News and Knowledge

For the many mothers out there like Lori Smith, the ones who work tirelessly on behalf of their children, one day of recognition and honor doesn’t seem like enough. Maybe we need a Mother’s Year or a Mother’s Decade, because that’s the kind of effort Smith and so many like her put in to giving their kids what they need to be happy and achieve their best.

Smith lives in Fenton, Mich., with her husband, Royal, an active partner with her in efforts on behalf of their children, and two children, Dean, 11, and Vivian, 7.

Diagnosed with autism at 3, Dean attended a school for kids with special needs until he was 6, when his parents decided to send him to his local elementary school. Why? His mom explains, “We wanted him to meet the kids who lived near our home and ride the school bus like all the other kids did.” She and Royal hoped the kids in his class would be role models for Dean and that his communication skills would emerge once he was surrounded by kids who weren’t experiencing the same challenges.

Five years later, Smith notes, “Come to find out, it was the best decision we could have made. I truly believe that the environment has helped him tremendously.”

“He is very outgoing,” Smith says. “Dean is always, I mean always, asking to go somewhere with friends. He just needs to be taught and coached on how to socially interact and play with them.” When she found out that he would need to repeat second grade, she worried that not being with the same group of kids who knew and accepted him would be a problem. “The kids in his new class wouldn’t know why he was different and why he did some of the things he did. I wanted to explain to them about autism and that it is okay to be different. I started looking online for materials and found OAR’s ‘What’s Up with Nick?’ booklet. I loved it.”

Ready. Set. Go.

The ball was rolling. OAR sent Smith the Kit for Kids peer education resource and she presented it to Dean’s team at the school, who also liked it. Dean’s teacher read “What’s Up with Nick?” to the class that year, and this year the principal put it on a projector to read to the entire school.

Smith didn’t stop there, though. She found a peer-to-peer support program and information about how to start one at a school. She introduced it to Dean’s school team and soon had them on board. She and members of Dean’s school team attended a six-day class sponsored by the school district through the Statewide Autism Resources and Training Project (START), which is funded by the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Special Education. “I feel that the entire team has put forth an effort to insure that Dean and his peers have a successful and great experience participating in the peer program.”

Smith and Dean’s team were not the only ones enthusiastic about the idea of a “buddy” program. Twenty-five out of 28 kids in Dean’s class signed up within a couple of weeks. The program trains and provides “buddies” for Dean who sit with him at lunch and play with him at recess. This year, the buddies also helped him during class. Dean’s social worker works with the peer buddies to give them ideas about how to engage him, and to discuss any challenges, like when Dean behaves in ways they don’t understand.

To celebrate the students’ participation, the program organizers threw a pizza party and gave out goodie bags. “They raised their hands to tell us why they like being a peer buddy to Dean. It was very nice to hear,” says Smith. “They said, ‘He plays with us on the slides now, he plays basketball and sometimes gets it in the hoop.’”

High Fives All Around

Smith believes that the peer program is beneficial for Dean and for the students who signed up to be peers. “They have gotten better with organization, responsibility, problem solving, decision-making, and accountability.”

“I would really love to see this program either formally or informally implemented at all grade levels in all schools. I am hoping to someday have this program accredited within our district.” Lori, Royal, and Dean recently spoke about the peer program at a local school board meeting. “I explained how Dean feels accepted at school and kids out in the community always say hi to Dean and give him high fives. We thanked the peers for helping Dean at school, and we thanked the parents for allowing the kids to participate in the peer program.”

No matter how many resources OAR creates and distributes, they are useless without people like Smith and her husband. Thanks to their efforts, the teachers and administrators at Dean’s school were able to use them and give them life in service of kids like Dean, who, like all kids, is eager to fit in but just need a little help doing it. Isn’t it amazing? That’s what one mom can do.