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Community Corner

A Mother's Love and Commitment Help Put Focus on Autism

Jerrie Williams, mother of three autistic children, hopes education, understanding go beyond Autism Awareness Month.

Rachael is the avid reader and the author of 26 books, a third of which are finished.

Micah is the creative designer of figures twisted from different kinds of paper.

Hannah is the comedian, athlete and “drama queen.”

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All three are Jerrie Williams’ children, and all three are autistic.

April is Autism Awareness Month, and while Williams, of Stone Mountain, hopes more people will learn about the scope of autism during this time, her wishes are ongoing for better understanding, cooperation and improved resources and opportunities for autistic children and their families.

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Autism Speaks, the nation's largest autism science and advocacy organization, is among several groups that have brought increased awareness about autism in recent years. Some facts from Autism Speaks:

  • Autism now affects 1 in 110 children and 1 in 70 boys.
  • Autism prevalence figures are growing.
  • More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined.
  • Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.
  • Autism costs the nation over $35 billion per year, a figure expected to significantly increase in the next decade.
  • Autism receives less than 5 percent of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases.
  • Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism.

Williams’ children had been misdiagnosed for having behavior problems several times before someone got it right: David Cantor president of Psychological Sciences Institute in Suwanee, who also assessed the best treatment for them, Williams said. She praises him for the time he took to carefully come up with the right treatment, as well as the managing group for his practice, Mind & Motion.

Williams home schools 13-year-old Hannah. Rachael, who turns 16 this month, attends The Cottage School in Roswell and Micah, 14, is an eighth grade student at Stone Mountain Middle School.

Rachael, encouraged by her mother, is currently working on the story of her life so far. At first, she thought her mother was kidding.

“I thought my life was boring,” Rachael said. After giving it more thought, she realized, “wait a second. My life is very amazing. I’ve been through a lot of stuff.”

When son Micah was little, Williams was advised by doctors to “put him in an institution and focus on my daughters.”  She disagreed.

Williams said Hannah’s athletic acumen is stunning, but the allergens that go along with outdoor sports impede her breathing. She releases energy more safely through Wii games and exercises.

Williams acknowledges the challenges that go along with her firm dedication to her children’s wellbeing.

“It's hard raising three children with different medical, educational and developmental needs,” she said. “It's a joy having them because they keep you laughing all the time and it's never a dull moment. All three of them are learning how to cook, and perform daily household chores without being told. This is a great accomplishment.”

For Autism Awareness Month, Williams is planning Autism Star Day on April 30, a non-competitive showcase of autistic children’s talents, to take place at KES Inc., a registered service provider to the developmentally disabled, located at 6615 Tribble St. in Lithonia.

Long-range change Williams would like to see include:  

·     the school system providing parents with information about how they can effectively exercise F.A.P.E. [Free and Appropriate Public Education] and the rights of parents;

·      autism awareness shared to people of all culture levels and economic backgrounds;

·     the larger national autism foundations spending “less on research and more on catching everyone that is affected by autism with the same types of interventions whether you have the finances to pay or not”;

·      all school systems providing the same educational resources, regardless of where a family lives.

The school system needs to become better listeners when parents discuss their children, and that everyone from administrators to office staff “knows how to incorporate the Georgia Performance Standards in the way our exceptional students learn, not the way the general population learns,” she said.

It would be beneficial for more African Americans to be included as guest speakers and panelists in workshops on autism and related issues conducted by local groups, Williams said.

Williams, who moved to Georgia from California three years ago, has found help in the Stone Mountain-Lithonia area in the form of a parent-driven support group that meets at Redan-Trotti Library every fourth Saturday of the month, from 2-4 p.m. The children’s father is also involved in their lives.

Williams said she is in need of volunteers, food donations, entertainment and more for Autism Star Day on April 30. For further information, call 678-330-7440.

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