Autism Speaks
Advocates For More Programs And Research Story by Deborah Welky • Photos by Abner Pedraza
Autism is a neurological disorder that affects a person’s ability to communicate and socialize. One in 68 children has it, and the majority of those are boys. Symptoms begin to manifest themselves at around 18 months of age, said Wellington resident Denise Negron, who knows about autism firsthand. “My son Alejandro is 16 now, but when he was about 2, he was developing normally, and suddenly we lost him completely,” Negron recalled. “He stopped looking us in the eyes. He stopped talking. We’d call him, and he wouldn’t listen.” Alarmed, Negron took him to the doctor and was told he was “developmentally delayed” and perhaps “confused,” due to the bilingual nature of her home. She didn’t agree with that diagnosis, and discussed the matter further with the School District of Palm Beach County when registering him for pre-kindergarten at age 3. “They were the ones who told us he had autism,” Negron said. “Most families get ‘developmentally delayed’ as a first diagnosis, but the school district had us fill out a questionnaire and did a psychological evaluation. Afterward, they asked us to go to a pediatrician to confirm the diagnosis, because every case is different.” 70
october 2015 | wellington the magazine
Autism Speaks Community Development Associate Denise Negron.
Autism is generally inherent in a person’s DNA, and through further discovery, Negron realized that she had nine cases of it in her own extended family. Today, she works as a community development associate for the Palm Beach County chapter of the national organization Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks was founded in 2005 by parttime Palm Beachers Bob and Suzanne Wright, who have a grandchild with autism. The group works hard to raise money, and more than 71 cents of every dollar raised goes to finance research, advocacy and awareness-raising programs. “Early intervention is key for these children,” Negron said. “They need speech therapy, personal therapy, several therapies, and the longer they are in therapy, the better they perform in the future. Our mission is to change the future for all who struggle with autism spectrum disorders.” Autism Speaks aims to bring the autism com-