Parents of Autistic Kids Unite

Ellensburg Woman Forms Support Group

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

When Lisa Elliott and her 2-year-old son, Pearce, moved to Ellensburg in August 1998, she felt like she was alone with the only child in the county diagnosed with a mysterious disability called autism.

Elliott later found that wasn't the case. She connected with groups that help parents who have children with disabilities and met other families with autistic children.

But she now wants to start an autism family support group that focuses on aiding parents of autistic children. She wants it to be affiliated with the Autism Society of Washington.

"I have a list of maybe 20 families who are interested in the group," Elliott said. "I'm sure there are many others who need help. I don't want them to struggle alone out there anymore. I want them to feel connected.

"There are days when I still feel lonely."

Elliott, a single mom, came to Ellensburg from Bellevue to continue her accounting studies at Central Washington University. She knew Pearce also needed to continue therapy that helped him develop his lagging skills in speech, coordinate his body and social behavior and respond to the world around him.

Elliott also knew, from her discussion with specialists and doctors and her own research, that Pearce would need one-on-one, intensive therapy for years to come.

She also struggled with a feeling of grief knowing the child she loved was disabled and feared he would become lost in the normal world of social interaction.

"I was working full-time and going to school full-time and I just felt alone in this situation," Elliott said. "I looked for other people to talk to who were struggling like this, someone to connect with. No one that I knew had their child diagnosed with autism."

Elliott enrolled Pearce into the Ellensburg School District developmental preschool, which built his life skills. Now, at 9 years old, Pearce is in a regular classroom at Valley View Elementary School for part of the day and gets specialized help in reading, spelling and life skills in the rest.

Pearce's developmental delays at 18 months old were diagnosed as several aspects of autism. Many believe autism occurs when someone's brain perceives, organizes, processes and responds to the sensory information it receives in a dramatically different way than normal.

According to the Autism Center at the University of Washington, the disorder affects one in every 167 people. Two years ago, the estimate was one in 300.

The exact cause of the various levels of autism isn't known, but researchers believe it involves heredity and, possibly, environmental factors. It's called a spectrum disorder because a child can be affected in varying degrees.

Elliott later switched majors and graduated from Central with a degree in psychology and a minor in business. She now works as a management associate in Kittitas County Head Start, coordinates Head Start's Little Feet Big Steps Program that teaches parenting skills and is the resource library coordinator for Central Washington Disability Resources.

"From all my research it's clear that early diagnosis in young children and getting intensive therapy as soon as possible to work on developmental skills has a significant impact on improving them," she said.

Elliott became suspicious that Pearce wasn't developing properly when it appeared he had lost the progress he was making in speech at 16 months old. An early diagnosis came through a Virginia Mason Hospital Clinic in Bellevue where Pearce also received therapy once a week.

Elliott did her own research and learned two sessions a week would be better so she did the second at home herself. She also weaves learning skills into her everyday activities with Pearce.

"The skills are everything from keeping eye contact to responding to people and letting the other person talk to an overall social awareness of what is appropriate," Elliott said.

Many don't understand autism and sometimes think parents are to blame for a child's lack of development or poor social behavior, she said.

That's when a caring group of understanding parents banding together to support one another is essential, she said.

"Parents of children who have autism when they work with other parents facing the same challenges can create a powerful force for the betterment of society," Elliott said.