A burden to society???

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Anonymous Joined: Nov 03, 2005 Posts: 69140 Other Topics	Posted Feb 27, 2002 at 11:06:18 AM Subject: A burden to society??? from FEAT: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134411272_award26m.html Katie Grimes is not your typical college student. The 20-year-old from Federal Way has autism, a disorder she did not openly reveal until three years ago when she started working on a Girl Scout project. That project became the Federal Way Autism Support Group, the community's first support group for parents of autistic children. Grimes organized monthly meetings, scheduled speakers, distributed fliers and designed an autism-information booklet. The group now provides support for more than 90 families in the area. The project has earned Grimes, a sophomore at Washington State University, national recognition from the Girl Scouts. She and nine other women from across the country will be honored in Washington, D.C., next month as this year's Young Women of Distinction. The award recognizes 10 young women who have provided an exceptional service to their community and shown great dedication to achievement. The honorees will meet several U.S. senators and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and participate in career-development training. Each will receive a $1,000 scholarship. They'll also get to meet Elizabeth Dole, former president of the American Red Cross; Alma Powell, wife of Secretary of State Colin Powell; designer Vera Wang; and seven other women who have been named National Women of Distinction in honor of the Girl Scouts' 90th anniversary. More than 300 women were nominated by local councils as this year's Young Women of Distinction. To be eligible, nominees must earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, the organization's highest honor. The gold- award project is crafted by the scout who works with an adult volunteer to implement it over one to two years. "I was struck by (Katie's) project because it was so inspiring," said Colleen Ozolitis, manager for young-adult development services for the Girl Scouts' local Totem Council, who nominated Grimes. "She was filling a need for something that didn't exist when she was younger. The fact that this was such a personal thing for her was one of the reasons it succeeded." Autism is a developmental disorder that encompasses a broad spectrum of behaviors and levels of severity. Most people with autism struggle to communicate. In Grimes, the disorder manifested itself in language-development delays and social awkwardness. Grimes' determination and drive were key factors in her success, said her mother, Lisa Grimes. "She just would never accept that she couldn't do this, that or the other." The support-group experience not only helped her realize the extent of her abilities but pushed her to disclose her disorder as well. "Early on in the project, I decided that I would let others know I have autism," Grimes wrote in her project report. "This took courage; I had in the past felt ashamed of my disability. ... However, I knew that doing so would help my project and provide a chance for others to know something of who I really am."
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Anonymous Joined May 26, 2013 Posts: 69140 Other Topics	Posted:Mar 01, 2002 12:35:27 PM Subject:Re: A burden to society??? Dad, Inspiring post. I don't know that much about autism. But I have seen some interesting additions to the "Rainman" thing. There was an excellent BBC show I caught about a young autistic girl supporting herself as a motivational speaker. She had an incredible apartment she'd designed herself full of bubble lights and fur slides and other innovations that she felt stimulated her and therefore were relaxing for her. One anecdote I remember was how she fell in love with solid spatial things: buildings, walls. She had one special wall that she Loved ( she felt comfortable expressing emotion toward it where she has trouble doing so towards people) so she would often just stop nad touch and talk to it esp on her way home after giving a presentation. And how the local Bobby took it the first time... She loved roller skating and skated in competitions I think but she couldn't imagine having a partner. Brief mention of parents in documentary but predictably they were the ones who did not accept what they were told about who she would be and what she could do and worked to her strengths which in the beginning consisted of rollerskating. She was a very charming and appealing girl. Have you heard of Monty Roberts authur of "The Man Who Listens to Horses." I remember in his book he describes a young autistic woman who is an industrial consultant solving probs involving animals. Her autism gives her a perspective not available to others. From some remarks he made it sort of made sense why horseriding helped autistic children to communicate. Clearly there's much more to be learned about this condition.
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A burden to society???