MacArthur teacher Vincent Causeman raises $100G for autism awareness

A Levittown father with two children on the autism spectrum has raised more than $100,000 for autism awareness and research over the past 15 years through an annual campaign at the school where he teaches.

Vincent Causeman, a social studies teacher at General Douglas MacArthur High School in Levittown for 24 years, raised the amount by spearheading a monthlong campaign coinciding each year with National Autism Acceptance Month in April.

The annual effort includes initiatives like selling T-shirts that feature new autism awareness slogans yearly and hosting a varsity baseball game fundraiser in which children on the spectrum throw out the first pitch and sing the “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The funds have benefited both the Nassau/Suffolk Autism Society of America and the Hagedorn Little Village School in North Massapequa, a school for children with developmental disabilities.

“It started out very small, because many people weren’t familiar with autism at the time,” Causeman said of the campaign’s beginning. “But over the years our school has really become like a role model for other schools who want to do something like this.”

Causeman, 48, said he became interested in autism awareness after the birth of his two children, Ryan, 19, and Haley, 17, who are both on the spectrum. Ryan is “nonverbal” and was diagnosed at age 3, he said, while Haley is “more high-functioning” and is even a three-year member of the girls volleyball team at MacArthur High School.

Causeman’s campaign started with simple activities such as a Power Point presentation to educate students and staff about the neurodevelopmental disorder, he said. It has since expanded to include schoolwide autism-themed decorations, raffle baskets and T-shirt sales that fund field trips for children with autism to places like Adventureland in Farmingdale.

“The movement has really created such an accepting environment,” Causeman said of MacArthur. “Whenever we have any sort of event like this, the [school community] is pretty amazing.”

Causeman, who graduated from MacArthur in 1994, is also the facilitator for the school’s after-school program, coordinator for its adult education program and a coach with the school’s Challenger Athletics Program, which offers students with special needs the opportunity to be part of a sports team, he said.

“Vin’s passion continues to drive his efforts to raise autism awareness in our community, a quest he spearheaded . . . years ago,” said MacArthur Principal Joseph Sheehan. “The impact of his tireless and ‘never give up’ dedication to this cause is truly remarkable.”

By Michael R. Ebert

michael.ebert@newsday.com

Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.