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A Parent Commits to Spreading Autism Awareness

Even with a limited understanding of autism back in the 1980s, N. Kay Morrison, knew there was something amiss in the early development of her son, Kyle, born in 1987. She consulted with several specialists, but it wasn't until Kyle was 9 years old that he was definitively diagnosed with high-functioning autism.

While it was delayed, once Kyle was diagnosed, Dr. Morrison, director of PAMF’s Travel Clinic and occupational medicine services in Sunnyvale, took advantage of available community resources to help him. Kyle received social-skills training with a speech-language pathologist and benefited from other services available through the San Andreas Regional Center.

In June 2006, Kyle graduated from Harbor High School in Santa Cruz with his diploma – a major accomplishment for a young man with his disabilities. On the night of Kyle's Senior Prom, Dr. Morrison received an unexpected phone call from her son. "He said, 'Mom! Mom! They voted me Prom King!'" she recalled.

At first, Dr. Morrison thought that the same kids who had teased Kyle all through middle school had played a mean trick on him. So, she drove to the prom to see for herself. "There was nothing but love in their eyes," she said of Kyle's classmates. "I can't tell you how grateful I was to those kids for embracing my son for who he was." Kyle wore his "Prom King" crown to school the following Monday, and it remains one of his proudest possessions.

In April 2008, Kyle started his first job at a local retail chain store, where he was the official greeter at the store's grand opening. At the same time, Dr. Morrison funded an educational project on autism at PAMF in an effort to empower parents like herself.

"All parents want to help their child be the very best person he or she can be," she said. "Even as a physician, it was difficult for me to find the right knowledge and my experience made me appreciate how important it is to clearly understand what's causing developmental delays."

The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates that about one in 150 children is diagnosed with one of many forms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Because pediatricians are the first point of contact for parents, it is important that they are able to recognize ASD symptoms so they can refer families to a specialist for a definitive diagnosis.

Since early 2008, informational packets on autism have been placed in the pediatric offices of PAMF’s Mountain View Center, including booklets created by the American Academy of Pediatrics and purchased with Dr. Morrison's funds. "Through these gifts, I can participate in educating other parents, with the hope that autistic people of any age will be more fully embraced and we can live together in a more tolerant world," she said.

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