WOMEN WHO INSPIRE
AUTISM AWARENESS MONTH
The Earlier , the Better AUTISM AWARENESS AND TIMELY DIAGNOSIS ARE CRUCIAL
By Vicki Bennington
When Andrew Alt was born 23 years ago , his parents , Diane and Richard Alt of Wright City , Missouri , didn ’ t know a lot about autism . They had no idea that they would eventually become experts on the subject .
“ We started to notice that he didn ’ t respond to sound , he wanted to arch his back quite a bit and wanted to be held upside down ,” Diane Alt said . “ When we walked into his bedroom , he had to see us before there was any reaction .” Doctors thought he had hearing loss . “ My husband and I felt that he could hear some things , but it was only
Diane Alt selective sounds that he responded to ,” Alt said . “ We knew something else wasn ’ t right , and we didn ’ t give up .”
Alt became a stay-at-home mom , a role she loved , allowing her to give her son her undivided attention .
At 2 , he started at United Services Pre-School for the Handicapped , which Alt said broke her heart .
“ At first , I didn ’ t even leave the building . I would just watch through the window ,” she said . But the school had so much to offer – physical and occupational therapies , special education teachers - and the school addresses severe and profound hearing loss .
Andrew began to learn sign language , but not only his words , but even his signing was not consistent with what was expected for his age , and eventually , he lost the desire to communicate .
After scores of doctors ’ visits , much research , and Alt aligning herself as an advocate and determined parent , along with her husband , Andrew received multiple diagnoses within the realm of autism spectrum disorder , along with epilepsy , which later evolved into Landau-Kleffner syndrome .
“ I ’ ve always thought if he would have been in daycare , we might have missed signs that helped us get an early diagnosis ,” she said . “ And that ’ s important . The earlier you catch it , the better , because windows begin to close in their development . There ’ s no going back .”
Autism spectrum disorder affects about one in 68 children in the United States , according to estimates from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ’ s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network .
At that time , Alt didn ’ t know anyone with autism or anyone who had experience with the disorder . But children are now more accurately diagnosed at earlier ages than they were a quarter of a century ago , she said , in large part , because awareness has increased .
First Steps provided therapy in the Alts ’ home , and the Parents as Teachers Program through the Missouri Dept . of Mental Health helped Alt and her husband learn more about ASD and what they could do to help .
Andrew went through a lot of medication combinations before finding the right mix for him . Some made him sleepy ; some made him depressed . He began to have petit-mal seizures as part of the Landeu
Photo by Wesley Law
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