Autism Research Center proposed

Parents of children with autism proposed the creation of an Autism Research Center for the Western Pacific islands on Saipan during a meeting with educational and health professionals Saturday.

The meeting was part of the agenda in the Focus on Autism workshop sponsored by the Parents Association of Children with Autism at the Joeten Kiyu Public Library conference room Saturday morning.

The workshop identified challenges that face both parents and care providers, and created practical proposals in response to these challenges.

In a process led by facilitator, the Rev. Jaime R. Vergara of the Marianas Resource Center of the Immanuel United Methodist Church, the participants focused on where they had run into difficulties when pursuing solutions to their identified needs.

Encouraging participants to go beyond simply heralding their pet wish dreams, or easily resigned to the absence of something (“lack of”), Rev. Vergara pushed participants to think of their experiences when they encountered something like “a rock in the middle of the road,” and name that block, constraint, or contradiction.

Parents recalled their experiences of public school bus schedules geared more to the convenience of the drivers rather than on the routine of the special needs students.

They also pointed to the thinly spread efforts of care providers. Consequently, one of the parents revealed her family’s plans to move to Minnesota so that her child would fare better in receiving the attention that he requires. The psychological and financial strain on the bi-located family will be considerable.

Care providers related their difficulties not only in competing in the open market for educational and health specialists, but also in retaining those who do make it to the island and the peculiarities of the islands public school system.

In providing needed services, Ann Quick, PSS special education coordinator revealed that a room in the Dandan Elementary School has been identified and is being held for an autism classroom in the Fall. One of the parents suggested a southern and northern island location.

Ms. Quick asked for a locator map of children with autism so that she would be guided accordingly.

PACA members also mentioned their focus in the last week of April when they will have Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio’s proclamation to make that an Autism Awareness Week.

To cap the week, an exhibit on the World of the Child with Autism will be presented Friday night, April 27, and Saturday morning, April 28 at the Joeten Kiyu.

Rev. Vergara responded to the proposal for an Autism Research Center: “PACA has been acting as a support group for parents and are beginning to assume the archival functions and database dissemination service of information on autism,” he said.

“We would gladly support this proposal,” he added, “and though we do not know yet how to go about setting up one, the vision is clear enough that it invites everyone’s initiative and creativity.”

He added that in the early 1960s when President Kennedy declared to the nation that there will be within the decade a man in the moon, he probably did not have an idea how to get there, but the vision was clear.

The proposal of an Autism Research Center grabbed the workshop participants’ attention with the same type of clarity.

In an earlier review of the state of knowledge on the nature of autism, mental health officer Dr. Adrian Brenn reaffirmed his earlier presentation on the various theories on the genetic and environmental causes of autism.

“There seems to be a high percentage of occurrence of autism in Tinian,” Mark Staal of the Early Childhood program noted.

Frank D. Cabrera, PACA President, wondered out loud what effect the radiation experiments in the Pacific since the 50s have had in influencing the neuro-biological disorders in children.

The need to access the state-of-the-art knowledge on autism, and contributing to that with a research center was obviously a consensus among the group when the Research Center proposal was made.

Cyndy Tice, a nursing Educator at the Northern Marianas College, stated that the nursing program will surely include autism as a subject matter in its curriculum.

“The advocacy of your group is one that seeks for solutions,” Ms. Quick noted in her parting words to the members of PACA. She added, “other parents are already expressing interest in following your example to organize themselves and take an active role in addressing the special needs of their children both in health and in education.”