Small town life has its advantages
by Patricia
I was lucky enough to spend some time with my colleagues in Montana last week at the 8th Annual Autism Conference at Montana State University in Billings. Rural is a way of life in Montana. It’s not uncommon to hear people here saying things like, “I drove 400 miles to be here,” or “We live on a ranch.”
I used to think that children living in a rural area would not have quality services. I assumed their lives would be impacted negatively. But that was years ago, before I took a job with the Special Service Agency of Alaska.
When I was working in rural Alaska, I’d see children with autism playing after school with their cousins who lived in the village, attending school in the village alongside classmates they had grown up with since birth, fishing with their grandfather who was an elder in the village. These children may have had to take a plane in order to see a neurologist somewhere, but they were able to spend every day with an incredibly supportive community.
While at the conference in Montana last week, I heard stories similar to ones I heard in Alaska. Children with autism growing up in small towns in Montana have communities that know, love and appreciate them. The children still have challenges that result from their autism, but their local communities are much more successful in addressing those challenges: they view the child as part of the community.
My time in Montana was a reminder that rural doesn’t necessarily mean lack of quality. Being in a big city might mean that you have your choice of health care providers, but I think children living in rural communities have lots of opportunities, too.