Growing up in Talbot County and working with children on the autism spectrum here on the Shore, I was nervous to transition over to the Western Shore for college and work. I wasn’t sure how I would handle a new area and a new job with different children and expectations. But now as an instructor for clients on the autism spectrum, as I see it, I am lucky to be based in Baltimore.
Any given day I can log onto the Pathfinders for Autism website and find an autism- related community outing, support group, or class around the Baltimore area for myself, my client, or the family I work with. Every Saturday morning I can take my client to the Whitemarsh Movie Theater to catch a sensory screening of the latest children’s movie that offers an environment my client feels comfortable.
The Hussman Center for Adults with Autism is also conveniently located in Towson and offers social groups, career training, and classes for adults on the spectrum. It seems that there is always something on the calendar that myself, my client, and the entire family can look forward to.
Here in Baltimore those on the spectrum and their families have many choices in events, social groups, and outings that create a real sense of community. These groups become places for parents to get new information about insurance, school, and other parents’ perspectives as well as places for persons on the spectrum to interact with others who may be more relatable and understanding.
However, when I return home to the Eastern Shore of Maryland the scenery changes. I see a landscape that is desolate of any programs. A simple google search of local programs for those with autism yields little results. For example, the Facebook page for the Autism Chapter of the Eastern Shore, which is the only page outlining any community events, has not been updated since 2014.
So how do parents of children with autism on the Eastern Shore feel about the lack of community events in their area? One family, Sandie and Winfield Miller, whose son was diagnosed with high-functioning autism at age nine, state that ever since his initial diagnosis they “dove head first” looking for programs on the Eastern Shore such as support or social groups, “We read every article and looked for locations of programs in our area, even went to the Autism Speaks website and found nothing at all.”
Sandie Miller explains how autism-based community programs could help hers and other families on the Eastern Shore, “I want to know that we aren’t alone in the everyday struggle. That my child can meet other kids that are from ‘his planet’ and make strong connections. That we might be able to learn how to deal with the ups and downs. Just to feel like we aren’t outcast in this community.” However now, three years later, they have yet to find any program on the Shore.
So where do we go from here? We know that 1 in 60 children in Maryland has been diagnosed with autism. By 2015, everyone you meet has been impacted or knows someone affected by autism. Here on the Eastern Shore we have the resources in place to begin the stages of community involvement with our multiple wonderful camps focused on those with special needs including those on the autism spectrum: Camp Lazy Days offered by the YMCA of the Chesapeake, Camp Abilities by the Dorchester County Family YMCA, and Camp Fairlee by the Easter Seals.
But let us focus on taking it a step further than just a one, five, or ten-week summer camp. Seeing that we have the resources and structures in place with summer camps is a good start. So why can’t we create more year-round community programs? As organizations, instructors, community members, families, and even persons on the spectrum themselves we can start advocating for and creating social and support groups. Starting with simple fixes such as an updated Facebook page, small monthly meet-ups at the local parks or local organizations, and a call to the local movie theater to encourage a sensory screening once a month could start the conversations needed and build towards better community participation and creation of autism spectrum programs here on the Eastern Shore.
Candace Ball is a senior at Towson State University.
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.