FW: New York Child Learning Institute changed Queens autistic boy's life for the better

[Guest guest]

From: Tom P

Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2010 9:18 AM

To: Toast

Subject: New York Child Learning Institute changed Queens autistic boy's

life for the better

New York Child Learning

Institute changed Queens autistic boy's life for the better

Denis Hamill NY Daily News

Tuesday,

September 21st 2010, 4:00 AM

She knew something was wrong

with when he was 15 months old.

" We'd call his name and

he wouldn't answer, " says Liz Corrao, of Flushing.

" But our pediatrician put us off. He said he'd do a hearing test when he

was 2. But I knew there was nothing wrong with his hearing because if he heard

'Blues Clues,' on the TV in the other room he'd hurry to watch it. "

Corrao knew something else

was amiss.

" would walk

endlessly around a table and couldn't be redirected, " she says. " He

screamed a lot. He lost language. Then he stopped talking. "

Tests conducted by the city

Department of Health concluded that had autism spectrum disorder, a

neurodevelopment disorder characterized by social impairments, communication

difficulties and restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior.

" There is no actual test

for autism, but experts can detect many of the symptoms, " Corrao says.

" Some kids rock back and forth. Some have odd tics. Some spin. was

a flapper. He was considered mildly autistic. That life-changing moment came 11

years ago, in 2000. I went through hell trying to find the right school for my

son. "

Corrao knew nothing about

this mysterious, incurable disease, affecting one in 110 kids, with an

ever-increasing proportion that also baffles medical science. For many years a

mercury-based MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine called thimerosol was

suspected to be the cause of the recent autism explosion. However, new studies

by the Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention have ruled it out.

But as researchers toil in

laboratories, millions of parents like Liz Corrao deal with the initial shock

and daily challenge of raising an autistic child you love with all of your

broken heart.

" I started from scratch

researching this disease, " Corrao says. " I learned that autism is

more prevalent in boys than girls, and nobody knows why. But when it occurs in

a girl, it is usually more severe. Nobody knows why. I started searching for

preschools with autistic children. That's another challenge. "

In September 2000, she found

one school in Bayside where

there were eight autistic kids, of which would have been functionally

in the middle. " By this time I was pregnant again, which wasn't

planned, " she says. " I was worried about my unborn baby when

started preschool at age 3. Then I learned that three of the higher functioning

kids had transferred to another school. Now, was the highest

functioning kid in the class. Which meant he got less attention than the

others. "

Corrao would watch her child

through a window, mostly sitting by himself as teachers focused on more

severely autistic kids who simply needed more attention.

After six months, she

transferred to a Long Island City

school. Here, was relegated to the rear of the classroom. One of

's home teachers told Corrao that one of the schoolteachers had decided

that " would never go anywhere in life. " That home teacher

recommended that Corrao get into the New York Child Learning Institute,

or NYCLI, (pronounced 'nicely,') in College Point,

with which she was also affiliated.

" I was skeptical, "

Corrao says. " But after a week they had potty-trained. After six

months, he started talking again. One day, when I tried on a new dress, out of

nowhere my son said, 'You look pretty.' I wept with joy. "

One night, Liz and her

husband, a Navy pilot, discussed possible names for the new baby that they knew

would be a girl, in front of . " We mentioned girls' names from

's favorite cartoon show, 'Theodore Tugboat'

- , Caitlin,

. "

A week later, a teacher from

NYCLI asked Liz to come into the classroom where put his hand on his

mother's swollen belly and said, " Baby Caitlin. "

This, of course, became the

name of 's sister, who is not autistic.

's progress has been

steady and dramatic since attending NYCLI. He's become an expert on the

Titanic. He's learned basic life skills like how to use a washer and dryer,

vacuum a floor, pick up after himself. He can type 50 words a minute.

" The school has a

relationship with Met Foods on College

Point Blvd., where NYCLI kids stock shelves and clean floors, " Corrao

says.

" NYCLI taught to

take baby steps into a life. NYCLI has changed my life. But more importantly it

has changed 's. "

Corrao is actively involved

in autism fund-raising, such as Bedstock Benefit Concert for Autism in

Bedminster, N.J., on Oct. 2

featuring performers like the great Sebastian and Bouchelle, and the Autumn Dinner Dance at

Gargiulo's restaurant in Coney Island on Nov. 14, from which NYCLI

receives 25% of the proceeds.

Tickets can be purchased by

visiting www.NYCLI.org.