EVANS CITY — When Davy and Mary Wildman founded the Autism Society of Butler County in 2002, one of their long-term goals was to host conferences to help raise awareness for not only parents and caregivers, but also for educators, to help them better understand autistic children.

It is the all-volunteer, nonprofit local chapter of the National Autism Society of America. It advocates for the rights, humane treatment and appropriate education of all persons with autism.

It also is committed to educating families, professionals and the public to better understand the lifelong disability.

Davy said when their son, Nicholas, 13, was diagnosed with autism, the family was given two telephone numbers for support, and the same woman answered for both numbers.

Mary, who is a teacher in the Seneca Valley School District, and Davy, who works in construction, had the option to travel to either New Castle or Monroeville for the closest support services.

With lack of support available in Butler County, the Wildmans decided to form their own county group.

Along with holding monthly informational meetings, the group also hosts almost-monthly family events.

Some of the past monthly events included visiting Pittsburgh, going to the movies and having family swim nights.

It also holds an annual Bowling for Autism event that raises funds for the group.

“A goal of ours has always been to hold an awareness conference, but in the past, we weren’t able to because we’re a small, all-volunteer group,” Davy said.

But then, several years ago, Kathleen Strickland, an English professor from Slippery Rock University, began to attend group meetings and participating in events with her young grandson, Ryan, 11, who was diagnosed with autism early in life.

With Strickland’s connections to both the state university system as a professor and her link to the Autism Society of Butler County, the Wildmans’ dream of hosting an autism awareness conference will become a reality in April.

Strickland was able to pull together the support from SRU and organize the speakers through her volunteer efforts.

“She’s a wonderful woman. We could not have done this without her,” said Davy.

The Autism Awareness Conference, co-hosted by the Autism Society of Butler County and Slippery Rock University, will be from 8:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. April 1 at the SRU student union building.

The conference is for parents, caregivers, educators, therapists and students.

Rebecca Moyes, an educational author, and Sean Barron, who has autism, will be the keynote speakers.

Sessions will cover topics such as life skills, social skills, inclusion in the classroom and legal rights.

“No doubt, people will leave the conference with new ideas,” Strickland said.

Davy explained that this is an educational conference where many of the talks are more geared toward the caregivers and parents.

The Wildmans are hosting one of the sessions, “Creating a Supportive Home, School and Community for the ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) Family.”

Autism from the parents’ perspective, the Wildmans’ talk will address the home, school and community as it relates to the Autistic Spectrum Disorder child.

The session will provide participants with stories of real-life experiences that can help curb issues before they arise, perhaps making parenting and teaching less stressful and more successful.

Autism, once considered a rare disorder, now affects more than 4,000 families in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Over the past decade, the rate of autism in Pennsylvania has risen more than 1,047 percent.

Strickland said SRU officials were receptive to holding the daylong conference at the university.

Many of the students attending are taking classes or majoring in the rehabilitation fields, and those pursuing teaching degrees will find that more and more children diagnosed with autism are students in traditional classroom settings, she said.

The causes of autism are unclear, though it usually begins at birth or within the first three years of life.

It is considered a neurological spectrum disorder, which encompasses those who are higher functioning and said to have Asperger’s Syndrome and those with severe autism who are profoundly impaired.

In between, there are people with various degrees and symptoms called Pervasive Development Disorder who are described to be “living in their own world.”

“Autism is a spectrum disorder. There are no two kids are the same. Some are mainstreamed into typical classrooms. Others are put in special classrooms within the school and still others are sent to outside schools,” Strickland said.

Some individuals with autism appear to be perfectly normal. However, they spend their time engaged in puzzling and disturbing behaviors different from those of normal children.

Some of these behaviors include: uncontrollable tantrums, toe walking, hand flapping, finger flicking, body rocking, pursuing strange and repetitive activities with no purpose, staring into space, showing no interest in people, lack of eye contact, sensitivity to touch, sound and bright lights and insensitivity to pain.

Individuals with autism can have many and varied symptoms. Those would include metal retardation, speech and language problems, sensory issues, behavior issues, social problems, seizures, bowel and intestinal problems, eating issues, allergies and sleep problems.

The degree of intensity of the symptoms differs greatly among those with autism.

For information or to register for the autism conference at Slippery Rock University, call 724-738-2292 or email: kathleen.strickland@sru.edu.

<B>Autism Society of Butler County</B><B>ADDRESS</B>: 202 E. Main St. in Evans City in an office above the district judge<B>MAILING ADDRESS</B>: Autism Society of Butler County, P.O. Box 275, Evans City, PA 16033<B>CONTACTS</B>: Davy and Mary Wildman<B>GOALS</B>: To advocate for the rights, humane treatment and appropriate education of all persons with autism.<B>PHONE</B>: 724-538-4425<B>E-MAIL</B>: asbc@zoominternet.net