Chicago woman on a mission to help families living with autism
By Web staff
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CHICAGO (WBBM) — April is Autism Acceptance Month. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just started distinguishing between the more and less severe ends of the spectrum of the developmental disorder by calling more severe cases “profound autism.”
A recent study found that nearly 27% of kids with autism have “profound autism,” which means they are nonverbal, minimally verbal, or have an IQ of less than 50.
The study found that those with “profound autism” were more likely to be girls, come from a lower socioeconomic household, and be from minority racial and ethnic groups.
Debra Vines, CEO and founder of The Answer Inc, a local autism awareness and support agency, is working to help families impacted by autism, especially those who might not have access to critical services.
She founded the non-profit agency with her late husband in 2007, because their son, Jason, now 35, is living with autism, and they also dealt with a lack of services.
“For many years, we did not have any resources in our community, and we were living in an under-resourced community, and I’m just not a person to complain about things for very long, and we decided to do something about it,” she said. “I tell you, I never dreamed The Answer would be where it is right now, have serviced so many communities, because the need is so great.”
The Answer Inc. helps provide access to support resources, education, recreation, advocacy, social skills, and workforce development for families living with autism and other developmental disabilities.
One of their programs is Spectrum University, a tutoring program focusing on reading, writing, math, and social skills.
“We just added workforce development, because we want to have our students work-ready, and we’re starting at age 12,” Vines said. “Our children learn at a different pace, right? So even with our neurotypical children, you don’t wait until they get 18 and say, ‘Hey, it’s time to get out and get a job.’ You prepare them for work, and so we want to provide this service for our children that are living with disabilities.”
The Answer Inc. also offers a “Music N Me” program, focusing on exercise, fitness, and dance to help children develop cognitive skills.
“We also have a program called Spectrum Social Life, which is an etiquette and sex education program specifically for girls, because so many of our girls that have disabilities are targets. So we want to teach them about good touch, bad touch, how sit when you’re out, how to interact with people, because so many people are uncomfortable with our children,” Vines said. “Because, yes, some of them do have behavior problems, and people are uncomfortable around things they don’t understand. And so The Answer is here to make sure that you understand everything about people with disabilities.”
On May 6, The Answer Inc. is hosting their 16th annual Autism & Developmental Disabilities Walk-A-Thon to raise money to sponsor children and adults to attend a horseback riding camp for one week. The Walk-A-Thon will be at Proviso West High School in Hillside from noon to 3 p.m. on May 6. For more information, call 708-296-5651.
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