Valley programs helping families with children on the spectrum
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The rates of children diagnosed with autism are rising in the U.S. and the earlier you detect it, the greater impact therapy will have on your child.
Suzy Perez said she remembers the day her firstborn was diagnosed with autism.
"I've never even heard the word autism before, so I was very lost," Perez said. "I have a 10-year-old, a 6-year-old, and I have a 2-year-old, they all have an autistic diagnosis, and they are very different from each other."
Founder of Autism In My Life RGV Suzy Perez said.
The diagnoses meant her son got the help he needed. There are programs and resources to help parents navigate here in the Rio Grande Valley, such as Autism in my Life, which Perez founded.
Easterseals, a non-profit group, works on early intervention for children with autism during the most critical developmental years — from birth to the age of five.
"We have screeners, we have developmental ASQ screeners, ages and stages, so we can really work with the parents and sort of check where they are on that development milestone pathway," Easterseals RGV Executive Director Pattie Rosenlund said.
Early detection is key to quickly getting the help children need.
"The sooner that we were able to get in and provide therapy services and teach the family strategies to be able to work with their children, that alone makes a big difference when it comes to the severity levels of children with autism," Easterseals Intervention Specialist Elizabeth Cisneros said.
Some signs of autism you can look for are communication delays, social deficits and repetitive behaviors.
It is important that people understand the misconceptions or stigmas surrounding autism.
"Some stereotypes that children with autism are either Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory, or Rain Man, and that is not the case," Cisneros said.
Another stereotype is that they may lack empathy or express emotions.
"There are individuals with autism that are extremely affectionate and who are so caring and are able to express their emotion," Cisneros said.
A child does not have to be non-verbal to be diagnosed with autism.
"There are a lot of individuals, including in the medical realm, that continue to believe that in order to have autism you have to be nonverbal, and that's not fact," Cisneros said.
Parents who are concerned about their child's behavior because they're not reaching major milestones that other children their age are reaching should not be afraid to seek help.
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