All for autism
By THOMAS M. THORNBURGH
Special to the Saipan Tribune
This is a message to our families in the CNMI who are touched by autism. As an advocate for
about a decade now with the Northern Marianas Protection and Advocacy Services Inc. or
NMPASI, I see tremendous growth in our community as far as autism is concerned. Although we
live on tiny islands that don't even register on some maps, I say to you all that there is support in
our community.
One such support system is the Autism Association of the CNMI or ASCNMI. ASCNMI is a
parent organization that provides support for families who have a child or children with autism
and other disabilities.
Furthermore, your child also has the right to an education that is free to parents in the public
school setting. The CNMI Public School System's Special Education program is dedicated to
providing educational support services to our children with autism-a whole range of services
from speech services to assistive technology to adaptive physical education. All you have to do is
refer your child to a Child Study Team who will observe and evaluate your child's strengths and
weaknesses and see if the child does need academic assistance.
If your child needs Special Education services to succeed academically, then an Individualized
Education Plan or IEP is created to ensure that they address these needs so that your child
progresses. This comes with a caveat, however; make sure you speak up. In my line of work, we
always remind our clients that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Autism today is on the rise. This is a fact that has been confirmed by many studies in the United
States and all over the world. Autism affects the ability of one to communicate and interact with
others. It may also involve self-stimulating repetitive movements. Diagnosing autism is based on
observations of behavior only. There are no medical tests. No answer as to what causes it, but
more research is being done and sooner or later, we will be able to get a better grasp of it. The
important thing is that we keep going, keep asking, keep learning and keep growing.
People with autism are people first. They have the same rights as everyone else, and deserve to
be treated like everyone else, with dignity and respect. Autistic people have also contributed to
the world in many ways. Take for example, Leonardo Da Vinci, who took 12 years to paint the
lips of the Mona Lisa, amongst other things. Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Jackson were both
U.S. presidents. The mathematician Albert Einstein, and many more have been suggested to have
had some form of autism based on their behaviors.
During April Autism Awareness Month 2010, the ASCNMI and NMPASI, along with other
community groups, put on a daylong conference that highlighted autism. The conference focused
on local capacity and featured folk from our community who work with children with autism,
including Special Education's behavioral specialist Lynn Corella, autism teachers Mark Staal and
Jerry Diaz, and a Public School System counselors' presentation on bullying. We also had
parents of children with autism giving testimonials, the Developmental Disabilities Council, and
Tom Camacho of the Governor's Office. This information was also shared with Tinian at a
conference at Fleming Hotel and Rota at the Rota Roundhouse.
Awareness is the key to understanding and assisting our people with autism. Come and take part
at our annual conference on April 30, 2011, at a venue that will be announced soon. We also
invite you to our Hot Dog Walk this Saturday, April 16, at the Last Command Post at 3pm for a
3-mile walk and get a barbeque hotdog afterwards.
For more information, please do not hesitate to contact me at NMPASI at 235-7273 or 235-7274;
TTY at 235-7278; Fax at 235-7275 or online at www.nmpasi.com. Thank you for your time and
April is Autism Awareness Month 2011 and the local CNMI theme for this month is “All For
Autism.”
Thomas M. Thornburgh is a project specialist of the Northern Marianas Protection and
Advocacy Services Inc. and is the Autism Awareness Month Coordinator.