Moving from Guatemala to Champaign can be a big change. It was even harder for the Lobos family. They had to figure out how to get help for their son Tino. He was newly diagnosed with autism. Mery Lobos says, "We had no idea how to navigate the school system or the health system."
They found help at The Autism Program. It's run out of The Family Resiliency Center at the U-of-I. Its coordinator is Linda Tortorelli. "We can help families start to know how to begin that journey with their child," she says.
Tortorelli's own journey started 15 years ago. She knew her son Patrick was different. But back then, autism-awareness wasn't where it is today. She says, "It was many many years before we really came to the diagnosis and conclusion that this is going to be a life long problem. I spent a lot of time calling agency after agency to get help. And it just turned up a lot of dead ends."
Tortorelli didn't want that for other families. So she jumped at the opportunity to head up the program. Parents call with absolutely any question about autism and she finds the answers they need. "To be able to tell parents, yes I've had that experience. There is hope that it can get better and here's how it can get better," she says.
When Linda started with The Autism Program she had no idea it would grow into something like this. A place for parents, children, students and professionals to come, learn, and get support. She calls it a miracle. It's definitely a miracle for the Lobos family. Besides the shelves and shelves of resource materials, it can also be a place for mom to get a break while Tino plays. Linda is definitely their angel.
Mery Lobos says, "To me in my mind she knows everything there is to know about autism. Like everything. Anything you want to ask her she knows."
Her husband Alex says, "I don't think that we would have been doing the things that Tino needs right now if it hadn't been for Linda."
And seeing another family get through a tough time is all the thanks she needs. "Having the wonderful opportunity to do what I feel I've been called to do. That's just a great feeling."