Little Friends working to treat autism

We all come to the table with a set of experiences that frame the way we see things. I'm always hopeful I sit down with an open mind, eager to learn something new.

That was my intention last week when the media was invited to tour the new location of Little Friends Center for Autism, first opened in 2004 to build on the expertise that Little Friends has developed in serving children with autism and their families for 27 years.

U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert was there. So was Mayor George Pradel.

We found the local nonprofit center all spruced up, equipped with innovative features, a kitchen, visual systems and more to teach basic life skills.

Patty Boheme, executive vice president of the center, led the discussion about Autism Spectrum Disorders and the tour so we could observe ways the new facility has improved evaluation and treatment services.

Afterward, officials met with families receiving treatment to learn how public and private efforts could be enhanced so everyone affected by autism could reach their full potential.

We learned there's no "one size fits all" way to deliver services and there's no definite answer as to why the incidence of autism is growing.

Consequently, the ongoing challenge to fund early intervention programs is ever present.

Kathleen Malecki, vice president for development at Little Friends, Inc., noted the success of the agency's traditional fundraiser, Bid for Kids Auction, and how its newest addition, Step Up for Autism 5K Walk/Run, held in June, raised $117,000.

The seventh annual Golf Classic is Sept. 21 at the historic Naperville Country Club.

They also were grateful for House passage on July 24 of $200,000 in funding requested by Biggert to help make autism treatment and evaluation services at Little Friends more affordable for area families. The bill now awaits Senate approval.

A special time

Our firstborn child arrived 101/2 weeks prematurely in 1979. Her first nine weeks were spent in the neonatal intensive care unit of New York Hospital where I learned one day at a time that she's a fighter.

During her hospitalization, I observed dozens of premature births with a variety of outcomes, many not as positive as our daughter's.

We were fortunate to live 13 city blocks from the hospital, so I spent nearly every waking hour with our daughter. Some infants rarely had visitors. I'll always be convinced my providing gentle massages taught by nurse clinicians as our daughter clung to life on a warming table before she advanced to an incubator made a difference.

Early on, our neonatologist was unsure of our child's future special needs, but she was certain there'd be developmental delays that would require therapy. We also learned just how much of a miracle a perfectly healthy baby is.

At any rate, as I listened to Boheme's presentation at Little Friends, I flashed back to 1981, just after we'd moved from NYC to Chatham, N.J.

To continue the early intervention program that we'd started at New York Hospital right after our daughter came home weighing five pounds, we began traveling to Children's Specialized Hospital in Westfield, N.J., three times a week for physical and speech therapy.

During group therapy, I witnessed the many challenges kids face trying to cope with cerebral palsy and other serious illnesses like asthma, severe allergies and ADHD.

And that's when I first experienced a child with autism. Twenty-eight years ago I had never heard of the rare developmental disability that today affects roughly one in every 150 8-year-olds.

I recall when swimming lessons were recommended at CSH as part of our daughter's physical therapy. The day we first visited the large warm pool, a discontented youngster was in the water with his instructor. His mother, sitting poolside, explained that her son was autistic with extreme sensory sensitivity to touch, pain, light, temperature and sound.

Several years later, when our middle child joined a playgroup, one of the 3-year-old boys was known to retreat from the activities, finding his comfort near a wall where he'd sit and rock. At first we thought he was shy. But in time, Andy's mother knew she needed to seek a professional evaluation that diagnosed autism, allowing her to move forward to receive help for the entire family.

Today, to meet this need in Naperville, Little Friends provides a "one-stop" evaluation, training and treatment center for families affected by autism, serving more than 800 people each year in DuPage and four neighboring counties.

For more information, visit www.littlefriendsinc.org or call (630) 305-4196.