It took less than a week into his kindergarten year for Kameryn Jackson’s teachers and parents, Bryan and Kristina, to know something was wrong. Kameryn was showing aggressive behavior toward his teachers and peers and often would run out of the classroom.
Almost daily, Kristina would be called away from work to drive 30 miles home to Fulton in order to take Kameryn home from school or to help deal with behavioral problems.
“He always had showed some symptoms of ADHD and had certain sensory issues, but we always thought, ‘oh, that’s just Kameryn being Kameryn,’” said Kristina Jackson, Kameryn’s mother. “He always got along well at home with his younger sister Shelby and baby brother Cooper, but perhaps we all just knew how to deal with him and his quirks. Once he started going to school it was a different story.”
Kameryn speaks well, but often has trouble communicating when he has a need or a problem.
Along with Kameryn’s teachers, Kristina, who has worked at the Thompson Center as an administrative assistant for clinical services since 2009, knew she needed to have the Thompson Center experts meet with him.
In 2015, Kameryn received services from the traditional autism diagnostic and evaluation clinic (ADEC) with Dr. Brooks and Dr. Sohl at the Thompson Center and was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
“Dr. Brooks really took her time to sit and explain everything that they were seeing during the diagnostic evaluation so that both Bryan and I could see exactly why Kameryn would be getting an ASD diagnosis,” Kristina said. “Likewise, Dr. Sohl spent just as much time giving us a thorough medical evaluation and looking at all of the different needs that Kameryn may need over the next several years.”
Kristina says the lead up to the ADEC appointment was one of the roughest times for her family because they were not sure how to help Kameryn. However, she says receiving the diagnosis gave the family a clear path forward.
“At the time of diagnosis, it was an immediate lightbulb moment for us and suddenly things seemed to start falling into place,” Kristina said. “The Thompson Center faculty and staff made sure we were completely comfortable during our evaluation and we received nothing but the best care from the entire team. We couldn’t have asked for better care during such a life-changing moment.”
Since his diagnosis, Kameryn regularly has been seeing Dr. Sohl in the autism medical clinic and he meets with Thompson Center dietician Sheila Chapman to help him and his family work around his picky eating habits. Last year, he participated in Leaps Ahead, where he learned how to better handle situations where he isn’t always in control, such as in a classroom setting.
“Kameryn learned that he cannot always be the boss, and Leaps Ahead definitely taught him how to handle his frustrations in a more civilized manner, rather than lashing out,” Kristina said.
Kameryn also has received speech therapy, where he has learned how to better communicate his needs rather than getting upset and not getting what is needed. Kristina says occupational therapy also has been a great help.
“The Picky Eaters group has been wonderful for Kameryn because he has learned that even though a food may not look the same, it may still taste the same,” Kristina said. “Now, we are able to get him to try new foods with minimal arguments, which has helped increase the variety of his food choices.”
Fast forward two years and Kameryn now is seven years old and has begun the 2nd grade. With an individualized education plan in place and consistent support from his teachers and paraprofessional, Kameryn has made great strides academically and socially in school. He is able to spend the majority of his time in the general education classroom with his peers.
“With increased support from the school and our extended family, the difference at school is night and day,” Kristina said. “Kameryn will still experience some aggressive behavior, but Bryan and I are now able to sit down with him afterward and discuss what happened and how to better handle those situations in the future.”
Even outside of school, Kristina has noticed a huge difference in the types of activities Kameryn is willing to try.
“Kameryn has always gotten along well with his siblings, but there are activities he used to be too scared to try, like swimming or riding his bike,” Kristina said. “When we would go to the pool, he used to just stand in the shallow end with his head above the water. Now he will put his head under the water and he swims like a fish.”
Kameryn spent part of his summer attending the iCan Bike camp in Fulton. He now rides his bike everywhere without training wheels, worry-free.
“It has been a journey,” Kristina said. “Sometimes it seems like much longer than just two years since he was diagnosed. Other times it seems like just last month. The Thompson Center not only has helped Kameryn immensely, but it also has helped Bryan and me become strong advocates for our son. We know we have more challenges ahead, but with the support we receive from our family, community and the Thompson Center, we know we can meet them head on in the future.”