If you would like to share your story with us, please e-mail actearly@cdc.gov.

Ginger Meyners
Director of Marketing, National Association of Child Care Professionals
As marketing director of the National Association of Child Care Professionals (NACCP), Ginger Meyners is dedicated to providing child care leaders with the necessary tools to deliver quality care. When she heard about the Learn the Signs. Act Early. campaign, she knew its resource kit could help her organization educate child care providers about developmental milestones and delays.

“One of NACCP’s main goals is to guide child care leaders on all child care issues, including childhood development,” says Ginger. “This campaign and its materials are invaluable to us.” 
Read more...

Maria Abinader
Campaign Champion and Parent Advocate, New Jersey
“Hearing the diagnosis of ‘autism’ for the youngest of my four children left me and my family feeling like we were in a tunnel of the unknown,” says Maria Abinader, a campaign champion and parent advocate in her Hispanic community.

The Learn the Signs. Act Early. campaign resources helped Maria and her family to navigate that tunnel to understand and help Maria’s youngest child, Luli. Read more...

Wendy Nilsen, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center
Director of Children's Center in Monroe County, New York
Dr. Wendy Nilsen, an active campaign champion and child psychologist, often spends time with children in the New York family court system. Aware of the importance of social, emotional, and cognitive development, Wendy wants to make sure families are informed of all the signs that mark a child’s growth. “Every major court across the nation has a child care center. In my area, these child care centers are called the Children’s Center, and that’s where I talk with families regarding not only their child’s physical growth, but their child’s cognitive, social, and emotional development as well,” said Wendy.

The Children’s Center has a three-part mission to help families at risk: provide children with a safe place while their families are in court, provide resources and training to the court concerning children’s needs, and conduct outreach to families regarding their children’s development. Wendy says, “I use the ‘Learn the Signs. Act Early.’ campaign materials to help inform parents.”   Read more...

Sofía Quezada
Campaign Champion, California
“When parents from my Latino-based community come to me with concerns about their child’s development, I tell them do not wait and see if your child gets better. If you suspect something, as I did, talk with your doctor,” says Sofía Quezada, a dedicated campaign champion and mother of a son with autism, Julian.

Sofía knew Julian was having problems with his development at a very young age. “I noticed he was not developing properly. It was a struggle every day for him to do things children his age were easily doing.” After taking him to his pediatrician several times, Sofía decided it was time to get a second opinion. She was referred to a school psychologist, who told her Julian might have autism. By that time, he was almost 4 years old.  Read more...

Ron Oberleitner
CEO of Caring Technologies/ TalkAutism, Idaho
Ron Oberleitner and his family trusted their instincts about his son Robby. At around 15 months of age, Robby gradually started to lose skills he once had. He began avoiding eye contact, preferred to lie under his crib, and lost just about all his speech. “Over the next 22 months, we took Robby to many different doctors and specialists. They ruled out numerous disorders and diseases, but only after enduring sleepless nights, tantrums, and overall confusion in our family, it was a reluctant psychologist who finally helped us confirm Robby had autism,” said Ron.  Read more...

Christine Breunig
Project Coordinator for the National Medical Home Autism Initiative, Wisconsin
As the project coordinator for the National Medical Home Autism Initiative (NMHAI), Christine Breunig knows the importance of early intervention. Throughout her professional career, she has dedicated her life to children, first as an educator and an elementary school principal, then as an executive director at a Child Care Resource Referral Agency. “It was clear when working with young children that early identification and intervention provide those children experiencing developmental challenges the best opportunity for developing to their full potential,” said Christine.  Read more...

Heidi Fernandez
Campaign Champion, Georgia
Campaign Champion Heidi Fernandez knows the importance and benefits of early detection of a developmental delay. Heidi’s son Andrew was diagnosed with autism at 2½ years of age. But before his official diagnosis, Heidi and her husband began to see signs of developmental delays and took action right away. Once they learned of Andrew’s diagnosis, they took steps to help him develop to his full potential.  Read more...

