Light it Up Blue: Rochester parent, teachers raise autism awareness

Apr 2, 2013

When her son Joey was 18 months old, Rochester resident Colleen Hathaway said she knew he was regressing in his development.

“He has a twin and they were right on track, but then he started going back,” Hathaway said. “He would bang his head a lot, be spinning a lot, and he was not progressing verbally. He spent a lot of time in his room by himself just looking at his books.”

Last year, an evaluation from the doctors confirmed her suspicion - Joey is autistic.

Now 3-years-old, Joey is a Project Grow preschool student at Rochester Memorial School.

Since Joey’s diagnosis, Hathaway has been an advocate for the neurological developmental disorder that impairs social interaction and communication skills.

“I think it’s really important that people know he has autism and that they know about autism in general,” Hathaway said. “People might look at him as a bad child – he sometimes bites, he yells, and he acts out. It’s important that other parents and the children in his class know why he acts the way he does. He’s not a brat.”

With four other children under the age of 10 (Jessie, 3, Madison, 4, Austin, 6, and Dylan, 10), Hathaway said she does her best to explain to her children how Joey’s condition affects his behavior.

“All his brothers and sisters enjoy showing their love for Joey,” she said. “They all know his brain works differently. It’s not a bad thing. It’s just different. They’re really good with him. If he needs something, they try to help.”

To raise awareness, Hathaway turned to Joey’s preschool teacher Tara Nelson. In honor of the sixth annual World Autism Awareness Day on April 2, Nelson proclaimed the day’s theme of “Light it Up Blue.”

The preschoolers were asked to wear blue, the teachers read to the students about how autism affects kids, and Hathaway baked special treats for the kids – sugar cookies shaped like puzzle pieces, the symbol used to represent the complexity of the disorder.

“Colleen has been a big advocate of autism,” Nelson said. “I like to take the lead from the parents. We have students in the class with autism, but a lot of people probably don’t know about it. I’d like to bring awareness to the community.”

Although they are all under the age of 5, Joey’s classmates look out for him, Nelson said.

“They know that kids with autism like routine and structure. They don’t like change. The kids will talk about it on their level. We say how he has a hard time waiting. They get it,” Nelson said.

Since his diagnosis, Joey has received help from speech and occupational therapists as well as his preschool teachers.

Of the school, Hathaway said, “The school has been amazing. I was nervous sending him because, before this year, he had been at home with me. But, everyone at the school is amazing. He loves his teachers. They come up with different strategies and ideas about what might work.”