Autism was nothing new to Burnaby teacher Debbie Siu two years ago.
With 13 years of teaching under her belt, the Gilmore Elementary School teacher had taught lots of kids with the disorder.
That didn’t make it any easier when her son Cameron was diagnosed at age three.
“That day, I still remember it clearly,” Siu told the NOW. “It wasn’t that I was in shock, but it’s just hard to hear those words come out of the doctor’s mouth for the first time.”
As a teacher in a supportive marriage with good friends, Siu said she had more support than many other parents she has spoken to since, but finding out a child has autism can be a lonely time.
“As soon as you get the diagnosis, you’re just handed an envelope, and you’re kind of on your own,” she said. “You don’t know where to turn to for support and get the funding or extra activities for your child.”
That experience has inspired Siu and two other parents of kids diagnosed with autism (Port Coquitlam residents Patricia James and Keri Kennett) to team up and make sure parents who come after them get all the support they need.
Besides sharing their own stories to raise awareness, the trio will sell sterling silver puzzle-piece necklaces at 73 participating London Drugs stores in B.C. and Alberta for six weeks starting Jan. 8, with all proceeds going to the new Pacific Autism Family Centre that is currently being built in Richmond.
The centre will be a one-stop-shop for families of children with autism.
“Parents and families need a place to go where all the resources will be under one roof,” Siu said.
Getting support early is key for kids and their families, she said, and the first step – difficult as it may be – is getting a diagnosis.
Unfortunately, many parents are reluctant to get their kids assessed, according to Siu.
“I see it every single day with being in the school system – a parent’s in denial, afraid of getting the child labelled and what it’s going to look like for the rest of their life. But I can bring my own personal story into that,” she said.
For one thing, a diagnosis brings with it $22,000 a year in funding until age six – at which time funding drops to $6,000 a year.
For Cameron, that has paid for behaviour intervention therapy sessions four days a week.
They’ve made a world of difference, Siu said, helping Cameron deal with communication and other challenges.
“He can wear boots now, which could never happen before. He will wear socks. For one year, he honestly didn’t wear a pair of socks,” she said.
Difficult as it was two years ago to hear a doctor tell her her son had autism, Siu said she and her students have also ultimately gained from her now-personal relationship with the disorder.
“It’s made me a better person, I think, and a better teacher,” she said.
