Autism: Growing challenge for parents and teachers
February 8, 2009
Autism: Growing challenge
‘It’s time that people learn about it’ — mother
By KIM BARTO – Bulletin Staff Writer
Sharon Mullen wears a T-shirt that reads “1 in 150 American children” on the front.
The back of the shirt says, “If 1 in 150 American children were being kidnapped, we would have a national emergency. WE DO. It’s autism.”
Mullen, who lives in the Carver area, wants to increase awareness about the neurological disorder that affects her 5-year-old daughter, Emily. Her T-shirt reflects the growing number of children diagnosed with autism.
Autism is a complex developmental disability that affects the normal functioning of the brain, impairing a person’s ability to communicate and interact with other people.
No two people with autism have the exact same symptoms, and they range from mild to disabling. There is no cure, only therapies that, when started at a young age, can help a child reach his or her full potential.
Evidence is everywhere that the disorder is becoming more widespread. The waiting lists to see autism specialists in Richmond and Charlottesville are several months long. This year, the New College Institute and Averett University both launched series of classes to help teachers and school administrators educate students with autism. Legislation was presented to a state House subcommittee last week that would have mandated health insurance coverage for certain autism treatments.
But although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that more and more cases of autism spectrum disorders are being recognized, public awareness has yet to catch up. Mullen and other parents say they face constant misunderstandings about their children who have autism and the daily challenges that face them.
“Most people just don’t understand, and I think it’s time that people learn about it,” Mullen said.
EARLY SIGNS
From day one, Sharon Mullen knew Emily was different.
When her son, Wesley, was born, he cried all the time. But when Emily arrived two years later, she was quiet and did not cry much.
“I thought maybe it was just a difference between boys and girls,” Mullen said, but then other red flags appeared.
“When she started sitting up, I’d say something to her, and she’d keep playing like she didn’t hear me,” she said. “She wasn’t making any sounds.”
Thinking it could be a hearing problem, a doctor checked Emily’s hearing and eyesight when she was 18 months old, but the diagnosis turned out to be a developmental delay.
The family was living in Texas at the time. At age 2, Emily was referred to the school system there and set up with a speech therapist. Meanwhile, a committee of 12 people from different disciplines assessed her for autism.
“She was in this big room playing as people walked around taking notes. We met with a speech therapist, speech pathologist, did hearing tests,” Mullen said.
“I kept thinking, ‘How many of these assessments do we have to do before we know what’s going on?’” she said. “I was just kind of spinning around, not knowing what to do.”
When doctors told Mullen her daughter showed nine out of 10 signs of an autism spectrum disorder, “I was kind of relieved,” she said. “A lot of people are devastated (at the diagnosis), but I never went through that.”
Children with autism often keep the “developmentally delayed” label until age 9, and although doctors at the University of Virginia confirmed Emily has autism, her diagnosis has not officially been changed to reflect this. Her school Individual Education Plan (IEP) classifies her as “developmentally disabled — speech and language delay,” her mother said, and so far this has entitled her to get the services she needs.
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