Aidan O'Carroll and his sister Eileen live with their grandparents Ed and Tina Ruth. [Click to enlarge]

They had barely settled into their new home when their 5-year-old granddaughter, Eileen, came to live with them a month later. Soon Eileen was joined by her brother, Aidan, 8, who had been diagnosed with autism.

Autism is a developmental disorder with characteristics such as impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests. It's said that possibly 1 in every 150 children are being diagnosed with autism today.

Ruth's daughter was killed in an auto wreck in October 2004, and her husband tried to raise the children on his own. Circumstances in life prevented him from continuing as caregiver, and the children moved to Shelbyville to live with their grandparents.

"Having a special needs child in the home can be a challenge," Tina said. "But we love our grandchildren and we hope they can stay with us from now on."

Aidan was diagnosed with autism when he was in first grade. His mother knew that there was more to his behavior than just childhood hyperactivity. She took him to a pediatrician who diagnosed him as autistic.

The mother began working with her doctor and the school that Aidan was attending in Lebanon to put together a plan for his education and personal growth.

"Aidan was in special education classes at Sam Houston Elementary School as well as regular classes," Tina said. "The people at the school were real good with him. He is accelerated in reading and in English so he is definitely high functioning."

Aidan transferred to Southside Primary School when he moved in with his grandparents. The principal and teachers met with the Ruths to put together an individual education plan for Aidan.

"The teachers and administrators at Southside have really helped with the transition from his old school," Tina said. "I have nothing but good to say about them."

"We were really concerned about Aidan's adjustment when he had to change schools," Ed said. "Aidan normally gets real upset adjusting to change. That's a part of his autism. He's very emotional and gets real hyper. He can go off into his own little world. But the people at Southside have been so helpful. We've met with them at least three times since Aidan started there, and he's excelling in his classes at school, getting all A's."

Tina drives Aidan to school every morning, and stays at home to take care of Aidan's little sister Eileen, who will start kindergarten in the fall.

Tina also has a mentally handicapped sister that lives with them, so she stays busy caring for her extended family.

Ed is the regional manager for Kentucky Fried Chicken and oversees stores in Shelbyville, Tullahoma, Winchester, Lewisburg, Franklin, Dickson and Springfield. He travels a lot throughout the week, but shares the duties at home as caregiver with Tina.

The Ruths have gotten involved in the local autism support group, Parents ACT (Autism Changes Time), that meets monthly throughout the community.

"These meeting have been very helpful," Tina said. "I've learned a lot about children's rights and our rights. We get regular e-mails from them too. It's just good to have people around that understand what we're going through."

Leta Frame, a mother of an autistic son and organizer of Parents ACT, said there are at least 40 to 50 families in Bedford County who have autistic children, and they want to be able to reach out to other parents and caregivers who may feel the same frustration and isolation that they have felt

To learn more about Parents ACT and how to get involved, contact Leta Frame at 684-8169 or e-mail her at All4levi@bellsouth.net.