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When
our son, John, was diagnosed with Autism in June 1988, we were an Army
family stationed in Augsburg, Germany. To put that in perspective, it
was still West Germany. Communism thrived in Eastern Europe; the cold
war was entering the 4th quarter. Cell phones were a very rare and
expensive commodity. Personal computers were not rare, however, they
generally came with a joystick. And the Internet was not open to the
public.
To make a phone call through the
German telephone system to my parents
in Pennsylvania cost roughly $7.00 for the first 3 minutes. Resources,
not only from medical professionals, the community, and immediate
family were scarce. The Army, in a gracious gesture, granted my request
to return to the United States, so we could have access to better
resources for John.
We found ourselves living in old
military housing, on the brink of
being condemned at Fort Meade Maryland. With the help of the Army
Community Service (ACS) office, we set out to find housing, and the
medical and educational resources John would need. Maryland is probably
unique in its sources for servicing special needs children, especially
military children, do to its proximity to major government agencies and
an abundance of military hospitals.
Fort Meade had a 6-month waiting
list for military housing. However,
due to our special circumstances, we were put to the top of the list,
albeit, an old rickety basement apartment that had far too many hazards
to my liking. I tried to turn it down for something (anything) else,
but we would have gone to the bottom of the list. Second, was to get
him evaluated to get his education started. We were extremely fortunate
to have at our disposal not one, but two self-contained public schools
exclusively for special needs children right there in Anne Arundal
County (Maryland). Next, took John to Walter Reed Army Medical Center
in
Washington, DC. We were there sometimes 3-4 times a week. John was seen
by any number of child psychiatrists,
psychologists, genealogists, ophthalmologists, audiologists, and others
I can't even remember. He got Cat Scans, MRI's, EEG, EKG, ECG's,
physicals, and more blood and urine tests than anyone should ever have
to endure. Not a one could tell us the when, why and how for John's
condition.
We frequently attended support
groups at John's school with other
parents. My wife attended "mom-night out", sponsored by ACS, where she
met two families we still stay in touch with. In July 1990, the Army
moved us at their expense to a safer and nicer housing area, due to the
documented dangers that rickety basement apartment. An Officer - the
father of an autistic child, a very concerned Command Sergeant Major,
and some people at ACS made the move possible. In the pre-internet
days, that's how interpersonal networking was done, and that's how we
found the needed resources.
It would not be right if I didn't
acknowledge that my wife shouldered
most of the burden for getting a lot of the things done, like
scheduling appointment, coordinating with the schools, hospitals, etc,
and watching after an Autistic child, a younger son, and a baby
daughter that came in July 1990. It was all I could do to keep up with
my military requirements, and I can't say I did a great job of that.
She did all the legwork to get John Supplemental Security Income (SSI),
which led to getting Maryland Medical Assistance. With Medical
Assistance, she began to get take him to the Kennedy Institute (as it
was called then), in Baltimore. After several evaluations, it was
decided that John should be placed in residency to behavioral
management. John spent July, August and September 1991 at Kennedy. We
visited most every day, and would take him home for 4 hours on Sunday.
We even attended support groups for parents.
Although John was only 5 years old
and did not have the destructive
behaviors he does now, he was a critical threat to himself. During his
training, they taught him how to stay with us when we're out shopping
or in public, how to follow simple directions, how to feed himself,
dress himself, bath himself, etc. Most importantly, they taught him not
to put things in his mouth that was not food, and not from the floor.
This is a major issue because since military housing seems to have
hundreds of layers of white paint, everywhere, just waiting to be
consumed by an unknowing child like John.
After John's discharge from Kennedy,
he continued to go back for
outpatient care, and sometimes they came to our house to see John. I
can honestly say the training he received from Kennedy has probably
saved his live a dozen times over, and allowed the family to have some
social activities.
About
the Author
John Crawford is the father of 20 year old John (IV) who is autistic.
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