aliases serve as a
second layer of protection.
If someone were to find out
the names of The Mugdown
writers, this person would still
not be able to identify the source
of a particular article, said Jamie
Bennett, founder and math se
nior.
Shelbi Polk, founder and in
ternational studies senior, said
the anonymity allows The Mug
down the freedom to effectively
make campus evaluate itself.
“My teacher in high school
would always say, ‘It’s your
best friend and your worst en
emy who will tell you the truth
about yourself,”’ Polk said.
“And I think that’s kind of what
we want to be, the best friend
who helps A&M laugh at itself
sometimes, because we have an
amazing university and a really,
really special place, but I think
it’s healthy to look at the truth
humorously sometimes.”
Polk said The Mugdown in
tends to reveal the names of its
graduates every year, but the
decision to release an alias will
remain up to the writers.
THE MUGDOWN ON PG. 4