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Wednesday, June 25, 2003

By Brad Stephenson

Another version of this story ran previously in PG North.

Marla Green loves her 4-year-old son, John Jr., unconditionally, and she can't help but feel a swell of frustration and sadness when she sees children his age playing and interacting while he stands at the edge of the playground, lost in his own world.

The lad, who lives with his parents in Lower Burrell, Westmoreland County, is one of about 1.5 million Americans living with autism, a developmental disability that can cause severe impairment in language, cognition and communication.

"I watched a neighbor kid who is John's age ride his bike up the street for the first time, and I was happy for him," Green said. "But at the same time, I can't help but wonder whether John will ever ride a bike."

He is part of a trend: The number of children diagnosed with mental and behavioral health issues has increased at an alarming rate over the past several years.

Three in 10 children suffer from mental health disorders, including autism, and four out of five of them never receive treatment, according to a 2001 Surgeon General's report. And the rate of autism and other types of childhood mental disorders is expected to continue rising.

In this area, the Wesley Institute Inc., a nonprofit organization with headquarters in Upper St. Clair, has opened new facilities there and in Richland to provide more than 700 youngsters and their families specialized services for autism and other developmental disabilities.

The facilities offer typical educational, behavioral health and residential services, as well as more progressive programs, Wesley chief executive Doug Muetzel said.

"Parents of children with mental health barriers are informed and aggressive in their efforts to get the best treatment available for their kids," he said. "We are responding to the interest of the parents."

During one of Wesley's music therapy programs, John Jr. spoke his own name for the first time, his mother said. "John was pretty much nonverbal last year. To hear him speak his name was overwhelming, because a lot of these children never acquire verbal language skills."

The institute has had to seek private support for these programs.

"State funding is often behind [in supporting] the most progressive services," Muetzel said. "The government won't provide funding for programs like music and art therapy, but families find these services important."

Although the Wesley Institute, founded in 1965, helps children with all types of mental and behavioral barriers, the new facilities are specifically geared to children diagnosed with autism, or autistic spectrum disorder as it is more formally know, Muetzel said.

The Autism Society of America's Web site describes the disorder only as "a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life." But people with autism typically have problems with communication and social interaction.

While the institute will continue to offer in-home services for children with mental and behavioral health barriers, the new "center-based" strategy offers a number of advantages, Muetzel said. It allows the use of the latest treatments and greater support for families.

"Because the children we serve are typically younger, the role of the family is critical in treatment," Muetzel said. "These facilities provide a meeting place for these families who share the same interests and the same goal."

Green said the support she and her family have gotten from Wesley has been outstanding. "To go to a designated place where you have other families that are going through the same trials and tribulations that you are is really nice."

Green also looks forward to the services and support her 2-year-old daughter, Emily, will get as the sibling of an autistic child. "When she gets older and starts to understand, she'll need as much support as we do."

Brad Stephenson is a freelance writer.