A positive approach
Locals seek way to educate public on autism

By Katie Pizza
Argus Observer
Monday, November 24, 2008 10:16 AM PST

Alicia Velasquez (left) and Shelly Gilman highlight one of the tools a parent of a child with a pervasive developmental disorder can use to help a child, in this case, Gilman’s 5-year-old daughter Melody, get ready in the morning. Gilman said Melody, will take each of the Velcroed plastic pictures off of the folder and put them in an envelope as she completes the task. Since individuals with these types of disorder are highly visual, this helps them see how close they are to completing a task. Parents were given the opportunity to create their own picture boards at The Autism Center’s last meeting Thursday night.

Ontario — When her two twins, Silas and Eliana, were diagnosed with autism, The Autism Center’s Alicia Velasquez said her only support from the doctor came in the form of a pamphlet.

“My whole life passed before my eyes,” Velasquez said about the moment she was told her twins had autism.

The diagnosis was a shock but so was the remedy delivered to her. Frankly, she said, a pamphlet just wasn’t good enough.

Velasquez, who has two other children, Mariposa, 9, and Josiah, 5, along with her 8-year-old twins, took the sadness and frustration she felt when leaving a doctor’s office in Phoenix, Ariz., and used it as fuel to help her find out everything she could about autism.

Autism impairs a person’s ability to communicate and relate to others. The condition is also associated with sensory issues, rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines. Symptoms can range from very mild to quite severe, according to Austimspeaks.org.

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It affects 1 in 150 individuals nationwide, with the number as high as 1 in 98 in Oregon.

“Nobody really knows why,” Velasquez said of the discrepancy between national statistics and the Oregon autism numbers.

Eventually, Velasquez journeyed from Phoenix to Ontario to be closer to family but soon learned the type of services in the Arizona-metro area were not available in Ontario.

“I just wondered why, with the really high (autism) numbers, there was just nothing in the area,” she said.

However, she met another mother, Shelly Gilman, who was also involved with spreading the word about autism. Gilman has four children: Brendan, 11, who has Asberger’s syndrome, which is characterized by difficulties in social interaction and restricted patterns of behavior and interests; Zachary, 9, who has high-functioning autism and Sotos Syndrome, which is characterized by delayed motor, cognitive, and social development; Melody, 5, who has pervasive developmental disorder — not otherwise specified, which is characterized by impairments in communication and social interaction, but does not fit into the definitions for full autism or other PDDs; Reina, 6, has sensory issues, but has not been diagnosed with a PDD. In 2007, Gilman and Velasquez banded together to offer what they felt parents of autistic children need.

Velasquez joined Gilman’s autism support group and helped with the effort to move the grass-roots assembly to Holy Rosary Medical Center.

The autism support group meets from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. the third Thursday of every month in the Payette and Weiser conference rooms Holy Rosary Medical Center.

The group assists the families of autistic individuals come to terms with their feelings and assists with any other issues they might have. The program also offers free childcare during the meeting, which can be obtained at (541) 212-1716, as long as people call at least 24 hours in advance.

Velasquez said she was grateful to Holy Rosary because it has continuously allowed the group to hold meetings there for free.

New beginnings

Velasquez said she and Gilman have bigger plans for the future, which includes a non-profit autism center, situated at 225 S.W. First Ave., Suite 3, in Ontario. While the first goal of gaining non-profit status has been met, Velasquez said the group still must raise $100,000 to pay for expansion of the center, a Saturday program, that will give parents  respite and allow children to learn important life skills, such as self-expression, adaptive independence, play skills, socialization and communication.

To make the center a reality, the two area women also need to expand. Now, Velasquez and Gilman utilize Treasure Valley Translations owner Giovanna Andrew’s office to meet with parents and do other work directly related to the non-profit center.

“Children with autism sometimes say things like, ‘You stink,’ or, ‘Your hair looks disgusting today’ because they don’t understand that it’s not polite to say those things just because they think it’s true,” Gilman said.

Velasquez said the center would also like to offer a lending library in the future.  This library, she said, would offer toys and sensory items like weighted vests that, while expensive may not help every child. The library would offer books, videos and other media to the family members of children with autism and give them a chance to check out toys and items to see if they work instead of simply buying them.

“It’s like the saying goes, ‘If you’ve met one child with autism, you’ve met one child with autism,’ ” Gilman said.

The uniqueness of a child with autism is what led Velasquez to develop “The Labyrinth Method,” which Velasquez said is designed to help parents walk through the maze of autism and give them the best outcome they need for the family unit. Velasquez said she visits the family in the home to offer tips she has tried that have helped her family.

“You can’t just give parents a book and say ‘Here read this,’ ” she said. “Parents don’t have time to read.”

Some solutions she has uncovered, for example, include having the child wear sunglasses in a store with florescent lighting or having a younger child sit inside the shopping cart to feel safe and contained.

“Obviously he’s not going to be able to do that when he’s 20,” she said with a laugh.

Velasquez said she would also like to hire four highly-trained employees for the center, some of whom are already serving on the center’s board.

These members include her husband, Daniel Velasquez, Vice-Chair Giovanna Andrews, Secretary Carla Collins and Treasurer Crystal Kimball. Other board members include Wireless FX owner Dave Britton, Cindy Lucht, Rose MacKenzie, co-founder Shelly Gilman and her, husband Matt Gilman.

Velasquez stressed the importance of community interest in the center, which helps to educate family members about autism. Britton, she said, is holding a grand opening of a new Wireless FX in Fruitland Dec. 9 and will donate 10 percent of the proceeds to the center. For more information about the Autism Center visit orautismcenter.com, or call (541) 212-4459.