| View Blog
|
|
|
Jeff Donohoo, a 36-year-old man with autism, is relatively successful in his life. Because much was not known about the disorder until recently, Donohoo was not diagnosed until his freshman year of high school.
Donohoo’s story, however, can give help to parents with autistic children. Donohoo’s mother, Nancy, worked throughout his childhood in helping him talk and interact with people his age. He entered the first grade as a special education student and carried on the with the special education system in Florence, Alabama until he was in the sixth grade.
Nancy had suspicions about his conditions. “When he was little, I had watched a ‘Marcus Welby’ show, and they had an autistic child on there. But he was very passive; he said in the corner and just hit things. Jeff was wild. He was the opposite, so I just assumed he couldn’t be autistic,” she said.
Donohoo now lives with his parents and lives by a strict and routine schedule. Starting his day at 5 a.m. he makes himself breakfast and at 6 a.m. Nancy drives him to Memorial Hospital, where he has worked in the cafeteria for 16 years. He is a dependable and valuable worker. After work he works out for about three hours with his mother at the YMCA, and then after fixes himself dinner, and often looks at the Atlanta Braves statistics. Donohoo does not like interruptions in his routine because they can pose a challenge to him. He has an appreciation for cooking and baking, and when it comes to the Braves he has no problems talking about them.
Donohoo has come far from being a child undiagnosed with autism until his high school years. It seems that Nancy has done the right things in working to socialize Donohoo. His story gives hope.
|
|
Posted by jstied1 on 2008-04-01 16:59:00 | Rating: | Views: 18
|
| |
|
|
