Autism: A coalition of caring

New parents generally are hopeful, optimistic people.

They dream, plan and imagine wonderful accomplishments for their children. All things are possible.

All things, that is, until autism clouds the picture.

Severe language problems, lack of interest in others, repetitive behaviors, resistance to change and irrational routines can be a life sentence for a child with autism.

Kalispell preschool and child-care provider Terri Smith likens a diagnosis of autism to planning a dream vacation in Italy.

There are the ancient ruins to visit, the verdant hills to explore, the incomparable cuisine to taste. Then, hotel reservations in hand, you step off the plane to hear, "Welcome to Holland."

But that's not where you were going, you protest. You had an entire set of dreams that can be fulfilled only in Italy.

Still, with autism as with Holland, that's irretrievably where you are.

So Smith urges parents to grieve, then look beyond the loss and see each child's potential within the range of talents and limitations under the autism umbrella.

"People forget that Holland is where the beautiful tulips come from," she said.

Christine Bilant, special services director for School District 5 in Kalispell, sees both sides as well.

"Having a student with a severe disability, it's a gift," Bilant said of the treasure hidden in that child, "but it's an incredible challenge."

How perceptively - and how soon - parents deal with that challenge can make all the difference in their child's life.

Watch for signs that a child is not following typical development patterns, experts caution.

Pay attention when they're just months or a year or two old. Stay aware - in one type of autism, children develop normally for two to four years, then develop symptoms.

If a child seems delayed, remember that he simply may be developing at his own pace.

On the other hand, he or she might need immediate, focused intervention. The sooner it starts, the greater a child's chance at the most normal life possible.

If you're concerned, talk with specialists. Smith, Bilant and others recommend the Child Development Center in Kalispell. Funded by the state, it provides free developmental screening.

Speech, physical and occupational therapists in private practice also have specific training to diagnose and help children with autism.

Confirm the diagnosis by age 3 and, in consultation with public school specialists in the child's home district, he or she may be included in a special preschool program.

But long before the child is 3, parents can draw from an extensive range of intervention treatments to offer every possible chance at success.

No one method works for everyone. There are possibly as many combinations of strategies as there are individuals with autism.

Smith works actively these days with a family whose children are in her Step By Step preschool and child care. Two of the siblings have been diagnosed with autism. Smith and assistant Jeannette Hartmann are diligent to learn and use strategies that help the toddlers.

Any more, such a dual occurrence of autism is less of an anomaly.

Newsweek magazine reported that one out of every 166 children in the nation has autism. Boys outnumber girls four to one.

The number diagnosed has jumped 10 times in the last 20 years, the report continued. More children now are treated at a younger age.

This spring alone, Bilant said, Kalispell's CDC specialists identified three children with autism.

Eventually, if they live in District 5, Kalispell's special education preschool teacher Sally Glutting could work with those children.

She now has 36 in the district's inclusion preschool program based at Edgerton School. Some have autism, some have other disabilities, some are normally developing 4- and 5-year-olds whose parents pay tuition.

Two days a week, the latter youngsters share the same lessons and activities as the special-needs students while modeling typical social interaction. A research-based curriculum teaches the basics, and each special-needs child's Individualized Education Program fills in the holes.

"We don't use one specific, canned program," Glutting said. "We look at individual needs and write goals and make plans for that."

She sympathizes with parents sifting through hundreds of autism therapies available today as they search for the right one for their child.

"Because it is a spectrum, there is such a wide range of" treatment, Glutting said, "What seems to work for one child may not work for another.

"We look at what we know about autism, at what characteristics are most prevalent in that child, and develop goals from that."

When special services in the child's home school district cannot make progress given the child's level of severity, the Flathead Valley Autism Program steps in.

It's a more-restrictive solution.

Students enter this program through referral from the local school district and the Individualized Education Program, with grades K-8 based in Columbia Falls and grades 9-12 in Kalispell.

Bill Johnson, director of special services for Columbia Falls District 6 and overseer for the K-8 site, calls it a "high-needs" and "intensive" program.

"The program has been specifically developed to work with kids with autism, to better meet their needs," Johnson said.

A half-dozen children from kindergarten through eighth grade are in the program now, he said.

"Gaining eye contact is something we work on," he said. Although not true for all children with autism, "generally they don't make good eye contact. We also work on social behaviors" as part of their skill development.

"Almost no two kids need exactly the same thing," he said. "Our approach is we look at individual needs."

Johnson is struck by the growing numbers of children with the disorder.

Mark it up to more aggressive diagnosing, societal pressures or physiological changes. Nobody has pinpointed the cause with certainty, but most share a concern.

"Just the number of kids being identified on the autism spectrum is increasing," Johnson said. "And that is the trend around the country."

Smith and other preschool and child-care providers are concerned for the growing number of Flathead Valley children who simply don't get the services they need - for financial, access, awareness or other reasons.

By organizing fund-raisers to send her clients' family for the training in Beaverton, Ore., and helping share that information when they return, she hopes to make a difference.

But Smith knows a coalition of parents, school and specialists is the only answer for the child.

Bilant agrees.

"The real trick is partnering closely with the parents [and] the parents taking the risk of working with schools and the specialists in the community," Bilant said, "and taking the journey together."

Reporter Nancy Kimball may be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com