When doctors in Maryland diagnosed Sharon Glass? son, Taylor, with autism, she went to the nearest place she knew of to get help ? Minnesota.
Doctors where she lived didn?t tell her how to deal with an autistic child. She was lost. She didn?t know to first call Taylor?s school or where to find specialists who took her insurance.
Now, Glass helps other parents find their way through a world of forms, insurance and physicians as a paid “navigator” at Get Connected Family Resource Center, the first program of its kind in Carroll County.
“We had no clue where to go,” Glass said. “I wish this would have been here when Taylor was diagnosed.”
All the “navigators” at the center have experienced mental illness or emotional trauma ? from depression and addiction to rape ? themselves or in their family.
The center provides support for families dealing with issues like learning disabilities, substance abuse, developmental disabilities and domestic violence. It has established connections with departments and private doctors throughout the county.
The free center opened in August in Westminster and has already received more than 100 phone calls, said Laura Rhodes, the project?s coordinator.
To get started, the state granted about $120,000 for the center; the county, $30,000. The state will continue to provide about $100,000 each year.
Karen Koenigsberg, another navigator, recalled when her son was diagnosed with depression.
“I felt like a deer in headlights,” she said. “There?s so much going on, and it?s so overwhelming. I don?t care if you have one child or five, because you?re trying to meet not only the needs of your child, but you?re trying to raise a family.”
Koenigsberg, a single mother of two, remembers pleading on the phone to get a Social Security check sooner so she could put food on the table that night.
“It makes it easier when we sit at a table with parents, and they tell us the stories and we say, ?I know, I?ve been there,? ” said Betsy Ensoer, another employee whose son is autistic. “Then they don?t feel like they?re coming here with their hat in their hand.”
For help
» What: Get Connected Family Resource Center
» Where: 255 Clifton Boulevard, Westminster
» Why: Find support and counseling for mental illnesses
» Price: Free
