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Until he was a little over a year old, Mason Radcliffe was developing just fine.
Then one morning, his mother, Mary Phillips, realized something was not right.
"He got up one morning and forgot how to feed himself," Phillips said.
Soon after, it was discovered that Radcliffe was autistic.
In information provided by the Autism Society of America, autism is a developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life. Estimated to occur in as many as one in 500 individuals, it is the result of a neurological disorder that affects functioning of the brain. Autism is four times more prevalent in boys than girls.
Phillips looked for doctors to help her son. When Radcliffe was 3 years old, Phillips was told about the North Central Indiana Special Education Cooperative by a coworker.
"I was talking to a lady who told me about the NCISEC program. That was about in '96. I called them and they came out and interviewed Mason," Phillips said. "Mason (now) receives such things as speech therapy and physical therapy. If parents qualify, it's free."
Phillips said before she received help from the NCISEC, she looked around for a speech therapist to help Radcliffe. The cost of speech therapy for a 2- to 3-year-old averaged about $130 per hour.
Sandra Heff, NCISEC assistant director, said many services are provided by the NCISEC for many different students.
"We provide services to children with special education needs," she said. "That ranges from learning disabilities to moderate or mild handicaps to students with traumatic brain injuries."
"We also provide related services for students who need physical therapy or occupational therapy as it relates to the student's educational needs."
NCISEC has been operational for about 20 years, Heff said.
"At the co-op offices themselves, we may have (employees) with degrees in school psychology, teaching special education, administrative license and special education director's license," Heff said. "Outside the office, the workers who work directly with students may have a speech and language pathology degree, special education as a teacher, or a speech and hearing impairment teacher's degree."
Even though Radcliffe is making progress, Phillips said, people still are insensitive to her son. For example, she said, like most autistic children, Radcliffe suffers from occasional seizures which cause his hand to flop. When his hand flopping happens in a public place, people will look at them negatively or make rude comments, she said.
"I still, to this day, have people look at me and give me real snide comments," she said.
"I've heard people say this person is physically handicapped and they'll never go anywhere. They don't know how far (people with handicaps) can actually achieve."
There are still many people who open their hearts to Radcliffe, Phillips said.
Carolyn Delp is Radcliffe's teacher at Leesburg Elementary. In the morning, Radcliffe rides the bus to school. In the afternoon, Phillips said, "Mrs. Delp volunteers to drop him off from school."
Radcliffe is one of seven young children in the household. His relationships with his siblings are almost like any sibling relationships.
With seven children, Phillips said, it's very difficult to go anywhere, such as a support group. She said she finds her own support with a friend and talking to people like Delp. She also reads as much as she can about autism.
She said she learns as much as she can because of her love for her son and because she wants him to be the best that he can be.
"He's good at reading, he's good at counting, anything that has to do with numbers. He loves computers," she said.
"I just look for him to succeed and excel to the best of his abilities."
Heff said that as long as students like Radcliffe remain eligible under IDEA, they receive help. Currently, students age 3 to 22 are being provided with assistance at NCISEC.
Success, Heff said, is measured by students in a regular class with regular peers.
"We're not here to cure them, we're here to help them succeed in their educational environment," she said.
"We had a student, an adult, who stopped a teacher at Pizza Hut and reminded her who he was," she said. "He's now the head of his maintenance department, he has a family. He's on his own. That's the kind of stories that excite you."
