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Loralee Hamilton

Hannah Bingham
Edmond Memorial
Sophomore

Loralee Hamilton wants to hang out with other girls her age.

The 16-year-old wants to go to the movies with friends and have sleepovers on Friday nights, but she can’t because she has autism.

“The biggest problem for Loralee is making friends,” said Loralee’s mom, Angel Hamilton.

“Girls don’t call her to go to the movies, and she wants to be with other girls.”

Autism is a neurological disorder that is more common than many other childhood diseases, such as pediatric cancer.

Loralee’s parents noticed her behavior began changing at a young age. “She wasn’t behaving like a normal 2-year-old,” Hamilton said.

Her family went through a six-month testing process before learning Loralee had autism.

She now is what is known as “high functioning.”

About one of every 150 kids is affected by the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Families of autistic children face innumerable hardships, from financial issues from medical bills to high divorce rates caused partially by those hardships.

Autistic children require extensive therapy so they can function on a higher level.

“It’s hard to work and be able to take her to therapy every afternoon,” Hamilton said.

Her daughter’s therapy is what is known as ABA, or Applied Behavioral Analysis, therapy.

Another family dealing with autism is the Shuttes.

Their 18-year-old daughter Katie was diagnosed with autism when she was 7 years old, but it had been suggested to them that she had it when she was 3 or 4 years old.

“Katie was so sick when she was born,” mother Diane Shutte said. “We always just thought she would catch up.

Unlike Loralee, Katie is considered “low functioning,” her mother said, so her family faces unique struggles.

“Our biggest problem is communication,” Shutte said. “We just have to go by the way she is acting.”

Now that Katie is legally an adult, her parents will have to go through the legal system to become her legal guardians. Even though she is 18, she is still their little girl.

“We’ll have a 2-year-old the rest of our lives,” Shutte said. “That’s probably the hardest part. On the flip side, she doesn’t come home crying because some girls were mean to her.

“She doesn’t come home upset because her boyfriend dropped her. She’s not going through normal teenage growing pains.”

Despite everything, life goes on for these families.

Their greatest need is acceptance from the community. “It’s too hard to get these children out in the world like they need to be,” Hamilton said. “We need the community to be more understanding and accepting.”