5K Walk for Autism to benefit conference
By Kristin McAllister 
Staff Writer
Thursday, March 27, 2008
MORAINE — To spend even one hour with 6-year-old Adam Koeppl is to watch an engaging, artistic little boy who loves to give hugs — really big hugs.
Adam, with the huge toothless smile and whose artwork of Thomas The Tank Engine is on the T-shirt for the April 19 Dayton Autism Society's first Walk for Autism, has Asperger's Syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism.
His parents, Shelli Mendel-Koeppl and Dan Koeppl, a captain stationed at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base, learned of Adam's autism when he just 2, following a difficult birth in which Adam's heart rate dropped to 20 beats per minute because his umbilical cord was wrapped four times around his neck, depriving him of oxygen.
Though he recovered, the Koeppl's had a feeling their little boy was different in some way.
"He was a late bloomer with the crawling aspect of it," said Dan Koeppl.
"He drug himself instead of crawling. He was a later walker and a later talker."
But it wasn't until a pediatrician friend of Dan's noticed certain behaviors of Adam and brought his concern to the couple's attention.
After going head-to-head with school officials in Charleston, S.C., where the family was stationed, and Adam was misdiagnosed with primary disruptive disorder, a state test finally determined that Adam had autism.
Armed with a diagnosis, the couple said they could then take steps to help their son.
Becoming involved with the Dayton Autism Society was one way. Another was having Adam assigned to paraprofessional aid Sherry Harris, who works daily with him at school.
"If he didn't have her," said Adam's mom, "I don't think that he would be able to be as far along as he is."
In the classroom, Adam has acclimated well, said Lori Schiavone, his first-grade teacher at Gardens Elementary in Riverside.
"He doesn't like change, so we have a visual schedule he follows every day, and he adheres to that" she said.
Adam also works well with other students, Schiavone said.
A burst of "I love to draw" from Adam and he's all smiles again, working on another drawing of Thomas.
Most important is education and awareness, all agreed, including autism walk organizer Nancy Bernotaitis, whose 10-year-old son, Sam, also has autism and is a fourth-grader in the West Carrollton School District.
"It's a denial thing, too," said Dan Koeppl. "It's a bitter pill to swallow to say, 'Hey, my child doesn't function the same way as normal kids do and will he be able to go out run, play baseball and football, and all the stuff the other kids do?' Hopefully, one day."
Money raised from the walk, which is intended to become an annual event, will go toward a parent information conference the Dayton Autism Society plans to hold before the start of school this fall.
"We want to educate parents about what their options are for education, therapy, treatment and financially," Bernotaitis said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-9338 or kmcallister@DaytonDailyNews.com. |
