creston
News Advertiser MONDAY, APRIL 6, 2015
MAD DASH: A section of five- and six-year-old children break into a run at the start of the 2015 Easter egg hunt sponsored by Creston Fire Department at McKinley Park Saturday morning in Creston. (CNA photo by JAKE WADDINGHAM)
The focus of the final legislative coffee: Education By KYLE WILSON
CNA managing editor kwilson@crestonnews.com
Education spending. Education effectiveness. Common Core abolishment. Education was easily the focus of discussion at the final Creston Chamber of Commerce legislative coffee for 2015 held Saturday morning with Iowa Sen. Tom Shipley and Rep. Jack Drake at the restored Creston Depot. Judith Wachter, school board member at East Union School District, kicked off discussion Saturday requesting lawmakers approve the proposed 4 percent increase in state school aid for 2015-16. She said the additional funding is necessary, particularly at smaller school districts in southwest Iowa. “We have a very good school district, very good teachers and it would be awful to have to lose any of them or have to make the classes bigger or lose any of the programs,” Wachter said. She added there was a time this school year when there wasn’t money available to purchase copy paper at East Union’s elementary. As of today, lawmakers are still at odds at where to set the increase. Democrats have lowered their proposal from 4 percent down to 2.6 percent, but Republicans have rejected the offer. Republicans are firm in their proposal of a 1.25 percent increase. Time is running short, though, as school districts must have their budgets certified by April 15. Drake reiterated Saturday that K-12 education funding in Iowa has increased almost 22 percent over the past five years, which later led Please see COFFEE, Page 2
CNA photo by JAKE WADDINGHAM
Sarah Jones, 1, carries a basket full of candy after a successful Easter egg hunt Saturday morning at McKinley Park in Creston.
‘They’re different, not less’ Afton family raises autistic child, awareness of autism ■
By BAILEY POOLMAN CNA staff reporter
bpoolman@crestonnews.com
AFTON — Every day, Tiffany Hill of Afton helps her son Collin out of bed, gives him breakfast and takes him to school at East Union Early Childhood Center. She picks him up at the end of the school day and takes him home, where he has an after-school snack, does his own thing, takes a bath and goes to bed. Collin, 4, is a normal child in most ways. Except, he is autistic. “It’s a social disorder, basically. He’s nonverbal. He doesn’t speak,” Hill said. “They’re different. There’s a saying that you see all the time: that they’re different, not less.” Autism, in the broad sense, is a disorder that affects the growth and development of the brain and central nervous system. The disorder is caused by both genetic susceptibility and environmental factors. Diagnosis Hill began noticing the signs when Collin was 18 months old, when he began lining up his toys instead of playing with them. “In the bath, he would line up his rubber ducks all along the edge of the tub,” Hill said. “And, of course, the no talking. By 18 months, he should have been showing some kind of babbling at least, and he really didn’t do any of that.” Symptoms are usually noticed in a child’s early years, when signs typically develop gradually. Children with a form of autism have impaired social interactions, verbal and nonverbal communication and restricted or repetitive behavior. Hill and her husband Jeff saw a doctor, who suggested the couple talk to someone at Green Hills Area Education Agency (AEA). Someone from the AEA visited the family, discussed possibilities and set up more meetings with the Hills. “They couldn’t give a diagnosis themselves, but they led us in the direction of seeing a doctor, which he couldn’t be seen until he was two,” Hill said. The family was referred to a child health specialty clinic in Creston before being referred to a doctor at Blank
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Volume 131 No. 219
Collin Hill joins his family during the 2014 walk for autism in Creston. Pictured, from left, are Collin atop the shoulders of Dan Fulton of Creston, Collin’s mother Heather Hill, Lexi Schmitz and Alissa Schmitz, both of Afton, and father Jeff Hill.
2014
Children’s Hospital in Des Moines after Collin turned two years old. “That’s when we got his official diagnosis,” Hill said. “I was sad, and I was upset for him. It still bothers me.” Collin is high functioning, and is able to do anything other people can do. Hill said her husband has been supportive since the diagnosis two years ago, maintaining the mindset that Collin is who he is. “Although I hated the diagnosis, we wouldn’t change him for the world,” Hill said. “I want to hear his voice most, and I hold hope that one day I will, but until then, the love he shows us in other ways is what matters.” Changes According to Hill, there were very few changes in the Hill household once Collin was officially diagnosed. By the time of Collin’s diagnosis, his siblings Ethan Hill, 22, of California and Brittany Paxson, 20, of Afton were no longer living at home. “It’s just the normal for us because our other kids don’t live in the house, and it’s not that we had to adjust to anything, really,” Hill said. “It was just the norm. There wasn’t really anything to adjust to. I’ve been a stay-athome mom with him ever since he was born, so I feel like if I had been at work, there would have been more change.” While Hill said there are not many resources in Afton for families with autistic children to turn to, there has been a positive in the situation. “The preschool over in
If you do not receive your CNA by 5 p.m. call 641-782-2141, ext. 6450. Papers will be redelivered in Creston until 6:30 p.m. Phones will be answered until 7 p.m.
Please see HILL, Page 2
Contributed photo
Collin Hill rides a tricycle in his backyard in summer 2014 in Afton.
Autism fundraiser scheduled Saturday The third-annual puzzle walk and 5K will be held Saturday at Creston High School. The event, which is hosted by Autism Society of Iowa, begins at 9 a.m. with walk-in registration and packet pick up in the high school gymnasium. At 9:30 a.m., the opening ceremony will begin and include a balloon release and awareness lap around the high school track. The walk and 5K will begin at 10 a.m. “It’s more of an awareness walk and 5K,” said
Jennifer James, Autism Society of Iowa board member. “We’re mostly just trying to spread awareness of autism.” April is autism awareness month, and Thursday was World Autism Awareness Day. Other events that support autism awareness include wearing the color blue and the “light it up blue” event, where people show off blue lights in support. Please see 5K, Page 2
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