This is second in a two-part story about children with autism in Malibu, and how they and their parents work to overcome the disorder.
By Jimy Tallal / Special to The Malibu Times
Laureen Sills, co-founder and president of the nonprofit Malibu Special Education Foundation, as well as appointee to the state Advisory Committee on Special Education, is the mother of an autistic son and two teenagers with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).
“Autism is a scary word. There are so many parts of autism that fall into the ADHD category,” she said.
Sills pointed out there can be a thin line between a “normal” person who’s merely quirky and a higher functioning autistic. She said different disorders can also share certain traits: autistic and ADHD individuals, for example, share “inattentiveness, awkwardness and being socially inappropriate.”
The Malibu Special Education Foundation sponsors a parent support group that meets about once a month.
“Those are the only people you can laugh with about it,” Sills said.
Sill’s youngest son, now in junior high, has become very self-conscious about the autism label.
“He’s very high functioning. He doesn’t give it away quickly [the fact that he’s autistic]. He’s aware that he’s different, and this has been a very emotionally difficult year for him,” she said.
Sills’ son, who is 14, recently completed the 14-week PEERS (Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills) program at UCLA, which teaches social skills to high-functioning teens with autism, Asperger syndrome or pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (also called atypical autism).
“They taught him how to interact with other kids and when to slip into a conversation,” Sills said. “They also emphasized not trying to be funny all the time, and what is and is not socially appropriate behavior.”
In PEERS, for homework, participants had to call other youth and make plans to do something, as well as try to make friends through social media, like Facebook.
Esperance Center, a local nonprofit organization with offices on Heathercliff Road, is funded by the state to provide both residential and day care services for autistic adults no longer in the school system, usually beginning with the 22nd birthday.
“The focus is on the person, not the autism,” said Ari Stark, director since 2008. Requirements for admission are a minimum age of 18, currently a Regional Center (state) client and “able to gain something from our program.”
A six-bed adult residential facility in Malibu is staffed 24/7. “Each resident is assigned chores and responsibilities based on their abilities-meal preparation, taking out trash, sweeping, etc.,” Stark said.
General job and personal skills are taught at the Heathercliff office. Malibu Seafood has been the most consistent local employer, using a crew every morning for cleaning and prep work. Starbucks and PC Greens have also employed residents.
Esperance runs a separate day program for 35 autistic adults from Malibu, Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica every weekday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Groups meet at Malibu West, Cross Creek Road and Santa Monica, with a 3:1 ratio of participants to staff. Recreational activities include bowling, movies, museums, cooking classes, and use of Pepperdine facilities for golf and swimming.
“They work together to set a calendar of activities for the month, which helps to teach them scheduling, negotiating, time management and money management,” Stark said.
For now, there’s no cure for autism. Behavioral therapy, particularly the kind known as applied behavioral analysis, or ABA, is still the only treatment scientifically shown to produce positive results. It is a system of treatment based on the theory that behaviors can be taught through a system of rewards and consequences. With ABA, the success rate in overcoming the disorder is about 10 percent, with most individuals showing modest positive gains. Some prescription medications help alleviate certain symptoms in some people. Most autistic children require ongoing treatment from a medical doctor, psychologist, speech pathologist and other professionals.
Some parents find it hard to let go of the idea that autism is caused by childhood vaccines, even though 22 scientific studies have found no causal relationship between vaccines and autism. Others think toxic chemicals in the environment like heavy metals or pesticides may be the root cause, but so far there’s no scientific proof. Most have tried at least some of the alternative therapies purported to help treat autism-everything from gluten-free diets, to hyperbaric oxygen chambers, aromatherapy, electromagnetic therapy and vitamin regimens-although these also lack scientific evidence.
Although Sills bemoans the fact that “autism gets all the attention” when it comes to special education, the number of diagnoses nationwide has skyrocketed during the past two decades. With so much national attention on autism, greater public awareness has resulted in money pouring into new research that may find the causes and treatment much sooner than later.
Editor’s note: At the end of last week’s story, it was stated that Laureen Sills’ son was 16. He is 14 years old.