The Prom King

Even with a limited understanding of autism back in the 1980s, Dr. N. Kay Morrison, now director of the international travel clinic and occupational medicine at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), knew there was something amiss in the early development of her son, Kyle, born in 1987. She consulted with several specialists, but it wasn’t until Kyle was 9 years old that he was definitively diagnosed with high-functioning autism.

"My experience made me appreciate how important it is to clearly understand what's causing developmental delays," said Dr. Morrison. Once Kyle was diagnosed, Dr. Morrison took advantage of community resources available to help him. Kyle received social-skills training with a speech-language pathologist and benefited from other services available through the San Andreas Regional Center, one of 21 state-funded nonprofit centers that contracts services mandated by the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Act.

In June 2006, Kyle graduated from Harbor High School in Santa Cruz with his diploma – a major accomplishment for a young man with his disabilities. On the night of Kyle’s Senior Prom, Dr. Morrison was working late and received an unexpected phone call from her son. "He said, 'Mom! Mom! They voted me Prom King!'" she recalled.

At first, Dr. Morrison thought that the same kids who had teased Kyle all through middle school had played a mean trick on him. So the moment she got home from work, she drove to the prom to see for herself. "There was nothing but love in their eyes," she said of Kyle's classmates. "I realized at that moment that they just loved him, and they weren’t teasing him anymore. I can't tell you how grateful I am to these kids for embracing my son for who he is." Kyle wore his "Prom King" crown to school the following Monday, and it remains one of his proudest possessions.

In April 2008, Kyle, now 21, started his first job at a local retail chain store, where he was the official greeter at the store’s grand opening – another defining moment for mother and son.

The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates that about one in 150 children is diagnosed with one of many forms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Because pediatricians are the first point of contact for parents, it is important that they are able to recognize ASD symptoms so they can refer families to a specialist for a definitive diagnosis.

With this in mind, Dr. Morrison contacted the Philanthropy Department in 2007 to make a gift to fund an educational project to help other parents of autistic children. She was put in touch with pediatrician Jane Chen, who researched ideas. Since early 2008, informational packets on autism have been placed in the pediatric offices of PAMF's Camino region, including booklets created by the American Academy of Pediatrics and purchased with Dr. Morrison's funds. Dr. Morrison plans to renew her gift annually, so that families will have the tools they need to understand ASD.

"All parents want to help their child be the very best person he or she can be," she said. "Even as a physician, it was difficult for me to find the right knowledge. Through these gifts, I can participate in educating other parents, with the hope that autistic people of any age will be more fully embraced and we can live together in a more tolerant world."

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