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o_ localmothers I believe they‘ve found a silver lining around what most consider the dark, dismal cloud of autism. Nancy Bruce and Andrea Zealand met last fall at Waterloo‘s KidsAbility Cenâ€" tre, where their then twoâ€" yearâ€"old sons, Liam and Coleman, were attending classes for children with special needs. And they want to share their newfound optimism with others in similar situaâ€" tions. Both mothers said their sons seemed to function normailly for almost the first year of their lives. But then suddenly, it seemed all of the knowledge they‘d gained just disapâ€" peared. _ "He just didn‘t seem conâ€" nected to us," Bruce said of Liam‘s change in behaviour. i ‘‘v peripheral vision, runâ€" ning sideways and flapping arms. When Liam and Coleman were diagnosed with autism list year, their mothe‘s Degan searching togeth rior ways to help their sons â€"â€" an 1 themselves â€" adjust to lif : with the developmental ; *rder. ‘lt was a huge pill to swalloy ,, but it was actually a relief getting the diagnosis," Other common sympâ€" toms of autism can be: using ongâ€"time members of I the Waterloo YMCA aid it was like a death in the family as the Lincoln Road centre announced last week it will be closing its doors May 1. Waterioo YMCA users upset over decision to close facility And they‘re not buying that the Waterloo YMCA has been on life support for years. _ The YMCA board claims a decline in usage perpetuâ€" ‘Everything happens for a reason‘ By Anorea Baiey Chronicle Staff By Bos VRBANAC Chronicle Staff Local mothers say sons‘ autism has been a blessing Bruce said. "Because then we could move forward and figure out what we had to do." Their search led to IMTI, which stands for Intensive Multi Treatment Intervenâ€" tion, a relatively new proâ€" gram based in Toronto. Bruce said part of the program involves switching autistic children to a special diet that cuts out a lot of sugars and dyes, and the rest of the program involves both parents and trained volunteers who work with the children in their special playrooms, equipped with only a oneâ€"way window in the door and one shelf of toys to be played with one at a time. Bruce said the unique part of the program is that parents and volunteers are taught not to discourage the children from acting out. Instead, they‘re supposed to follow the child‘s lead, and let them learn for themâ€" selves what not to do. "Other programs encourâ€" age parents to redirect and force when their child‘s actâ€" ing out," Bruce said. "For example, if a child tends to bite a lot, parents are often taught to give them gum. "This program encourâ€" ages us to let him do differâ€" ent things, and learn on his own. It lets him know he can love and trust us. "It‘s made a huge differâ€" ence in his behaviour. I used to try to stop him from doing things, and he‘d throw ated the closing, saying that membership has dropped by up to 40 per cent over the past three years. They claim there are not enough paying users to carry the cost of operating the service at 145 Lincoln Rd. And they encourage Waterloo YMCA users to visit the A.R. Kaufman Famiâ€" ly YMCA in Kitchener, mainâ€" taining that facility has the same family feel of the Waterloo YMCA, with ample parking, a track, swimming CITY NEWS a temper tantrum. Now, for example, when he throws food, instead of reacting, I hand him a cloth and ask him to clean it up. The amount of food he throws now has really decreased." Zealand said she‘s had similar experiences with her son, Coleman. "He liked to mouth objects," she said. "I tried to stop him, but it only upset him. Then one day he was pool and additional proâ€" grams that will help people enhance their healthy lifestyle. Waterloo mother Nancy Bruce says the IMT! program has improved her son Liam‘s behaviour. "I don‘t know what we‘re going to do." â€"Jean Fraser YMCA user sucking on some play cars, and I decided to pick one up and suck on it too. It was a really special moment with him. After about 30 minutes of doing this, he looked up at me, smiled and made eye contact. It was a huge step." Bruce said Liam has also made personal progress, saying more words than ever before. "He‘s said some new words lately like ‘baby‘ and But Waterloo users said the A.R. Kaufman YMCA is too busy, too impersonal, and isn‘t a community resource like the local "We like our Y," said Nancy McCaffrey. "We‘re comfortable here, people walk to get here or take the bus. "We‘ve had no mention that the Waterloo YÂ¥MCA is closing, people are devastatâ€" 1t will be especially diffi ‘mommy,‘" she said. "We all know the words are in there, we just have to find a way to get them out. "Autism is a social disâ€" ease more than anything else. If you say no to an autistic child, they shut down and they‘re gone for a while, until they‘re ready to love you and trust you â€"Zealand added, "When most people think of cult for a number of senior groups using the Waterloo centre. Jean Fraser and her husâ€" band, Gordon, have been part of a senior groups that meets for exercise every Tuesday and Thursday for the past decade. The closing puts those bonds they‘ve built with other local seniors in quesâ€" tion. "It‘s disappointing," said Fraser, 76. "I don‘t know what we‘re going to do. SusMITTEo PNOTO 565 King St. N. @ Northfield in GTO Gas Bar autism, they think of rockâ€" ing and headbanging, but that‘s not accurate. These children are so smart. Coleâ€" man can say the alphabet from start to finish, and from finish to start, and he can now count to 10." Both mothers agreed IMTI has shown them the light at the end of the tunâ€" nel. "When Coleman was first diagnosed, people basically said, ‘He‘s autistic. Period.‘ But that‘s not necessarily true." "We‘ve learned that if you work with the children between 40 and 60 hours a week, we could see recovery within one year," Bruce said, admitting most doctors wouldn‘t commit to that hope. The key, she said, is stickâ€" ing with the program. _ "Everything happens for a reason, and Liam is a blessing." â€" "We‘re hoping for a full recovery. Until then we‘re going to keep working with him on his communication, and staying with the special diet. "The boys have actually taught us to be more social, and they‘ve made us notice the simple, most beautiful things in life, like the way the sun shines on the snow," Zealand added. "Things the rest of us usually take for granted." _ For more information on IMTI, eâ€"mail Bruce at nancyâ€"bruce@rogers.com . "We‘re a group who would like to stay together if we can, but we just don‘t know where to go to." Jackie Maynes, 75, said it‘s hard to get an exercise program together for local seniors that‘s in walking disâ€" tance for some, and with instructors who were so accommodating. "The instructors are excellent here," _ said Maynes. "I‘ve been to the â€"+" TELUS PCS Blackberry Paim & Data Continued on page 6 880â€"1477