Kelli Tencer noticed something 'different'

Kelli Tencer noticed something was different about her son, but couldn't get friends and family to notice.

"He would just go and go," the California, Pa., woman said. "It was like he was driven by a motor. I told friends and family, 'I'm concerned about his development,' but they would tell me 'no, this is the way little boys are. They're energetic.'"

Then she read some parenting literature about child development and realized there was reason for concern.

"I realized his language development was significantly delayed," Tencer said. "I thought, finally, I have proof. I'm not crazy."

The pamphlet contained a contact number for the Intermediate Unit.

Her son, Jim Muth, is 14. He has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Tencer took Jim to the Child Alert Program at the Phillipsburg School for early intervention services by the time he was 3.

Jim received speech and language services and began to speak. Still, she noticed he could not sit still and a lot of what he spoke was repetition.

"He could recite whole lines from 'Toy Story,' but could not carry on a normal conversation," Tencer said.

In addition to speech services, Jim benefited from socializing with other children.

"We lived in Daisytown," Tencer said of her residence at the time Jim was diagnosed. "There's not a lot of socialization in Daisytown."

Tencer said diagnosing Jim's disability and the efforts of early intervention were key to her son's progress in life.

Jim attended an autistic support class in the Bentworth School District from grades one through six because California area did not provide the service at the time. He repeated grade six when he arrived at California and attended a regular class.

Jim recently finished grade seven at California Area Middle School.

He is in a learning support program, which is mainstreamed within the regular education setting

Jim has a one-on-one, dedicated aid, an instructional support teacher who helps him to concentrate on the tasks at hand.

"Jim has a real hard time focusing," Tencer said. "It's hard to understand where the autism ends and ADD begins."

Like most autistic children, Muth has other health concerns. At age 10, he was also diagnosed with high blood pressure. In October, he began suffering from lower back pain. He also is being treated for possible tethered spine, a condition in which vertebrae of the spine grow faster and out of proportion to the spinal cord.

Jim likes to "play on" the computer, Tencer said. He is on his third computer, having crashed two so far, she said.

Jim talks about going to college, his mom said.

Jim is preoccupied with ceiling fans and loves to clean. Jim loves to watch game shows.

"He could talk to you about game shows for hours," Kelli Tencer said.

Tencer describes herself as someone who never gives up.

Parents of autistic children soon learn they must be their child's best advocate.

She is as comfortable as the diplomat in a business suit as she was traveling to Washington, D.C., to stand with 500 wheelchair-bound people to petition at the capital for increased government support.

Tencer is service coordinator for Tri-County Patriots for Independent Living.