BY Nicole Caropolo Special to the Suncoast News
Published: September 20, 2013
TRINITY A support group for people in the community who have been impacted by family and loved ones with Autism and other neurological disorders welcomed a nationally-recognized expert to their monthly meeting last week.
The Sept. 11 meeting of the group Helping HANDS, featured David Berger, a pediatrician at Wholistic Pediatrics and Family Care in Tampa. He also specializes in biomedical therapies as well as treatment for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, autism and other related disorders.
Helping HANDS the acronym stands for Hope for Autism and Neurological Disorders is a community support group for parents, family members, and friends impacted by autism and related neurological disorders such as Tourettes syndrome, sensory processing disorder, ADHD, Aspergers syndrome or other autism spectrum disorders. The group meets monthly at the Medical Center of Trinity to offer support and meet with various speakers.
Jonica Chittum, the founder of the group, said, Im not going to give up on autism awareness, until theres autism acceptance.
Chittum is the mother of 9-year-old son Mac, who has autism. She started the group because she felt there was a need for support and more information in the community with families with children who have special needs. The group began last May and has been meeting monthly ever since.
One of the most interesting parts of the group is the fact that adults with autism, Aspergers and similar disorders, take part in the discussion. Chittum said that one of the most amazing experiences is when a member with Aspergers, who has been coming for a year, talked for the first time in a meeting.
When members would ask questions, she would give her opinion. Eventually, people were asking her questions directly.
She has this amazing insight into what our kids are thinking, Chittum said. If I could get anything in the world, it wouldnt be a million dollars. I wouldnt want to be the richest person or anything. It would be to be able to be in my kids brain for a couple of days.
Continued here:
Trinity support group welcomes autism specialist