Device helps autistics learn more
ISNOQl’ALMJF. Wash CAP)
— With a single glam «*, Kevin
Verity can memorize numer
u al liar i odes from gnx fries
then retail them days later
without error He reads at
lightning speed, even when the tiooL he's looking
at is upside down.
But when it comes to telling his mother how he
fools or explaining the root of his disturbing emo
tional outbursts, the 17 war-old runs into frustrnt
mg obstai les thrown up bv autism, a nourologu al
disorder he has suffered from all his life
Now. thunks to a community fund raising effort.
Kevin owns a tool his family hopes will units k iso
lated parts of lus mind and personality The device,
called a communicator, is a smalt, hand-held com
puter with a miniature printer in it that churns out
a continuous, thin strip of paper The Kastside Ser
torna Club. a local servit e organization. raised moo
ey for the $1,500 device in March. Kevin got the
tom mu nit ator a few weeks later
Tins is a godsend,” saiti Kevin's mother. Janet
Verity of Snoqualtnie. To me. it's my son's voice
Kevin cun talk, but he usually communicates
bv repealing slogans frtim television commercials
or verbatim dialogue from his favorite movies It s
the autistic bov's wav of speaking while still with
drawing into himself, saiti Marov McCarthy, a spe
tint education in strut tur at a t linit: on Vashon Islantl
where Kevin Tirst used a communicator last war
Typing seems to lie an easier way for him to focus
on his thoughts than speaking
Kven on the communicator. Kevin often starts hv
typing a rapid-fire stream of product sales pitch
es.
But a few gems of Kevin’s thoughts .inti feelings
luive emerged on the strips of paper spit out by the
comtmmii ator. said his mother, who sits with Kevin
and plm es one hand on his to give him confidence
and assistance when he uses the devit e
One day. lor instance. Kevin came home from
si hool extremely upset. In between typing tom
men ials, Kevin suddenly pecked out "hard day'
when his mother asked why he was so agitated
bast year, when he first liegan to use u commu
nicator. Kev in revealed he likes mystery books He
also said that the spei ml music therapy he was
ret eiving at the time made his ears h-el "worn out
For his parents, who alvvavs have had to guess what
Kevin felt, the < ommunit ation was a miracle
"I'm happy vv ith that because these are the most
words my son has ever said in Ins life." Janet Ver
‘This is a godsend. To me, it’s
my son’s voice.’
Janet Verity
mother of>iutist>c fv>y
tty said,
Autistii people like Kevin have a rare disorder
that impairs their ability to adapt to their environ
ment and relate to other people Dot,tors think
autism may lie related to a chemical iinbalatu e that
afhs ts the transmission of nerve impulses
In a wav. autistic* are trapped in a stale of infor
mation overload They can be overwhelmed bv
hat kground noises the rest of us ignore Colors,
smells, sounds and lights, the stimuli that surrounds
us. Tills their heads with an unbearable dm To t ope
with the overstimulation, some autistii s tot us lor
hours on an inanimate ohji* t and don't sjesik at all
Others withdraw into rigid patterns of repealed
behaviors
I’artii tilar sounds like coffee [H»n:olating, the
whisper hiss of other people breathing, fluorest ent
lights buzzing in a store drive Kevin into a fren
zy. his mother said He wears earplugs almost all
of the time to filter out the noise
Any interruption in Ins daily routine can set off
frightening fits in whit h Kevin m reams, yells and
strikes himself He i an’! even eat unless every si it
gle item at Ins place setting is exai tlv where it
belongs Once, when she w.is running late. Janet
Verity made Kevin deviate from lus morning rt
men and take a shower tie for** he had breakfast
"All hell broke loose.” she said His whole day
w as shot
Kevin yy is diagnosed v\ ith autism when he w is
three years old A doctor told lane! \erilv that the
family should put Kevin in an institution he< iuse
he'd never learn to ( are lor himself
"lie said Kevin would never tie his shoes, nev
er lie potty-trained. Kevin would never, never, nev
er." Verity said "We went out of that ofTn e so fast
I never returned to that doctor."
Key ill did learn to take t are of himself, but be
( an t be left alone 1 Vspite Ins obv ions intelligence
and dexterity in math and reading. Kevin doesn't
recognize dangers in everyday a< turns, like i ross
illg the street
"It s the simple little things he i an'l handle, his
mother said.
Summer hits state with vengeance
PORTLAND (AP) — "Summer
is here!” gushed u usually staid
meteorologist Monday as hot
weather and the prospect of
more to come finally pierced the
depressing gloom that has been
gripping Oregon.
And there's no rain in sight,
added George Miller, meteorolo
gist in charge of the National
Weather Servii e office
The tnercur> reached 100
degrees in Medford hy ! p m
Monday after hitting a swelter
ing 103 the day helore
Farther north, in Salem and
Portland, mid-afternoon temper
atures soared into the oils
After the second-wettest July
on record, summer hit Oregon
ysith a vengeance.
The heat and the drying
winds were doing wonders for
the rain-damaged wheat and
grass seed i rap ill tile
Willamette Valiev
"Ketnetnber when they were
talking about the millioudollar
rains that saved the wheat liar
vest east o( the Cascades during
the drought7 Well we've got the
million-dollar no rain that is
saving us from large grass seed
losses, said Mark Mellbye, an
Oregon State extension agent
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