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Kaylee Sievers is shown with her two sons, 4-year-old Fynn (left) and 10-year-old Taylon. Both boys have special needs. Fynn has autism and is non-verbal. Taylon has epilepsy but has been seizure free for over a year. {Photo courtesy of Kaylee Sievers}

Autism in Avoyelles: Mansura mom to open autism treatment center

Kaylee Sievers says ‘Fynn’s Wish’ will meet needs of many

{Editor’s Note: Autism is a growing concern throughout the nation. There is one existing treatment center in the parish and two proposed centers expected to open later this year. This article is the first in a series.}

When Kaylee Sievers sees her 4-year-old son Fynn achieving small victories over autism, she knows the money she has spent and will continue to spend is worth it.

She also knows how hard it has been for her and husband Matt Sievers to find the treatment needed for Fynn and to take him for that treatment.

One day she decided that instead of just saying, “someone should provide these services in Avoyelles Parish,” she would become that “someone.”

“Fynn’s Wish,” a non-profit pediatric therapy center, is expected to open in Marksville this winter. It will be modeled on the successful St. Nicholas Center in Lake Charles.

The Sievers live in Mansura with their sons Taylon, 10, and Fynn, 4. Kaylee is a native of Big Bend and a 2006 graduate of Avoyelles High.

While there are some services available for autistic children in this parish, there are not enough, Sievers said.

“I noticed parents were driving long distances to Alexandria and Baton Rouge,” she said. “I saw there were children who were not getting services they needed because their parents could not afford to drive them to get those services.”

People said it would be better for the family to move to a larger city where the needed treatment was more accessible.

‘WILL DO SOMETHING’

“I said ‘No. I will do something to fix this,’” Sievers said. “I want to change this community, not move away from it.”

Sievers has been working with St. Nicholas CEO Christie Jones to get plans in place to open the local center.

She has attracted more local allies than she had expected.

Local financial advisor Jessica Couvillion has helped secure at least a temporary home for the center in the former Yum Yogurt shop on Acton Road.

Restaurant owner Jonathan Knoll has offered his help in upcoming fundraisers.

Stanley Celestine, who has been involved in non-profit start-ups, has volunteered to be a non-profit consultant.

When she spoke to the Mansura Town Council on July 9 about her vision for a treatment center in this area, the council promised to make the Cochon de Lait Pavilion available for a fundraiser event later this year.

The Central Louisiana Community Foundation has placed Fynn’s Wish under its non-profit umbrella while Sievers finishes the work necessary to obtain a non-profit certification for the organization.

The non-profit status means donations are tax-deductible.

The center will open with a 10-member staff and focus on providing “applied behavior analysis” therapy for children diagnosed with autism.

Behavior Analysis is the scientific study of behavior. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the application of this science to target specific behaviors associated with autism. ABA has been endorsed as an effective treatment for Autism by the U.S. Surgeon General and the National Mental Health Institute.

Over 60 years of research has found ABA to be effective in increasing communication, social skills and academic skills while decreasing problematic behaviors. Applied Behavior Analysis is now paid for under Medicaid and insurance. That happened in 2015. Before then, families with an autistic child were literally on their own.

Sievers said the center’s programs and staff will expand, as will the number of diagnoses the center will treat. She said occupational and speech therapy and other treatments will eventually be offered.

CHALLENGE OF FAITH

Sievers endured a challenge of faith, as well as finances.

Her first son, 10-year-old Taylon, has a severe form of epilepsy that is now under control. He is also diagnosed with ADD/ADHD.

Some will credit his remarkable improvement to an implanted device that sends a 30-second electric pulse to Taylon’s brain every minute.

Sievers believes the hand of God was involved and it “is nothing short of a miracle.”

Taylon has gone from having 58 seizures a day to being seizure-free since April 2017.

“I couldn’t understand why God was letting this happen to me,” she said. “First with Taylon’s epilepsy and then when Fynn was diagnosed with autism.

“Now I understand that the test has become my testimony.”

FYNN'S PROGRESS

Fynn is still non-verbal, but two years ago he was exhibiting classic symptoms of severe autism -- banging his head on the floor, grinding his teeth and “just being in his own world,” Sievers said.

The therapy he has received has paid off. The self-harming behavior has been eliminated. While not talking, he is communicating with his family.

“It is a shock when your child is diagnosed with autism,” Sievers said. “It was like a knife in my heart.”

She researched all she could about autism and the treatment of the disorder.

“Every day without services is a day missed for children needing those services,” Sievers said. “I am not only fighting for kids who need it, but for my own child as well.”

Sievers said there is a need for more education about autism and the resources available to treat it. Fynn’s Wish will also be a source for that information.

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