Michael McKee
Executive Director of Virginia Institute of Autism
As executive director of the Virginia Institute of Autism (VIA), Michael McKee feels like he has the most rewarding job of his entire career. In the two years he has been in the position, Michael has been motivated by what he has seen in the world of autism and is determined to connect children with autism with their families. At the Virginia Institute of Autism (VIA), Michael and his staff help hundreds of families who are seeking services, training, information, and evidence-based interventions. Read more...

Dianne Burdette
Child Care Health Consultant Coordinator for The Children’s Home Society of New Jersey
Dianne Burdette understands the importance of educating child care providers about early intervention when a developmental delay is suspected. As a child care health consultant coordinator for The Children’s Home Society of New Jersey, Ocean County’s child care resource and referral agency, she receives requests from child care providers and early care and childhood education professionals for technical assistance and recommendations on strategies to deal with children with autism and other developmental delays. Read more...

Donna Ross Jones, Campaign Champion
Special Needs Network Inc., California
Donna Ross Jones knows firsthand the importance of tracking a child’s development. Her son, Nicholas, is an example of the difference that early detection of developmental delays can make.

“Nicholas was 20 months old when he suddenly stopped talking and began to lose interest in things around him,” explained Donna. Suspecting that something was wrong, she contacted his pediatrician who then referred her to a neurologist and a developmental pediatrician. After several visits to the doctors’ offices, Nicky was diagnosed with autism. Read more...

Theresa Diaz, Campaign Champion
Texas
As a mother of two and former teacher, Theresa Diaz is familiar with children’s developmental milestones. Before her son was a year old, Theresa began to notice signs of developmental delay.

“I knew something was wrong with Merced. After the first 10 months, he lost language progression,” said Theresa. “Even though I suspected a problem, Merced was 2½-years-old before he was officially diagnosed with autism.” Read more...

Barbara Tames , Campaign Champion
Special Education Teacher, Virginia Public Schools
“Identifying early warning signs is paramount for supporting children with developmental delays, and nothing is more important than children receiving early intervention,” said Barbara Tames, a special education teacher of nearly 25 years.

Barbara sees the importance of early intervention every day in her work with children diagnosed with autism and other developmental delays; therefore, she strives to increase awareness of developmental milestones and early intervention throughout her community. Read more...

Barbara Becker-Cottrill, Ed. D., Executive Director, West Virginia Autism Training Center, Marshall University
As executive director of Marshall University’s West Virginia Autism Training Center, Dr. Barbara Becker-Cottrill has dedicated her professional life to children with autism. During her 15 years in this position, she and her team have worked to equip hundreds of families, educators, and other care providers with the training they need to help children with autism reach their full potential. Read more...

Kate Curry, Campaign Champion
Brenden is like many other 9-year-olds—he’s obsessed with sports, delights in antagonizing his little sister sometimes and enjoys being with his friends at school. Brenden is also very different—he worries constantly, has trouble putting words together and has not developed social skills like other kids his age. Brenden’s mom, Kate Curry, knew that he was special from a very young age. When Brenden was finally diagnosed with autism at age 6, she felt some relief that they could begin to get him the help and intervention he needed to succeed. Read more...

NYFAC Helps Raise Awareness for Moms
As president and CEO of New York Families for Autistic Children (NYFAC), Andrew Baumann speaks straight from the heart to parents who face each day with the challenges of having a child with a developmental disorder. Baumann’s 11-year-old son, Anthony, was diagnosed with autism at the age of 3, so he knows from experience what parents are going through. That is why, when he learned about the “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” campaign, he knew NYFAC needed to get involved. Read the full story.

CARE Alliance Engages Local Communities
Connecticut Autism Research and Education Alliance (CARE Alliance) founder Margaret Jordan and her volunteers are helping to spread the word about the "Learn the Signs. Act Early." campaign to parents and professionals in Connecticut. Read the full story to find out about CARE's success.

One Person Can Make a Difference
Kim Hoffner had a feeling that her son, Colin, was not developing social and cognitive skills at the same rate as other children. His lack of language made this evident from the age of 15 months. At age 3, he was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Find out how Kim became involved in "Learn the Signs. Act Early." and is making a difference.

Return to Current Partner Spotlights page

[Return to top of page]

Date: December 03, 2008
Content source: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities