For families with autistic children, life a learning experience
Anne Miller has been raising her autistic son for 17 years and each day is a new challenge.
Scott Miller functions like he is two years old and is nonverbal, but has made great strides in battling his disorder.
"In our son's case, everyday life is truly difficult," Anne Miller said. "But he's taught us so much for someone who doesn't speak."
Thursday is Autism World Awareness Day, which is the beginning of Autism Awareness Month. One in every 150 American children live with the disorder.
The month is used to get the word out about support available families dealing with autism and to increase knowledge, said Holly Hoffman, assistant professor of counseling and special education.
"If people have limited life association with (autistic) people, they base it on movies or something like that," Hoffman said. "We just like to increase the accurate widespread information."
Hoffman said autism can affect an individual's communication and social skills, as well as cognitive skills in some cases.
Their sensory system is also affected. If something is too hot, too loud or too tight, it really bothers them, Hoffman said.
Hope for improvement
Scott was diagnosed when he was two years old, and the most challenging part is trying to get the most out of his education, his mother said.
She expects his remaining education to be very productive, but she constantly wants more from his education than people are willing to give, she said.
Currently, Scott attends West Intermediate Middle School, and next year he will be at Mount Pleasant High School.
He has to have an aid with him during the day, and he will never be able to live by himself. But Anne Miller doesn't give up hope for her son.
"You move on, and you read up on it, and you fight like crazy," she said.
There are resources to help individuals with autism, Hoffman said.
Students can benefit from physical and cognitive therapy to get their sensory system more balanced. They work with visual learning and communication, she said, so they have a way to get their voice heard.
"People can be successful if they have the appropriate support and possibilities," Hoffman said. "The sky is the limit."
Day in the life
Anne said she is lucky that Scott is behaviorally stable. One challenge is being able to take individuals with autism out in public.
"You get stared at everywhere you go," Anne said. "If you want to know what it's like, go with me to Wal-Mart."
Anne's sister will look back at the people staring and ask them what they are staring at, but she just ignores it, because she just thinks people are curious.
"I look at Scottie and he's almost 6 foot 3 (inches) and skinny as a rail, but he's very gentle and very inquisitive, and there's such a personality there," she said. "And you will never know that until you spend time with him and see it his eyes."
university@cm-life.com
