(rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH

Mental health and autism: The tale of a grade five student able to be himself

May 11, 2019 | 3:14 PM

The story of a 10-year-old grade five student with autism at Red Deer’s G.W. Smith Elementary serves as an inspiring tale of perseverance, and also an important mental health reminder.

David Bowie was diagnosed with autism when he was two-and-a-half-years-old, but despite his condition, he’s flourished while being among his empathetic young peers.

On Friday, the 250+ students at his school participated in the fifth annual Bubbles for Autism event in his honour and to raise awareness about how the condition impacts one’s life.

David Bowie, his mother Candice and service dog Robson were all smiles at Friday’s Bubbles for Autism event at G.W. Smith Elementary School. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

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David’s mother Candice says her son is bright and loves to do things any other kid would, including seeing movies and competing as a Special Olympics swimmer.

“He doesn’t talk a lot for himself, but he can. He communicates primarily with a whiteboard and gestures,” she says. “Bubbles and autism are kind of a pairing most of us families who have kids with autism would understand because it’s one the tools our speech therapists use when our kids are first diagnosed to try and get any speech out of them.”

Bowie says most people assume David doesn’t have anything to say because of his lack of verbal communication, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“I also think people believe that kids or adults with autism don’t want to have friends or interact with people. But David loves being with his friends and teachers and family who understand him, and it means everything to him to be in an inclusive school where he’s able to be himself.”

Bowie adds one factor which has broken down barriers for David is access to his golden lab service dog named Robson, who is from Dogs with Wings and is sponsored by the Calgary Flames Foundation.

G.W. Smith Principal Kelley Lund says though there are still some students who struggle with being entirely accepting, Robson has helped that cause in a big way.

“Over my four years here, I’ve seen amazing growth of peoples’ understanding of not just autism, but students who need extra supports, and a big part of that journey has been having a student like David,” she says. “We’ve learned a lot about how to support a student that looks at the world a little differently.”

On their ability to ingrain an understanding of mental health into kids’ brains at a young age, Lund believes they’ve been successful.

(rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

“Some differences you can’t see and it’s harder for kids to have that empathy when they aren’t seeing somebody who’s struggling, especially with something like mental health,” she says. “Every day I tell the students to work hard and be kind because you never know what people are dealing with.”

Historically, the link between autism and mental health has been muddy and controversial.

However, Lyndon Parakin, Vice President of the Autism Society of Alberta believes the connection is quite clear.

“When it comes to considering autism spectrum disorder, I encourage that awareness around mental health to include autism, number one because there is a vulnerability,” says Parakin, who also has a son with autism.

“Clinicians and researchers are learning and quantifying how much more vulnerable persons with autism are to also have challenges with anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorders and a whole range of mental illnesses.”

According to a 2018 report from Health Canada, one in 66 youth aged 5-17 have been diagnosed with ASD, while males (one in 42) are diagnosed at four times the rate of females (one in 165). More than half received their diagnosis by six years of age.

“The prevalence has gone up phenomenally. In the earlier years of my son’s diagnosis, many people had not heard the word and I was trying to define autism to them. Now people might not understand the word, but they’ve heard it,” he continues.

“It all starts when we’re young and as children our minds are very open. When it comes to mental health, it’s really good for children to recognize and know that as they proceed into life, the mind is just another part of their body that needs to be taken care of and nurtured.”

For more information, visit autismalberta.ca.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Watch for more of our special look at mental health awareness later this month here at rdnewsNOW.com.