By Tim Hockett, For Peninsula Daily News
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is another in a series of articles on the Peninsula Home Fund. To donate, print out the coupon from the Home Fund link button at right and send it in with your contribution.
PORT ANGELES – Most people are pretty well prepared financially to deal with one, single crisis or major setback – a job loss, a few days in the hospital, the loss of a loved one, even a divorce.
But sometimes several issues fall on someone all at once.
It is then that hope turns to despair, and a sinking feeling of loss sets in.
That’s what happened to Anissa Zichella.
After two crises in her life, she was hit with a third.
“I noticed that Kevin, my son, was not responding like other kids,” Anissa recalls.
“He seemed to have various delays. He still wasn’t talking but was signing at the age of 3.
“When he was evaluated by a child development expert, we discovered it was autism.”
Autism is a severe developmental disorder that begins at birth or within the first two-and-a-half years of life.
Most autistic children are perfectly normal in appearance, but spend their time engaged in puzzling and disturbing behaviors which are markedly different from those of typical children.
While there is no cure, an individualized treatment plan designed to meet a child’s unique needs is essential and often includes special education and behavioral management.
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