ANDREWS AFB, Md. –
Autism is the fastest-growing developmental disability in the U.S., affecting one out of every 150 children.
April has been designated Autism Awareness Month. Autism is not one medical condition, but rather several disorders that fall under the category of Autism.
"I have about 2,500 families that I serve at Andrews and Fort Meade, and roughly one third of those families have children who fall under the Autism Spectrum Disorder umbrella," said Meritta Dawson, Family Advocacy Special Needs coordinator. "Autism is a developmental disability that usually presents symptoms in children younger than three-years-old. There is no known cause or cure."
According to the National Institutes of Health, there are three telltale signs of Autism, including difficulties with social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors or narrow, obsessive interests; these behaviors can range from mild to disabling.
"Probably the most common red flag I see is when parents notice that their child isn't talking," Ms. Dawson said. Other characteristics of Autism include repetitive movements such as rocking and twirling, or self-abusive behavior such as biting or head-banging.
Parents of Autistic children find themselves often withdrawing from social activities.
"If you don't have a child who has Autism, you just don't realize how socially isolating this condition can be," Ms. Dawson said. "Often parents feel like they can't go shopping or to restaurants because their child with Autism is behaving inappropriately and acting out in public. Military families are often more isolated because they don't have family around to help them with that child."
"There's a common misconception out there that if your child is diagnosed with Autism that you can't get deployed or go on a temporary duty assignment, but that's not true," Ms. Dawson said.
Enrollment in the Special Needs Program is mandatory and doesn't affect the sponsor's overall mission, promotions, or prevent them from being reassigned.
"Being enrolled in Special Needs ensures that medical or educational services are available at the gaining base," Ms. Dawson said. "Parents need not feel alone - in fact, the majority of children of Active Duty members here enrolled in Special Needs have been diagnosed with Autism."
For 10 years, Autism has been a reality for Tech. Sgt. Matthew Anderson, 79th Medical Wing Plans and Operations NCO in charge, and his family.
"We first started noticing that Kenji wasn't meeting his milestones around age two," Sergeant Anderson said. "We were surprised that the normal stages of development, well, it was as if those milestones just stopped - it was like hitting a brick wall."
"Kenji doesn't pick up on visual cues and communication can be quite difficult," Sergeant Anderson said. "Sometimes we have to be a translator for him because Kenji will use his own terms for things and not use his words correctly."
"It was difficult in the beginning for us to deal with Kenji's behavior," Sergeant Anderson said. "He'd lash out at us and have outbursts. People around us would think that he was just having a terrible temper tantrum, but that's just the way he reacted when things didn't go according to his schedule." The Andersons learned that scheduling was critical in Kenji's life and that it helped modify his behavior.
Another challenge was Kenji's education. "We had to make sure we got Kenji just what he needed - that's the key," Sergeant Anderson said. "Education is essential; catch it early and get into a good program to help them integrate faster." Sergeant Anderson said base, local and state agencies and support groups can be helpful in helping review an Individualized Education Plan. "The IEP will dictate what to get your child so review it carefully and make sure what works stays in and modify what doesn't [work]. Educate yourselves - that's important, too."