A Special ‘Santa’ To Bring Toys To Children At UA Clinic

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Fifteen-year-old Mathew Weems wanted to help area children with autism and other special needs, so for a Boy Scout community service project he led a drive that has resulted in the donation of some 300 toys for The University of Alabama clinic where the children receive services.

Mathew knew the children, and the clinic, would benefit. He was, after all, the clinic’s first patient. Mathew is autistic.

And, in more ways than one, this is not a routine Scouting project. It’s a project Mathew hopes helps to land him the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest advancement rank in Scouting and a level reached by only about 4 percent of all Boy Scouts.

Mathew plans to present the toys to Dr. Laura Klinger, associate professor of psychology and director of UA’s Pervasive Development Disorders Clinic, on Thursday, May 10, at 5:30 p.m. at the Child and Family Research Clinic on Hackberry Lane.

Autism is one condition classified as a Pervasive Developmental Disorder. People with autism experience problems in three areas, Klinger said. Extreme difficulties in social interaction, delays in language development and obsessive interests in routine behaviors are characteristics of autistic people, she said.

“IQ can range from retarded to gifted,” Klinger said. “Mathew is one of those rare individuals who has autism but who has no intellectual deficiencies, whatsoever. He is extremely bright.” About 75 percent of autistic people have some degree of mental retardation, said Klinger, who has worked with autistic children for 18 years.

Mathew began the toy drive near Easter by distributing plastic Easter eggs at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Saint Francis University Parish and Holt High School. Mathew attends Holy Spirit along with his sister and his parents, Judy and Steven Weems.

Inside the eggs were slips of paper with a list of specific toys the clinic’s therapists need for their sessions with children. Those opening the eggs were asked to purchase a toy or toys from the list and return them to Mathew so he could donate them to the clinic.

The clinic often loans toys to their clients to take to their homes, and sometimes the toys do not make their way back to the clinic, Klinger said. Over time, the clinic’s toy supply had dwindled, so this is a welcomed addition, she said.

Mathew was first diagnosed with autism when he was 5 and began working with UA child psychology experts when he was in the first grade, his mother said. When Klinger began the PDD clinic in 1993, Mathew was her first client. Now, some eight years later, he attends the clinic twice a month where he receives services from Dr. Tammy Barry, a post-doctoral student and research coordinator who directs the clinic’s social skills groups. Mathew is a ninth-grader at Holt High School.