Horace Mann - Winter 2012 - (Page 14)

celebrating 125 years: preparing great and giving lives Bill Davis ’70: Advocating for Autism, today and for the future in toys, went limp or screamed when touched, and stared at the ceiling fan for hours. The year was 1997. U.S. center for Disease control and prevention (cDc) statistics on children with autism date back only to 1998, when nine in 1,000 was the number of children on the autism Spectrum Disorder (aSD) definition. Some attribute the increase to greater awareness of autism and the increased ability to diagnose it. but, when bill and his late wife Jae Davis began investigating the profound changes in chris’ behavior, it was only their own reading that led them to associate their son’s symptoms with autism. When their pediatrician cautioned against jumping to conclusions, they sought answers from psychiatrists, neurologists, and audiologists—paying for these costly consultations out of pocket because they had no insurance. bill and Jae were surprised to learn there was no medical test for autism, only a checklist of warning signs. finally, when chris was 3½, a diagnosis at children’s Hospital of philadelphia confirmed their belief. from personAl strife to public service The ensuing years were marked by persistent battles to find services, treatment and educational opportunities for chris, a difficult task then, in the area of pennsylvania where the Davis family lived. eventually, the parents decided to educate chris at home. formerly working as a bartender (bill) and a manicurist (Jae) the two became serious students of the special needs options for their son, and adept at adapting the latest educational materials to chris’ temperament and considerable intellect. bill chronicled this struggle to obtain resources for chris in his 2001 book Breaking Autism’s Barriers: A Father’s Story. The book described bill and Jae’s efforts at a time when school officials and even pediatricians told bill to “bring a book” explaining autism, because few had heard of it. “one school wanted to put chris in a class for deaf children because he didn’t speak,” said Davis. “a woman who read about chris told me ‘i didn’t know your son was acoustic.’” Breaking Autism’s Barriers also recounted efforts to pass the advancement in pediatric autism act, which called for establishing autism resource centers around the country where parents could find needed information. passed in 2000, the bill never became law. That’s where the “great and giving” chapter of bill Davis’ life kicks in. parenting an autistic child is a challenge. add to that educating him at home, and advocating on his or her behalf to school and government officials, while trying to support a family. for bill Davis, the mission he began for his son quickly extended to others facing similar struggles. Davis published Breaking Autism’s Barriers when few autism books from a personal perspective were available. a notable exception was Dr. Temple Grandin’s famous memoir. it was while reading Dr. Grandin’s recollection of the hours he spent watching sand grains fall that Davis said he “looked over at chris, sitting in a sand box sifting sand through his fingers and staring. That’s when i really knew.” Davis’ first book covered every facet of life with a child with autism, including pottytraining, aggression, family support, effective education and finances, “to enable others to understand autism and its day-to-day challenges,” Davis wrote. for many parents the book provided the comfort of knowing they were not alone, wrote one reviewer. How was bill Davis able to make the transition from a self-described “guy who got into a lot of things back then” to an advocate on behalf of others? How did someone whose email address is “irishpunkbd” become a crusader? and, what inner resources did bill draw upon to translate his family’s own tumult into reassurance to so many? bill says the motive was always his love for chris, his “great friend.” “i wasn’t really into school when i was a kid, but i had some memorable experiences in my creative writing and art classes,” said the barnard alumnus. “My teachers encouraged me to write. i didn’t because i was going n September 2011 the New York Times reported on “the 200,000 autistic teenagers set to come of age in the United States over the next five years,” noting, “little is known about their ability to participate fully in public life, or what it would take to accommodate them.” bill Davis ’70 has a few ideas. Davis is an experienced advocate on behalf of people with autism, a lifelong developmental disorder caused by an abnormality of the brain. He is also an important voice in efforts to plan for the future of these young people. With his 2009 book Autism Tomorrow: The Complete Guide to Help Your Child in the Real World (http://autismtomorrow.com) Davis and co-author Karen Simmons were ahead of that New York Times article. but then, Davis has long been ahead of his time when it comes to autism. He’s had to be. His son chris, a young man with autism, has been the focus of Davis’ life, even through major family upheavals. That’s another chapter of bill Davis’ “you can’t make this up” life story. like many autistic children, chris Davis developed normally. Then, at around age 2½, he stopped speaking and eating, lost interest i 14 Horace mann magazine Winter 2012 http://autismtomorrow.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Horace Mann - Winter 2012

Horace Mann - Winter 2012
Contents
Letters
Greetings from Dr. Tom Kelly
Greetings from Melissa Parento ’90
Horace Mann School’s 125th Anniversary Observances Begin
Strategic Thinking
New Initiatives in Institutional Research and Admissions
HM's New Director of College Counseling
Timothy HO and Monica Merlo are 2011 Tina and Dave Bellet Teaching Excellence Award Winners
Langfan Oratorical Contest, 2011
Horace Mann School Graduates 178 in June, 2011
Alumni Council Corner
Bookshelf
Class Notes
Memorials
Philanthropy and You

Horace Mann - Winter 2012