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THE VOICE

Volume 5, Issue 10

Page 4

by Doug Flutie describing his son's autism that finally gave us a clue to what was going on with Shea.

Our family has learned through the years to take one day at a time and enjoy the moments.  We are constantly aware that we need to pay as much attention to Ashton and her accomplishments as we do Shea's.  It is important to the child without disabilities that they feel just as important and loved.  We have learned the hard way that sometimes the "normal" child needs more of your time than the special needs child.  Both Ashton and Shea have made great strides in their lives.  We take as much pleasure in Shea's ability to recognize the colors of store signs as we do Ashton's growing into a beautiful young woman.

Although we knew nothing about being parents, our children have managed to become wonderful human beings.  They are both loving and have great personalities.  Both Shea and Ashton share a wicked sense of humor and one of our greatest joys is to just sit and listen to them laughing together.  Having Shea in our lives has taught the three of us to enjoy every accomplishment and appreciate the gifts we so often take for granted.  We don't know what the future holds for our family but we feel truly blessed that God gave us this very special person.

[Interested in sharing your story with others?  We invite you to send your "Spotlight Family of the Month" contribution  to info@aaccasa.org or P.O. Box 1470, Millersville, MD 21108]

Spotlight Family of the Month:
The Minariks
by Tammy and Bret Minarik


We live in Severn with our two children, Ashton who's twelve and Shea who just turned seven.  It took us five and a half years to have a second child and we were thoroughly delighted with our little miracle.

Ashton on the other hand had varying opinions; having been an only child for five and a half years, she sometimes was less than thrilled with our new addition.  After approximately six months she decided that, since he wasn't going anywhere, he wasn't so bad to have around.  Still, there were times when she resented the inconvenience of having a baby in the house.  We had often enjoyed spur-of-the-moment activities; with the baby, things had to be planned and then were subject to change.  We often would promise her that this wouldn't last forever, that when he turned three we would be able to do that sort of thing again.  We never imagined that this was so terribly wrong.

When Shea was about 2-1/2 years old we realized something was not right.  He'd always been a very active baby, but now he seemed to ignore us when we would tell him to stop.  He also had stopped singing, which was something he always enjoyed.  His verbalization also became less frequent.  Concerned about what was happening, Tammy expressed her concerns to the pediatrician.  According to him, Shea was in the terrible twos and was just spoiled.  The behavior continued and together we made another appointment with the doctor.  Sitting in the doctor's office we again told him what was going on.  At some point Tammy began to cry and I asked "Do you really think this is normal?".  He informed me he saw this sort of thing all the time, but to ease our minds he would give us a referral to have Shea tested.  It was at this point he added "When they tell you there's nothing wrong with him, come back to me and I'll give you a referral to a behaviorist to teach you how to handle him".

We took Shea to Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital to see a Neuropsychologist.  There we were told he had ADHD and a learning disability.  It was also recommended that we take him to a psychiatrist to be evaluated.  There we were told he was "mentally retarded provisional", which means providing that Shea answered the questions the next time he was tested and got them wrong, he would be retarded.  Our next stop was Child Find, where they diagnosed him developmentally delayed.  It was a sales catalog from Toys R Us that had a letter


Upcoming workshop focuses
on the home environment


STEP Seminars is sponsoring a workshop entitled "Organizing the Home Environment for Safety, Independence in Daily Life Skills, and Increased Communication". The workshop, which will be led by Dr. Robin Allen, Behavior Specialist, will be held on Monday, June 11th, from 7 - 9 p.m. at The Women's Club of Bethesda.

In this workshop, Dr. Allen will take a "walk" through a typical home environment and share strategies specific to each room to make your entire living environment organized and conducive to the safety and progressive development of your child.  The lecture will be augmented with dozens of examples of safety devices, organizational tools, and visual cues that can be readily used in the home.  Video examples of the use of these strategies in the home will also be shared at the workshops.  Participants will receive a comprehensive packet of materials to help you get organized for summer 2001.

The registration fee is $40. To register, please e-mail: stepseminars@hotmail.com or call (301) 495-8824.

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