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Road Map to Autism in the Inland Northwest

Isaac was born to his parents, Reed and Holly Lytle, on March 28, 2003. He was named after his two grandfathers, Isaac “Lynn” Bahme and Dennis Lytle. He was a happy baby who brought immense joy to his parents and older brother Jared. At approximately 15 months of age, Isaac began becoming withdrawn, stopped responding to sound and began exhibiting symptoms of anxiety. His parents immediately sought help and were told that Isaac exhibited “red flags” for autism. Isaac immediately began receiving intensive early intervention therapies such as speech, occupational and DIR/Floortime therapies. At approximately 18 months old, Isaac received his official diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), under the umbrella of autism spectrum disorders.

The months and years following Isaac’s diagnosis was a mixture of joyous progress and frustrating setbacks. Isaac’s parents quickly discovered that not all health insurance plans provided therapy intervention benefits to children diagnosed with autism. Because of insurance limitations for Isaac’s therapy needs, Isaac’s mother began working from home and paid therapists to teach her the therapy techniques needed to help Isaac fight autism. After months of hard work and hours of home therapy with his parents, Isaac began to improve. He began making eye contact, started to enjoy school and interact with classmates, siblings and cousins and most importantly he began to speak.

Not realizing that their time with Isaac would tragically be cut short, Isaac’s parents kissed their beautiful, bright eyed boy goodnight and in the wee hours of the morning on February 8, 2007, Isaac quietly passed away in his sleep from an undetected genetic heart defect, not related to autism. Isaac was just a few weeks from celebrating his fourth birthday.

Looking back, Isaac’s parents prefer to remember all of the good times they shared with him. His family fondly remembers Isaac’s passion for music. His favorite songs were by the Wiggles. Isaac had the pleasure of seeing the Wiggles in concert here in Spokane TWICE!!! He also enjoyed almost every song performed by Johnny Cash but was particularly fond of “Ring of Fire” and would often sing along.

His favorite movie was “Finding Nemo” but would hide in his room during the opening scene of the movie (when Nemo’s mother Coral is attacked by the Barracuda Fish). He just couldn’t watch the loss of Nemo’s mother. Isaac was also a huge fan of Mickey Mouse and had a stuffed Mickey that he would give lots and lots of hugs. Isaac also left behind an extensive car and train collection which his parents cherish to this day.

As with all children, Isaac loved his junk food. His particular favorites were popcorn, any kind of soda, milkshakes and ice cream of any flavor, popsicles, pizza and any candy he could get his hands on. His most favorite food of all time was McDonald’s French Fries. Isaac’s parents laugh as they remember his instinctual knowledge of every McDonald’s location in Spokane – and he paid close attention anytime he was in the car! If you passed a McDonald’s without stopping for french fries, he would yell in protest from the back seat.

The ISAAC Foundation is a tribute and lasting legacy to Isaac Lytle. It’s continued work will help to improve the lives of children in our community touched by autism for a lifetime.

Finally, there's a road map...

Week after week ISAAC Foundation received calls, emails and DMs from parents and caregivers who are desperate to help their loved one be the best they can be.  Whether you are just now suspecting that your child may be impacted by an Autism Spectrum Disorder, or if you have already received your diagnosis but are struggling to locate and understand the programs and services available to your child, our hope is that this road map will help you more easily navigate the special needs system.  

While every situation is unique, the process of diagnosis, accessing programs, therapies, and services, as well as entering the public school system for interventions and education are largely the same.   

This is by no means an end-all road map.  It's simply intended to be a quick reference guide with helpful links, forms, and glossary of terms that will help you get started on your journey.  We intent to make regular updates and revision and encourage you to provide feedback on how this document can be better and more more useful.  

Tutorial: Road Map to Autism in the Inland Northwest Interactive PDF from The ISAAC Foundation on Vimeo.

What you'll find inside: 

+Autism Diagnosis
+Assessments/Evaluations
+Unique abilities and common misconceptions
+Coming to terms with the diagnosis
+Sharing the diagnosis
+Support system options
+Accessing Services
+Individual Family Service Plan
+Individual Education Program/Educational Rights
+Department of Developmental Disability
+Navigating Private Insurance for therapy
+Therapy options in the region
+Life after high school
+Getting organized
+Suggested Reading
+Non-profit organizations
+Extra Curricular activities
+Glossary of autism/medical terms
+Forms Library

How to download these FREE resources:

Step 1: Create or sign into your existing ISAAC Foundation account.

Step 2: Add the document you wish to download to your cart.

Step 3: Click the RED checkout button on the page.

Step 4: Hover over the Account tab in the light blue banner at the top of the web page. Click on Document Library.

Step 5: Click the RED download button next to the document you wish to download to your computer.

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