Taking on autism

Jessica Glover hopes to be a champion for children on the autism spectrum, like her son Cade

By Christina Lent

The Beaverton Valley Times, Nov 27, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (12 Reader comments)

Jaime Valdez / The Beaverton Valley Times

Cade Glover has regained his engaging personality after a switch in diet. His mother Jessica is on a mission to share the lessons she’s learned with Cade to help other children with autism.

ADVERTISEMENTS

Jessica Glover is on a personal quest to change opinions about autism on a local and national level.

She and her family moved to Beaverton from Bend eight weeks ago to launch Autism Resources of Beaverton, a non-profit resource agency dedicated to autism and advocacy, and to work with the Beaverton School District to open its first K-12 charter school for autism spectrum children.

The 27-year-old mother of four children also opened an in-home Sun Drops Child Care and Preschool for children on the autism spectrum.

Her focus on autism awareness and advocacy is one from the heart.

Glover’s son Cade was diagnosed with autism when he was 22 months old after going in two months before for vaccinations.

“When I went to the health department in Central Oregon, they told me they wanted to ‘catch him up’ on his vaccinations,” Glover recalled. “They gave him 12 at one time.

“When I took him home, his fever spiked to 102, 103, 104 and 105. I took him to the emergency room four times in six days. In two weeks, he stopped walking and talking and regressed to an infant. Before that, he was a very typical, very healthy baby.”

Over the next couple months, Glover began to notice other changes in her once “very loving, adorable, cuddle bug.”

Cade had been really excited about the coming birth of his baby sister Maycie, often asking questions and feeling his mom’s expanding tummy. But when Maycie was born, his previous interest was nonexistent.

“For two months he never kissed or touched her,” Glover said as she fought back tears. “I knew then that something was wrong because by that point he had stopped looking at us.

“All of a sudden he wanted nothing to do with us. He didn’t want to be held or kissed and we’d find him buried in his room under blankets. He also started to fixate on things like lining up all his toys or playing with his trains for eight hours at a time.”

At that point, Glover began seeking answers for the differences in his personality and behavior.

“Something inside me started this personal quest,” Glover recalled.

After extensive research and reading, “Unraveling the Mystery of Autism,” the business woman’s life focus shifted.

She began using holistic methods she found in her research to help her son.

“I took him off of dairy and within a week he started walking,” Glover said. “It was like a veil had lifted.

“A week into his new diet, he said, ‘Mama,’ and I about died. From there I cut out gluten and the words just started flowing. Within that week he also stopped obsessing over things. He would drink out of different cups. He wanted to interact with the family again and started loving on his baby sister.”

Glover cherished each new development.

1 | 2 Next Page >>