Autism center to begin fund drive

The center services children with autism and special needs.
By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Nine-year-old Kyle Merkich may be able to say few words, but don't tell his parents or teachers that he hasn't made great strides.
"He knows a lot of commands and gets his own cereal, and he gets dressed and undressed and showers on his own," said Chuck Merkich, Kyle's father.
Many youngsters and their parents would perhaps take such tasks for granted, but Kyle isn't a typical 9-year-old. At age 3, he was diagnosed with Pervasive Development Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified, one of several disorders on the autism spectrum.
PDD-NOS, like autism, features repetition as well as speech and language delays, but without the full symptoms of autism. Roughly one out of 150 births in the U.S. results in a child's being placed on the autism spectrum, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
Despite his reading and speech delays, Kyle, who has attended Potential Development Center on West Woodland Avenue since age 4, has shown improvements over the last few months in four or five key areas, noted Marilyn Fielding, a teacher and Potential Development's special education coordinator. The center serves about 50 children with autism and special needs from kindergarten through eighth grade.
Progress report
Every three months, Kyle gets a progress report as part of his individual education plan, and his most recent report showed improvements in recognizing sight words, beginning sounds of words, identifying pictures of common objects and the days of the week. He also has taken alternative versions of proficiency tests to get him to a third-grade level academically, Fielding explained.
"We try to teach subjects [like math, reading and social studies] , but adapt them to the child's needs," she added.
Merkich and Kyle's mother, Marsha Bach, both of Austintown, said many of the improvements Kyle has made in school also are reflected in his life at home. With little or no prompting, for example, he completes various tasks, puts toys and other items away when he's finished with them and has become more independent. His eye contact also has gotten better, his parents say.
Kyle also has developed interests in soccer, bowling and video games, said Bach, a server at Ellido Inc., an Austintown restaurant.
Despite the availability of more knowledge and information about autism in recent years, certain misconceptions persist, she noted.
"A lot of people still think that autism is retardation. They feel sorry for me, and they think 'It must be so hard.' He's a blessing," Bach said of her son.
In efforts to raise more awareness of the disability, April is Autism Awareness Month. It's also when the center will kick off its annual fund-raising direct-mailing campaign beginning Sunday.
As part of those efforts, staff from the center will be available from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday at CiCi's Pizza in the Shops at Boardman Park. During those hours, customers can drop their receipts into a box, and 10 percent of the amount will go to the center, explained Paul Garchar, executive director.
Garchar said he hopes to raise money to build a 4,000-square-foot addition to the center. He said the addition is estimated to cost 500,000.