Support group believes in children with autism

The small boys were hanging out by a spigot at the H. Odell Weeks Activities Center, filling water balloons, laughing a lot and shedding a tear or two occasionally when a dollop of water caught them unexpectedly.

Just a group of kids having a good time, and that was the point. Most of the boys have autism and were accompanied by siblings and their parents for a picnic of the "Believe" autism support group.

Parent Jaime Hansen, mother of Alex, coordinates the support program with Heather Shuler. After taking over from founder Denice Stout above five years ago, Hansen came up with the name after attending a national autism conference.

"People talked about believing in your child, believing he can get better," she said. "I really liked that. This group has meant a lot. It's not about sob stories, and, although life is hard sometimes, there are ways we can make it better. We have two or three events like this a year where it's not all about therapy and work. It's an environment where the kids are safe and no one has to apologize."

Tonya and Jason Noble of North Augusta had tried traditional camps for their two younger sons, but camp leaders found it too difficult to meet the boys' needs. Tonya was thrilled when she brought the boys to Cedar Creek Church-based Camp Puzzle Palooza in June - a day program targeting children with autism. She heard from Shuler about the support group and, with her husband, brought the boys to the picnic.

"This is like a second family," she said. "Everyone is more light-hearted about things. It's harder to be around people who don't understand the boys."

Stout started the original group in 1998 when her son Dustin was about a year old. He now attends Kennedy Middle School, and Stout remains active with the program.

"We like to see more families that we can't reach all the time," she said. "We're all looking for people to look after the kids so the moms can come out. There are some single moms who are afraid to try. We just want all kids to join us, not just the ones who behave well."

"Believe" holds monthly support meetings several times each year. The next session is scheduled at South Aiken Presbyterian Church's fellowship hall Saturday, Sept. 4 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. The topic will be "families and schools working together for the success of our children."

For contact and additional information, visit www.believeinautism.org.