Linda McNulty
’s personal experience with autism helps others
Linda McNulty remembers when she realized something wasn’t right with her son Connor about six years ago. Months of doctors and tests finally indicated he had Asperger syndrome – a form of autism.
The disability is similar to autism, but people with Asperger syndrome are often able to function better in society. They have normal intelligence, but difficulty in communicating and relating to others.
When she learned about Connor’s condition, McNulty and her husband, Greg, were at a loss and didn’t know where to turn for help. She studied, she researched, and she learned about autism and Connor’s special condition.
Six years later, McNulty finds herself busy working as a special education advocate, helping other parents with special needs children by representing them and their children at meetings with the school district to ensure they receive the best educational opportunity as mandated by law.
McNulty specializes in helping high-functioning autistic and Asperger students.
Through her son, McNulty has become an expert on programs and state mandates for special education students.
She helps parents understand these laws and assists them and the school district come up with the best educational plan for their child.
“A child has the right to be educated in the right educational environment,” said McNulty. “These children are entitled to services, and there are services mandated, the federal government is supposed to provide funds, and so does the state, but they don’t always fund what they are supposed to and the laws are so gray.”
As an advocate, McNulty accompanies the parents or guardians of the student to their Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings with school administrators and teachers of the child. IEP provides a blueprint of a child’s education plan for the year. She’s attended 60 IEP meetings over the last year, helping educators and parents understand what the child needs to flourish in school.
McNulty also realizes the life of a special child doesn’t just end with education in the schools. She looks ahead to preparing her own child for the world after school. This is one of the reasons she, with the help of Morgan Hill school district psychologist, Vanessa Gatewood, founded Team Social, a nonprofit organization that seeks to address social needs of children.
McNulty said recent research indicates high-functioning autistic children experience a huge gap in social communication.
According to McNulty, studies show early intervention on social issues can help reduce drug usage, crime, suicide and delinquency in youth.
Team Social seeks to bring social training and coping strategies for children of special needs. The first pilot program started this week, with Gateway teaching classes at P.A. Elementary. McNulty is busy seeking money to sustain the program.
With the right support and encouragement, many children with Asperger syndrome can be mainstreamed in school and go on to further education and employment.
McNulty is also chair of the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for Morgan Hill, a group of parents, teachers and administrators who work with parents of special needs children.
She admits, she has thrown herself into the cause of helping special education children and their families because her own child is struck by the condition.
“I sometimes grieve the loss of a normal child,” she said. “But it’s a way I can help other people. When this happens to you, there is first shock and a grieving process. You don’t know where to go to for help. I know what parents are going through and I try to help them through it.”
