EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE: TEACCHing Autism

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — April is National Autism Awareness Month. Sometimes it can be hard to do a feature a piece on one person when telling this kind of story. So our Extraordinary Person of the Week is group, Dr. Janette Wellman, her team, and the families who live a life with autism.

“They have given us a life for our son that he would have never had,” Alice Brooks said of how TEACCH changed their family’s lives.

“I was one of the 1st 5 children to enroll in the program when it first got started,” her son Darien, who has autism, said.

“It is why you come into work everyday,” said Dr. Janette Wellman.

Dr. Janette Wellman has led the TEACCH Center of Wilmington as Clinical Director for many moon. Their autism program offers evaluations, parent training, support groups, social play and recreation groups, and much more. To be honest, the list is quite long.

“Once we get to know the child or adolescent or adult,” Dr. Wellman said, “then we can help them problem solve what kind of strategies can get helpful”

What she and her staff at TEACCH do everyday changes lives, everyday. Like Alice Brooks, who had a major decision to make when her son was 4 years old.

“When he was first diagnosed,” she said, “it was recommended that we institutionalize him because he was so profoundly affected that they said he would never function in daily life.”

‘Would never function’. Those are tough words to taken in. But as one of the first to enroll in the program back in the 70’s, Darien has proven that the diagnosis years ago was wrong. He’s proven that he functions just fine.

“TEACCH has made such a tremendous impact on my life and how I see myself as a person with high functioning autism,” Darien told Daniel Seamans.

His mother agrees. “It’s indescribable,” she replied.

And the doctor too.

“They(the parents) are the experts on their children and they know more than any professional about that child and I might have strategies and knowledge they don’t have,” Dr. Wellman said, “so together we work together, the collaboration is a feeling of gosh, we’ve done this together.”

By the way, Alice did decide to take the doctor’s advice given back with Darien was 4 years old.
She institutionalized him. However, it was 14 years later.

“When he was 18 years old,” Alice said with a grin, “we decided to institutionalize him and the institution was the University of North Carolina Wilmington. That says it all in a nutshell. They(TEACCH staff) have saved our sinking ship.”

“Oh yes!” Darien chimed in.

It’s a nutshell that shows when we work together, we can find a way.
and that, THAT is Extraordinary.

You can learn all about the TEACCH Center in Wilmington by clicking HERE.

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