That Extraordinary Child

by Joyce Harrell, RN, OCN

Through my years as a nurse, the type of nursing I have done has been targeted towards adults. There was a short stent, and I mean very short, where I was expected to care for pediatrics because they we at the end of the hall on one of the adult units. These little people had special needs very much different than their adult counterparts. I was never totally comfortable on that unit. I think the work I did as a nursing student on a pediatric cancer ward pretty much decided for me I didn’t want to be a pediatric nurse. There was just too much pain.

With children there are numerous developmental stages we learned about during school. Trust vs. mistrust for example. Eric Ericson has done a great job in categorizing different stages that we must all go through to be a well adjusted adult. What happens when your child doesn’t develop according to plan? What happens when your child doesn’t start talking when he or she should talk?

How does a parent feel when their child isn’t reaching developmental milestones by the age they should? Bringing awareness to developmental delays and early screening for autism spectrum disorders can mean early intervention for children born with this problem. Statistics show that 1/110 will be born with some type of autism disorder. This development disorder affects a person’s ability to interact and communicate with others.

We have a friend in Indiana with a son diagnosed with autism very early in his years. This young man is an adult now. However, for the first 17 years of his life, he was unable to communicate with this parents and teachers. With the rise in usage of computers, and keyboards, he was given the opportunity to learn to type. This young man for the first time in 17 years was able to communicate words with his mother and father. As he learned to spell words, he was able to tell his parents how he felt about things. What an awesome opportunity to find a way to communicate. What a tragedy all these feelings had been trapped inside with no way to express. Thanks to early identification, children are able to have learning opportunities now that weren’t available when this young man was growing up.

My sister in law is a teacher of special needs children. She has shared stories with me of many of the students she has. One family she told of has three boys, and they all have been diagnosed with some type of autism spectrum disorder. I know of another woman who has two boys and they both have been diagnosed. Their disabilities vary. What is common is that you can have a diagnosis of autism, but your needs and requirements can be totally different than someone else diagnosed with autism. This disorder has not received very much attention. And you know, when something doesn’t receive much attention, the money for research is not there.

I would like to take time to bring to your attention a very worthy organization, www.extraordinarychild.org. This organization is based in Rhode Island. They will serve the surrounding states and have brought attention to the special needs of autistic children. As I wrote, the differences from one child to another can be very diverse. These challenges range from tactile differences, to intolerances to noise, lights, textures of food, and other stimuli. Extraordinary Child will be built with the needs of special children in mind. This will be a place where these children will play and learn in a safe environment. Extraordinary Child will be a model for the rest of the country to learn from. Jennifer Gingras is the founder of Extraordinary Child, and has 2 extraordinary children.

I would also like to bring attention to a very special person who is an activist for autism research. Her name is Anna Angelosanto. Anna has a very beautiful extraordinary child named Aly. These women, Jennifer, Anna, and others like them work tirelessly to bring attention to Autism Spectrum Disorder. You can find Extraordinary Child on Facebook. Please “like” this page and find out more about what they are doing.

My friend, Lisa of www.fancyscrubs.com is a support of autism research. Lisa and her husband are so generous in that they are always giving a portion of their business earnings to organizations worthy of support. In today’s economy where “big industry” has overtaken small businesses, I like to find those small businesses that make a difference and support them. I highly recommend www.fancyscrubs.com for their personal attention and excellent customer service. They have clogs that represent different challenges like autism, and cancer.

What I would like to leave you with is a comment about the parents of these beautiful children who are so extraordinary. These parents often time have stress, and work without thought to their own needs as they meet the needs of their very special children. Please take time if you know any of these very special people to see if there is anything you can do for them. Something as simple as going to the grocery store, or seeing if you can build a relationship with the child, so you can allow your friend to do something they never do, like get a massage, or have 30 minutes to themselves. See if you can help watch their other children for a time out. A good resource for more information of what you can do is found at www.autism-society.org.