Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007
When Debbie Wilson noticed her daughter’s lack of speech and eye contact at age 2, the family saw the beginning of hard times ahead.
Dayna Wilson, now 7, was diagnosed with autism. The diagnosis led Debbie and Dan Wilson on 100-plus mile trips and frustration – financial, time convenience of care and perception.
‘‘If you were to see my daughter Dayna and wonder why she’s screaming out in the middle of service or a mall, people tend to look at you funny when a child is throwing a tantrum,” said Dan Wilson of Reisterstown. ‘‘It’s not their fault. It’s something that’s upsetting them, and there’s no way of them telling you.”
The Wilsons hope to alleviate the hardships for families with children who have autism by opening the Avery Center in Eldersburg — a therapeutic day care center for children with autism, for children like their daughter Dayna Avery Wilson, after whom the center is named. The center, which is geared toward children ages 2-7, is set to open in late summer 2008.
The Wilsons first noticed the signs of autism when Dayna was 2 years old and attending the Goddard School in Eldersburg, where Debbie Wilson taught. The Goddard School offers education-based childcare with some locations having kindergarten and after-school activities.
‘‘[Debbie] could see the difference between what [Dayna] was doing and what she was supposed to be doing,” Dan Wilson said.
With that began traveling from school-to-school and specialist-to-specialist, finding a babysitter who understands how to interact with children who have autism, and trying to pay for it all on one income.
‘‘If there isn’t a childcare facility to take children with autism, what you end up doing is bringing them to various separate schools,” Wilson said.
Dayna attends a school out of her district — Hernwood Elementary School in Randallstown, which has a program for children who have autism, in addition to seeing a therapist and specialists.
To stop that cycle of going from place-to-place, Dan Wilson teamed up with longtime friend Alec Yeo of Mount Airy, who owns the Eldersburg Goddard School, to create the Avery Center as a one-stop center.
Yeo said he noticed the toll travelling and searching for answers took on the Wilsons, adding that he hopes the center will offer support for families to make life easier.
‘‘The biggest thing we’re able to do is to be a single-source place where we can provide everything from parent-to-parent support, marital counseling, financial counseling, and what to do if your pediatrician thinks your child might have autism,” he said.
Now, Carroll residents can go to Get Connected Family Resource Center, 255 Clifton Blvd., Suite 204, Westminster.
Get Connected opened this year and provides assistance to parents and children who have disabilities by helping them get resources they need, said Rita Zimmerman, county’s deputy director of citizen services.
The Avery Center will place children in a classroom setting, with its goal of five children in each class for one-on-one lessons, Wilson said. Children will be grouped according to ability, he added.
Wilson’s goal is to have 20 children enrolled with no more than 40 children to maintain manageable class sizes.
Children will receive occupational, speech and language therapy throughout the day, he said.
Dan Wilson said he and his wife are by no means experts; their mission is to hire a director and staff by January that know the needs of children with autism that can develop programs for the center.
The Avery Center will be housed in the Goddard School, 2028 Liberty Road, Eldersburg. The Goddard School will move to its expanded location next door on Habitat Road in early summer 2008.
Wilson anticipates the cost of tuition will be $500 per month. He’s looking to gain corporate sponsors where businesses can sponsor a child for $37,000 a year. ‘‘That would pay for specialized childcare, therapy and teachers,” he said.
Yeo said the center is seeking donations to help open its doors and pay for staff. Donations can be made online at www.theaverycenter.org.
