http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/dsliving/171ld2.htm
Thursday, January 17, 2002
By Mike Nolan
Staff writer
It's a far cry from the little girl who punched and kicked her mom,
destroyed furniture and had a tendency to run out into heavy traffic.
Elizy Smith says that, at first, she refused to believe it when two
different doctors diagnosed her daughter as autistic. That was when Breanna was
3½.
"I was in denial big time," said Smith, 35, a single mother of
four from Country Club Hills.
The result of a neurological disorder, autism affects the brain's normal
development in areas such as social interaction and communication, according to
the Autism Society of America. Autism can manifest itself in aggressive and
abusive behavior, and autistic children can have great difficulty
communicating.
"She was very abusive to me and to herself," Smith said, Breanna
standing nearby, munching on microwave popcorn. "She still has some
aggression, but it is not directed toward me."
Smith said her daughter would hit and scratch her and kicked her when she
was pregnant with her youngest child, 6-year-old Sequoia. Smith's other
children are 9-year-old Charles and Sharice, 17, an honor roll student at Rich
Central High School in Olympia Fields.
Smith worked diligently with her daughter to unlock her potential. At the
same time, she raised her other children, worked and attended college.
In recognition of the obstacles she had to overcome, Smith in October
received the Governor's Workforce Development Individual Achievement Award. She
was nominated for the award while a student at Moraine Valley Community
College, where she studied for her associate's degree.
"It was a good accomplishment," Smith said of the etched glass
award that sits on a shelf in her home. "It really meant a lot."
The same month she received the award, Smith took a job working with
autistic children and young adults at the Easter Seals Therapeutic Day School
in Tinley Park, which opened in September 1999.
"Perhaps what I'm doing can help them," she said.
She's also put together a book for parents of newly diagnosed autistic children
to "help them avoid what I went through with (Breanna)."
While living in California, Smith said, she got a "wake-up call"
from a stranger who told Smith her daughter was developmentally delayed.
Then just a toddler, Breanna would sometimes walk out the front door of her
house, sparking frantic searches in the neighborhood. One day the girl tried to
cross a busy street and nearly got hit by a truck. A woman who found the little
girl advised Smith to seek out help for her daughter.
"I worked a lot with her," Smith said. "She really didn't
have any verbal skills until age 6."
Smith's mother, Arttemese, was born deaf, so Smith and her 10 brothers and
sisters knew sign language. Smith said she and her mother worked on teaching
Breanna sign language.
Breanna enjoyed music, and while watching television she would respond to
commercial jingles. That gave Elizy an idea.
"I would make up little sing-songs for when it was time to eat or go to
the bathroom," she said.
Breanna soon began singing words back to her mom.
Smith said there is a 9-year-old boy she works with at the Easter Seals
school who is non-verbal. To help him communicate, Smith plans to teach him
sign language or use a book of pictures and drawings called the Picture
Exchange Communication System.
Along with working five days a week at the day school, Smith works in the
evenings for the state department of human services as an aide to a
quadriplegic in Blue Island.
Smith is also studying for her bachelor's of science in speech pathology at
Governors State University. She started attending GSU a year ago this month and
expects to have her degree by the end of this year.
Between work and school, Smith's day generally begins long before the sun
comes up and doesn't end until late into the evening.
"I'll be up at 5:30 if I still have homework to do," she said.
Some mornings, Smith turns to Tae-Bo, a hybrid of karate, boxing and aerobic
dance, to get energized.
After working her day job, Smith takes the kids to a sitter in Blue Island,
then races to University Park for school. After classes, Smith heads back to
Blue Island to work her evening job for the state.
By the time she grabs the kids from the sitter and heads home, it might be
10 p.m.
Even after getting the kids down to bed, Smith may still have other chores
waiting for her, such as laundry or doing bills.
When they have time together to relax, Smith and her kids watch movies or
play games.
Last semester she was going to school four days a week, and this semester
she is taking classes two days a week and will complete another course online.
"We'll get to do more things together this semester," she said.
Smith said she performs at her best when she's under pressure and juggling
multiple tasks. Still, some days can be a bit overwhelming.
"If you want something bad enough you will come up with a method for
doing it," she said.
Mike Nolan may be reached at mnolan@dailysouthtown.com or (708) 633-5952.
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