Do-able: Autism ambassadors keep active

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Published in the Asbury Park Press 4/17/03

By LINDA WALLS

Autism, autism, autism.

As its incidence continues to soar, so do the numbers of people now familiar with the developmental disorder. Almost everyone knows someone whose family is affected. It might seem an Autism Awareness Month wouldn't be necessary.

Yet knowing doesn't always equal understanding, and the task of spreading understanding still lands primarily on parents. At the community level, Michelle Walsh, Howell, volunteered as April's ambassador of autism awareness for COSAC, the state Center for Outreach and Services for the Autism Community.

She set up a display on autism in the township's Newbury School where her son Sean, 8, has been a student since he was 3. And she amassed books to be read to other students "so they will be aware of what goes on with autistic kids and why they do certain things," said Walsh, a speech therapist.

While the school's four self-contained classrooms, plus occupational and speech-therapy rooms separate autistic students from the nondisabled, "the kids see each other in the halls," Walsh said. "My son will scream at times and throw himself down and the others may not understand."

Although tempered by medication, Sean's behaviors can be challenging and are constantly changing. Yet, "he's made tremendous gains," Walsh said, praising the school staff for much of his progress. "He can speak in sentences now, although it may be hard for others to understand. He talks more like a 3-year-old. When he was 4, I never thought he would be able to read or understand math."

Studies show that awareness, leading to early diagnosis and treatment, can dramatically improve the developmental prospects for children with autism, said Brick resident Ellen Sweeney, whose son Nicholas was diagnosed with autism at 2. "It's a window of opportunity that closes very quickly."

Now 6, Nicholas is partially mainstreamed at the township's Primary Learning Center. "He's doing great," his mom said. "A lot of people can't believe he has that diagnosis."

Sweeney works on autism awareness as a state representative of Unlocking Autism, an online organization with a worldwide "Parent2Parent" network for exchanging resources. A year ago, she created a parents' online support group.

She is administrator of UA's Wings for Little Angels Program that flies parents and children to out-of-state doctor appointments for evaluations and treatment. Major airlines aboard the Wings program reserve seats and collect donated frequent-flier miles for parents who can't afford air fares on top of noncovered medical visits.

Sweeney has arranged flights for families to connect with doctors and treatments from New York to California and Florida to Texas, but none yet from New Jersey.

"It's a great program," she said. "People in this area need to know it's available." Sweeney can be contacted by e-mail at EllenNJUARep@comcast.net.

Linda Walls is a parent and grandparent of people with disabilities ranging from deafness and Tourette's syndrome to cerebral palsy and epilepsy. Her column appears in the Home & Family cover. Her e-mail address is doable@app.com or write to her at the Asbury Park Press, 3601 Highway 66, Neptune, NJ 07754.

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