A nice story from the USA

[zaman]

Alisa Rock silenced the small crowd gathered at Rockfish Restaurant in Eastport with her story.

A mother brought her autistic child to a restaurant and all went well until the child began banging on the table. A patron yelled to the mortified mom: "Can't you just shut that child up?"

 

Mrs. Rock, the mother of an autistic child, is the president of Pathfinders for Autism, an 8-year-old Maryland organization that was founded by Orioles Hall of Fame ballplayer B. J. Surhoff and his wife, Polly Winde Surhoff, parents to an autistic child.

 

Along with Maryland State Delegates Karen Montgomery of District 14, James King from District 33A, and Speaker of the House Michael E. Busch, were parents of autistic children like Brian Mund and Glenn Carr, both parents of autistic teenagers.

 

They were at the restaurant to celebrate the announcement that Rockfish will be hosting "Austism Awareness Nights" on the third Tuesday of each month, beginning Feb. 19.

 

Del. King, one of the owners of Rockfish, noted a menu offering several items that are either gluten or casein-free will help to accommodate autistic individuals with restricted diets. The background music will be turned down to reduce sensory overload and a quiet room will be available in case it is needed.

 

Mrs. Montgomery, who represents "the poor side of Montgomery county," has a son, Richard, 48, who is autistic.

 

"He is working with supported employment and in housing with two other men and an advisor. Community Services for Autistic Adults and Children proved to be the best place for him," she said."As a child, he was called every term in the book: schizo, retarded, you name it. As a teacher, over time I noticed that white kids were called autistic and the black kids were called retarded. When kids are different and sometimes disruptive, the technique is to shut them up. With properly trained instructors and other specialists, you get better results. My son would be doing much better today, if things available now were available then."

 

"It's about acceptance and understanding," said Mrs. Rock. "It's about helping loved ones enjoy all the experiences everyone else enjoys."

 

Mr. King heard of an initiative in New Jersey and decided to offer a similar evening at Rockfish. He'd also seen a segment on "Dateline" and was "moved by the numbers. I was blown away, I didn't know the numbers of autistics were that staggering. I don't think the public is aware how many kids have autism."

 

Mr. Busch pointed out: "20 years ago, autism was diagnosed in one out of 20,000 children." In 2005, there were 551 autistic children in Anne Arundel County Schools and 5,288 throughout the state. There were only 260 statewide in 1993.

 

"It's important for individuals and families, particularly those who don't have autistic children, to understand the confines of the illness," Mr. Busch said.

 

"I want to provide an environment for families with autistic children to feel welcome," Mr. King said. "I'm working with the chef on menu items for those on restricted diets. It'll be five or six items. We're learning and we hope to grow that menu and provide a variety of things."

 

Eventually he plans to expand it to his other restaurant, Kaufmann's of Gambrills. He has an interest in several other restaurants in Georgetown and Washington and may incorporate the evenings there, too.

 

"So, you will only have to travel 25 to 30 minutes in Maryland to find a restaurant where you will feel comfortable."

 

He noted his staff is excited about the program, as "we all know someone who has a child with autism."

 

Mr. King announced that 10 percent of proceeds on those evenings would be donated to Pathfinders.

 

A chef brought out a tray of dishes from the regular lunch menu: shrimp with sauce, Caesar salad, pasta with grated cheese, and cream of tomato soup. With a few tweaks, the food could be gluten or casein free. The pasta could be substituted with a rice-based pasta; there are non-dairy substitutes for the cream in the cream of tomato soup and the grated cheese on the Caesar salad. The salad's croutons, similarly, could be produced from bread baked with rice or soy flour.

 

"It's challenging to find ingredients that are safe," Mr. King said, "But we hope to add to the menu every month."

 

Mr. Carr recalled the first time he took his only child, Susanna, to a restaurant. "It was a Chinese restaurant. She hadn't been diagnosed as autistic yet. She was petrified because they put us in a small room. We had to leave before we could order. Rockfish is nice and open. She'll probably like it here."

 

"Even the simplest things can be a challenge," noted Mr. Surhoff. "When you take autistic kids to dinner, is it going to work? Will the kid like the food? Will the staff and other customers understand? Many kids with autism are non-verbal and have their own way of communicating."

 

"My son is a teenager now and he's able to order his own food," he added proudly.

 

"When my child was diagnosed, he was considered only one in 10,000 who had autism. We thought that was high. Now, it's one in 150. Doctors are much better at making diagnoses of autism today," the former ballplayer said.

 

He pointed out Pathfinders had made arrangements with the National Aquarium and Port Discovery, both in Baltimore, to offer tours that are "friendly to autistic children."

 

He hopes Rockfish's decision to offer "Autism Awareness Nights" will be "a stepping stone for people around the state to do the same thing."