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Circles of Support

By Liz Lipp, Parent

When my older son Nicolas was diagnosed with Autism on August 15, 2002, I had no network. We had been getting one hour of speech therapy through early intervention in Central NJ, where we had been living, but that was all the services we had been getting. I had no resources, no one to discuss what this diagnosis meant -in short, my husband and I had each other for support, and that was about it.     Our circle of support widened once we moved to Montgomery County, PA.  Nic was given a team to work with, and he did well with them. As I grew more familiar with the county system, I widened my network of support through the provider network as well as meeting other families with children who, like my son, had special needs.     It was through the Interagency Coordinating Council of Montgomery County that I was introduced to Gail Stein, whom I was told was heading up what would become The Family Resource Center for Autism at Variety.

By this time, Gabriel, my younger son, was only a couple months from an Autism diagnosis himself.  Up until then, I had known that Variety helped families with a range of special needs, but I had no idea that they had any programs for children diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum. Well, at the time, they hadn’t. But that was about to change in a big way.

Gail and I had plenty of opportunity to talk in those early months of getting the Family Resource Center for Autism up and running. She partnered with me and several other parents who enthusiastically offered ideas and suggestions for what the center would look like, what it would offer in terms of support and services, and more importantly, what families like us needed that simply did not exist anywhere else.

My boys were introduced to Variety during the Family Fun Days, which provided them with moon bounces, crafts, games to play with other children, and most of all, a safe place for them to be themselves. My boys both spend a great deal of time ‘holding themselves in’-presenting a socially acceptable face to the world and keeping their verbal stims to a minimum. I know how much it costs them to do so when they bounce from the trampoline and off the walls when they get home from school.

But at Variety, there is no pressure for them to be anything other than themselves. And amazingly, they don’t stim much while they are there. Because they know they are in a safe and welcoming place that accepts them exactly as they are.

Last year, my older son refused to get into ANY swimming pool-that is, until a Family Fun Day last fall when he wanted to try out ‘that pool.’  Trying out ‘that pool’ at Variety’s Worcester Camp site broadened to one-on-one lessons. And guess what-Nic has generalized ‘that pool’ to ‘every pool,’ and can’t wait to go swimming.

As my support network has grown, so has my support for Variety.  My boys enjoy their one-on-one swimming lessons at Variety with their wonderfully supportive staff; Gabriel enjoys his developmentally appropriate playgroup; I enjoy the monthly parent support meetings while my kids play with each other and other kids while I’m in that meeting (you  can’t beat free babysitting!). And the semi-annual trips to Sesame Place with the accommodations for our kids have become highlights of our year.

My kids can’t wait until they are back in Variety’s pool this fall.  I’m thinking this may be the year I have a pair of deep-water swimmers. And I have every intention of enrolling them on Variety’s Special Olympic swim team-when they are ready!

 My family and I owe Variety a huge debt of gratitude for the support and care they have given us, and in this time of  red ink, slashed budgets and decreased support,  Variety becomes increasingly important for the care and services they provide families with special needs. I for one am glad they are here - thanks, Variety!

 

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