Lake Barrington woman receives new honor
Being one of only 38 Women of Spirit winners across the nation was an honor enough for Stacie McManus of Lake Barrington.
Then she learned the American Red Cross and Morton's The Steakhouse chain had chosen her to represent all the winners at a special dinner last week for her work improving the lives of autistic children.
McManus, her husband, parents and brother were flown to Washington, D.C., last week to receive the national award as the Georgetown Morton's celebrated its 25th anniversary.
She sees herself not as an overall winner but as the representative of the 38 regional winners, all of whom have taken on tasks that are somehow changing the world.
"I think it's unfair to look at all these women and think that one surpasses them all," McManus said.
Morton's spokesman Roger Drake agreed the varied work all the winners do made it difficult to choose a national representative by any other method than randomly.
But as it happened, that representative came from nearby Morton's Chicago headquarters.
"I would say the common thread is strong-willed women who have gone through a lot … that are take-charge," Drake said of the 38 winners.
McManus' own role has been that of co-president of the Chicago chapter of Autism Speaks, for whom she's organized fundraising walks that have resulted in more than $4 million donated to research.
Her work to spread awareness of the neurological disorder affecting 1 out of 150 8-year-olds in many parts of the country came when her son Jake, now 11, was diagnosed at 3 years old.
Her main advice to parents who suspect a problem with their child is to trust their gut instincts. Her own experience was of experts first underestimating Jake's slow development and then overestimating his limitations.
Though a speech pathologist once told her that her son would never learn to say his own name, his language skills today are only slightly behind what's typical for his age.
She encourages parents who suspect a problem to visit autismspeaks.org, print out the list of symptoms and review them with a doctor.
The nomination that led to first the regional award and then the national one came from her husband, Michael.
"Stacie's passionate leadership has made it possible to raise awareness of autism to the people in the Chicagoland area and raise millions of dollars for research," he wrote.
"Stacie is a passionate, driven and motivating individual in the fight to help make a better life for our son Jake and the millions of people affected by this horrible disorder," he wrote.
The recognition Stacie McManus is receiving comes at a perfect time for her household. Her 13-year-old son, Matt, is working on a unit at school on the "the power of one" and how one person can make a difference.