Woman Pours Energy Into Fighting Autism
Article used with permission from the Capital Gazette
By Jeff Horseman, Staff Writer
The fight against autism has made an eclectic salesman
out of Veronica Bird.
Some days, the Davidsonville woman sells art. Other
days, she's hawking cars, boats and even bathtubs.
"I have never said no to a donation," she said.
Through this type of creative fund-raising, Ms. Bird
has raised $600,000 in five years so other parents won't
go through what she did.
The money funds a foundation that distributes two videos
produced by Ms. Bird educating doctors and parents about
autism, a neurological disorder impairing people's ability
to deal with the outside world. It's most often diagnosed
in children.
Ms. Bird also takes her hard-gained knowledge on the
road. She recently addressed researchers at Yale University
about autism and could be making an appearance on a
national TV morning show.
And she's branched out to help immigrants like herself.
Ms. Bird heads the Organization of Hispanic/Latin Americans
of Anne Arundel County (OHLA), a Hispanic outreach group.
Ms. Bird is used to overcoming obstacles. As a new arrival
to America from Brazil at age 14, she didn't know a
word of English.
Today, she speaks the language fluently. She and her
husband Reggie Mahaffey have two sons: 10-year-old Ramsey
and 11-year-old Ryan.
The genesis for Ms. Bird's foundation is Ramsey, who
as a toddler suddenly began acting strangely.
The boy had a 60-word vocabulary at age 2. "One day
I woke up, the words were gone," she said.
Ramsey had stopped reacting to outside stimuli. Doctor
after doctor couldn't help him.
Finally, Ms. Bird took her son to Johns Hopkins, where
a specialist diagnosed him with regressive autism. He
began treatment and today is an active third-grader.
His mother founded the Veronica Bird Charitable Foundation
in 1999 to support her autism education efforts.
She produced "The Different Shades of Autism," an hour-long
video emphasizing the importance of diagnosing autism
early. Another shorter vision is aimed at doctors.
Thousands of tapes have made their way to doctor's offices
and public libraries in 46 states and 10 countries.
Versions are in English, Portuguese, Spanish and soon
in Arabic and French.
Linda Carter-Ferrier of the county chapter of the Autism
Society of America said Ms. Bird has made a positive
contribution to advancing autism awareness.
"We're always pleased when any efforts are made to promote
an understanding of and awareness of autism spectrum
disorders," the Severn resident said.
The need for autism education is now greater than ever,
Ms. Bird said, citing data showing that 1 out of 167
children in the United States has some form of autism.
Besides paying for videos, Ms. Bird's foundation has
also supported OHLA. The organization's executive director,
Joyce Masterson, works out of Ms. Bird's home.
To raise funds, Ms. Bird has sold used cars and boats.
She's also sold toilets, fine china and anything else
people will donate.
"It's good trash," Ms. Masterson joked.
But Ms. Bird takes her greatest pride in selling the
colorful paintings done by Brazilian artist Teixiera
Mendes, who lives in a downstairs apartment in Ms. Bird's
home.
"He's multidimensional," she exclaimed. "His art just
speaks to me. He doesn't get stuck in one theme."
Mr. Mendes studied art in Paris and has an apartment
in Rio de Janeiro. With Ms. Bird translating, he said
he agreed to work with Ms. Bird after becoming emotionally
involved in her cause.
By covering his living expenses, he said Ms. Bird makes
it easy for him to work. "All I have to do is paint,"
Mr. Mendes said.
Ms. Bird is staying busy. In addition to her possible
upcoming appearance on NBC's "Today," she's in the early
stages of writing a book on her experiences.
"I'm always in a hurry," she said. "I don't (have time
to) reflect."
Published
January 24, 2005, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2005 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
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