Like most teenagers, 18-year-old Ryan Wall enjoys playing sports, attending high school football games and dances, and socializing with friends. But as Ryan nears the end of his senior year at Naperville Central, his parents face an unsettling question … now what?
Theirs is not the usual anxiety of parents whose children must choose between college and work. Ryan is autistic. Although Naperville has a transitional program after high school to help prepare him for adulthood, those services will end the day before he turns 22.
For his mother and father, Jama and Bob Wall, thinking about the decisions that have to be made can be overwhelming. Where is he going to live and work? Who is going to take care of him when they are gone?
As Jama Wall said, “With more and more kids being diagnosed, what happens when they become adults?”
Transitioning
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 110 children have an autism spectrum disorder, a range of disorders characterized by communication and social interaction difficulties. That figure, from 2006, represents a 57 percent increase from 2002, in part because of increased awareness.
Ryan was diagnosed with autism around age 4. Looking back, his mother said there were red flags when he was just 2, such as repetitive behaviors and lack of speech.
“Having two other kids I saw things just were not right,” she said. “A mom’s intuition I think.”
Ryan is nonverbal. He communicates by typing into a device that speaks. Yet he is also highly social and energetic. He participates in Special Olympics sports — basketball, bowling and track — as well as other recreational activities.
However, Jama Wall said finding programs for him has not been easy, and even fewer opportunities exist for older individuals with autism.
To figure out the next steps, she turned to the “Transition Tool Kit” provided by advocacy group Autism Speaks. Launched in February, the tool kit address issues such as housing, post-secondary education, employment, legal matters and public benefits.
Liz Klug, executive director of the Chicagoland Chapter of Autism Speaks, said there is no consistent solution yet for families like the Walls.
“Once a person ages out of the public school system it’s a matter of then finding opportunities for that person to live a dignified life, earn a wage, enjoy life, live a life that’s safe, live in a community,” Klug said. “By and large every family’s blazing their own trail.”
Jama Wall first connected with Autism Speaks in 2004 by participating in the organization’s annual walk. Her family formed a team called “Ryan’s Hope.” The team has grown to include 50 to 60 people, she said, and last year raised about $9,000 for Autism Speaks.
A purpose in Naperville
Jama Wall envisions a future for her son that includes a purpose and a productive job. “I’m hoping that he will be able to find a job of some sort that he enjoys doing,” she said. “When that bus stops coming, I would like for him to have a place to go.”
As part of his education at Naperville Central, Ryan currently works in the billing department at Edward Hospital stuffing envelopes. That type of repetitive work provides comfort to some people with autism, Jama Wall said.
She stressed that autistic individuals have a lot to contribute to society. In fact, she has joined with other Naperville moms to form a nonprofit called Community Access Naperville to create local jobs and recreational opportunities for young adults with autism in the area.
“Most of these kids have lived in Naperville their whole lives and we want them to stay here,” she said. “We want them to have a place and a purpose in our community.”
# For more information visit: www.www.autismspeaks.org.
The Transition Tool Kit is located on the home page
# http://napervillesun.suntimes.com/lifestyles/8669566-423/what-happens-when-autistic-kids-grow-up.html
No comments:
Post a Comment