Autism group hopes to raise awareness

Disorder ‘bordering on epidemic' with increasing local diagnoses

By Danie Harrelson, Staff Reporter

Sunday, February 16, 2003

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Grayson Steur loves dinosaurs. Plastic models of the creatures from another time fill the bins and line shelves in his playroom. A pterodactyl hangs from the ceiling.

a d v e r t i s e m e n t

"He wants to be a paleontologist," said his mother, Janna Steur.

Grayson, 6, began classifying dinosaurs at age 4. The multisyllable names roll off his tongue with ease.

The first-grader is fascinated by the smallest details about the larger-than-life lizards. He reads encyclopedias on the subject and meticulously places his dinosaurs in period-specific scenes.

Posing dinosaurs from the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods in the same diorama is taboo, as his father, Mark Steur, has learned from his son.

But Grayson doesn't play with his dinosaurs. And he can't easily talk about his favorite subject with someone else, despite his knack for rattling off dinosaur trivia.

His articulate speech conveys a remarkable understanding of science and nature, but he does not understand how to communicate with facial expressions or gestures.

Not alone

Grayson Steur was 3 when he was diagnosed with a mild form of autism known as Asperger's syndrome.

The bright-eyed little boy is one of eight to 10 children in the Steamboat Springs area with varying degrees of autism spectrum disorder severity, which includes autism and closely related disorders like Asperger's and pervasive development disorder, or PDD.

Their parents have made a conscious decision to remain in the Yampa Valley in spite of the lack of treatment and therapy found in larger metropolitan areas such as Denver.

"We want to stay here," said Elisabeth Dickson, whose 6-year-old son, James, was diagnosed with PDD.

Dickson and a handful of other parents are committed to educating the community and professionals about their children's misunderstood developmental disability. Their organization, Autism and Aspergers Awareness of Steamboat, is spearheading a grass-roots effort to increase the level of local services offered to children affected by the disorder.

Autism affects how the brain functions and beleaguers communication, sensory skills and social interaction. Behavior, and not appearance of children with autism and Asperger's, betrays the disorder.

The disorder was once considered uncommon, but now is popping up in places where cases were previously nonexistent. The Autism Society of America indicates more than 1 million people in the United States have the disorder. A 2001 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the disorder affects as many as two to six people for every 1,000 people.

Spreading the word

Parents involved in the small local support group want other people to loosen their grip on stereotypes popularized by Dustin Hoffman's character in "Rain Man." They want neighbors, friends, acquaintances and the greater Yampa Valley community to look beyond the "autistic" label and see their children for who they are.

Sawyer Lorenz is an energetic 9-year-old. He attends the third grade and participates in Boy Scouts, enjoys watching cartoons and likes pizza. He also has Asperger's.

The disorder is subtle. Sometimes his mother must explain to other children why her son displays stronger emotions or cannot communicate what he is feeling.

"By and large, the kids are incredibly supportive," said Sawyer's mother, Lisa Lorenz.

Lorenz hopes the support group's efforts can bring in more resources to help children like Sawyer overcome communication and language barriers.

Children with ranging degrees of the disorder require intensive speech, occupational and behavioral therapy.

The dilemma facing parents in Routt County is the lack of specialists who are trained to treat children once they have been diagnosed.

Building resources

Parents of children with autism and Asperger's are "horribly underserved in the northwest corner of the state," said Tom Gangel, program director for the Steamboat Mental Health Center.

It's harder for people to specialize in treating the disorder because Northwest Colorado has such a sparse population in comparison to the Front Range, and that means fewer cases of autism and Asperger's.

"We're never going to be able to give what a family can get in a metro area," Gangel said. But that doesn't mean services in the Yampa Valley cannot improve, he said.

Funds raised from this year's annual Snowball will benefit Steamboat Mental Health. Half of the proceeds from the March 1 gala will go toward creating a treatment program for children with the disorder, Gangel said. The funding will allow the center's existing early childhood development specialist to develop and implement a program that provides workshops and training for both parents of children with the disorder and teachers and early childhood educators who work with those children.

Trainings are expected to take a more therapeutic approach to treating the disorder.

"We're really excited about taking on something like this," Gangel said.

For the future

Autism and Aspergers Awareness of Steamboat members envision a network of local resources that kick in when children are diagnosed with social and emotional disabilities.

Routt County Human Services Director Bob White said local agencies are working on developing that link to ensure parents know what is available when they receive a diagnosis.

"Most of us up here are generalists," he said. "Autism and Asperger's are such special and highly complex disorders."

Local agencies aim to provide a web of resources so parents and children do not have to travel beyond the Yampa Valley for treatment and therapy.

White said the rising numbers of autism and Asperger's cases in the county demand a response.

"This is bordering on an epidemic," he said. "We're all trying to get ahead of the curve so we have the skills and the resources to deal with it in our community. It's not appropriate for these families to pack up and have to leave just so their kids can get the specialized treatment they need."

Raising money, awareness

Steamboat Mental Health, Routt County Human Services, Horizons, the Northwest Colorado Board of Cooperative Educational Services, schools and the medical community are all partners in the envisioned local network of resources. Horizons is sharing a joint fund-raiser with Autism and Asperger's Awareness of Steamboat March 21. "A Work of H'Art" promises an array of local artwork to purchase. Alpine Bank will display the art March 10-21. A portion of proceeds from the silent auction will benefit the two organizations.

"What a great way to team up and provide some support and awareness," said Amy Ibarra of Horizons.

In conjunction with the silent auction is a free presentation by an autism expert. B.J. Freeman, a medical psychologist who runs the University of California, Los Angeles, Autism Diagnostic Clinic, will speak with local physicians about diagnosing autism spectrum disorders March 20 and hold a seminar for the public later in the day.

Parents who know about autism and Asperger's firsthand hope Freeman's presentation and the two March fund-raisers help jumpstart awareness of the disorder's local impact.

"There are a lot of really good people here, some excellent therapists and a wonderful group of people who have gone out of their way to learn about (this disorder)," Janna Steur said. "It would be easy to want to leave if you didn't have any sort of support, but all of us want to stay here in Steamboat.

"And we are going to make it."