Director of autism center has personal stake in research effort

Nina Forest has big plans for the future -- she wants to see her autistic teenage daughter walk down the aisle during her high school graduation.\nFawn, her 15-year-old daughter, is Forest's main motivation for her work with autism.\nForest said one of her most important tasks is getting society to recognize her daughter as an "average" teenage girl.\n"I've had good exposure to societies where people with disabilities were integrated rather than isolated," she said. "I think people don't realize that since my daughter is 15 -- though she is intellectually at 6 or 7 -- emotionally she enjoys the same things as other teens: looking at boys, clothes, music, staying up, TV, junk food."\nFawn's mother said she believes her daughter is a very socially active individual.\n"(Fawn) has very clear goals for her life, including marrying another highly functioning/working disabled person and living in her own place," she said. "(Fawn) is part of a church teen group, a special abilities teen self-advocacy group, sports and transitional special abilities teen club."\nDr. Scott Bellini, assistant director for the Indiana Resource Center for Autism, revealed that many autistic people have similar lives to Fawn's. \n"Many folks with autism spectrum disorders live happy, productive lives," he said. "They ask for nothing more than to be treated with the respect and dignity which they deserve."\nForest said she wishes that people would give Fawn a fair chance to show them the human being she truly is.\n"We're discouraged my daughter is so frightening to people to work with, due to their misconceptions," Forest said. "In fact, (Fawn) is so well-behaved, hardworking, kind and compliant. She saves her fits, which we call 'meltdown,' for me at home. What is most heartbreaking is that inside the shell of autism, I know an individual with a wide spectrum of emotions, love, needs, wishes, dreams, ideas, thoughts, gifts and knowledge. Only rarely does someone from the outside experience her in 'full spectrum' of herself. I passionately don't want her to be limited by what others can understand in her communications."\nOverall, Forest said she is quite optimistic about her daughter's future and her place in the community. Despite some occasional trials and set backs, Forest said she does see continual progress from her daughter.\n"I want to see young autistic people have more options to work successfully, live as independently as possible, enjoy a higher quality of life and have more opportunities to be included socially in the mainstream," Forest said. "Years ago, autistic children were institutionalized. Now, many stay with their parents and siblings. Now, doors and treatments are opening so that an autistic individual, given certain excellent therapies, can live and work on their own with minimum supervision."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Kama \nKorvela at kkorvela@indiana.edu.