Pathfinders for Autism: Twenty years and counting–who we are and why

Pathfinders for Autism: Twenty years and counting--who we are and why

For me, it began with one yellow flyer.

Like most children with autism, my daughter, Madison, had limited communication skills. At age five, she did not speak. My job as her mom was to be the master interpreter of her gestures, cries, tantrums and moods. It was an exhausting time.

But in the spring of 1997, Madison brought home a yellow scrunched-up flyer in her Barney backpack. It was an invitation to come learn about a specific therapy that “helped Mason learn.” While we did not know Mason, we did want to know more about his therapy so we attended this program in his home.

We decided to try the therapy with Madison that used repetitive drills to teach words. Unbelievably, Madison understood these drills and started to talk! Eventually, she mastered many words–her name, address, phone number, colors and shapes. And when she learned to say, “I want…” and the often repeated, “Schedule, please,” our lives were changed forever. Her tantrums are far less frequent because she found the gift of words to express herself.

As we began to use the therapy (Applied Behavioral Analysis), I remember feeling amazed and ignorant at the same time. How could such a successful therapy exist and I not know about it? Because I had an older child with developmental issues, I had engaged medical professionals since Madison was nine months old. How did I miss this helpful therapy?

And when it became clear that the yellow flyer was a true life-altering event for Madison and for our family, I wondered what would have happened if I didn’t get it? Would Madison still be crying for what she wanted? Would words still be useless, not a tool to connect our worlds?

That’s why the Pathfinders concept is so emblazoned in my heart. The mission was not so much about creating new resources for parents as it was “finding” and sharing what already existed.

Although I was fortunate that Madison had both an early diagnosis and early interventions, I did not learn about this therapy from a physician or a teacher, even though she was getting excellent care from both. I learned about it from another parent who was willing to share her discovery. I will always be deeply grateful to Polly Surhoff for sharing that yellow flyer with me.

So in 2000, I eagerly joined Polly and her husband, B.J., along with other parents to create Pathfinders for Autism. We all had experienced the joy and frustration of “happenstance” discoveries. We had learned we could not rely only on our physicians and educators to help us nurture and develop our children, especially since autism is a spectrum disorder with no single protocol for treating our kids.

All of us needed to work together to provide a repository of information—a menu of choices. This is the essence of Pathfinders for Autism. We want to help parents learn what other parents have discovered. We want to help them find a path for their child.

Twenty years ago. Today. And for the next twenty years to come.

To learn more about Madison and/or to contribute to the 20 for 20 Campaign in celebration of Pathfinders 20th anniversary, visit