A new 'World' for autistic children

Not long ago, Zachary Ballard was a boy in his own world.

For hours, he stared blankly at television images. He never spoke. He amused himself by sitting in a corner of his family's Granite Bay home, spinning the wheels of his toy cars or banging two spoons together.

Zachary is 5 years old and autistic.

But three years after his diagnosis, he's no longer tuned out to the world around him. He attends kindergarten. Dances with his big sister, Makenna. Giggles with friends.

"I have my son back," says his mother, Deanna Ballard.

One of the keys to his turnaround, she believes, is a series of educational DVDs that she and a friend created for Zachary out of frustration and desperation. Ballard's "My World Learning" videos have captured the attention of parents around the country and earned praise from specialists in learning delays.

Ballard, who has a background in psychology, stresses that the DVDs are not a "cure" for autism. Ballard and her husband, Rob, attribute Zachary's progress to a wide range of things, including countless hours of behavioral therapy, medical treatments and changes in his diet. But the videos, she says, have played an important role in bringing "the joy of childhood" back to Zachary, and helped put him on a path toward a normal life.

"The first time I popped in the video, he started laughing and dancing with his sister," Ballard says. "He started pairing the word "red" with red objects. He was connecting with the world. It was incredible, and I thought, 'I've got to share this with other families.' "

The DVDs, available online and soon in stores, feature children from the Sacramento area, as well as animated figures created by Ballard and her business partner, TV production specialist Todd Wise. Moving at a far slower pace and with more repetition than the typical Disney or "Baby Einstein" DVDs, they meticulously introduce children with autism and other learning disorders to concepts such as colors and emotions.

Autism, one of the most common developmental disorders in youngsters, affects communication and interaction with others. A study by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year found that it affects 1 in every 150 children and almost 1 in 94 boys, a rate far higher than researchers anticipated.

Parents of these youngsters are desperate for educational and entertaining tools, says Auburn speech and language therapist Brodi Wetherbee, who works with Zachary and other autistic children. But most videos designed for "neurotypical" kids, she says, hold no interest for those with autism and related conditions.

"Much of children's programming today is very fast-paced, very flashy and brilliant. The scenes change quickly," Wetherbee points out. "Children with autism get overstimulated by these things. They can't stay with them. They can't connect."

Wetherbee has recommended the "My World Learning" DVDs to parents of children with learning delays, and even bought one for her infant son to give him a "jump start" toward learning language.

"I'm very impressed with them, especially for speech development," she says. "They allow children with speech delays to practice, because the words are slowed down and repeated, over and over. They're engaging, and they're also educational."

Jessica Davis, a Pennsylvania mother of an autistic son, Owen, discovered the "My World Learning" videos while surfing the Internet.

"Owen watched 'Baby Einsteins' but didn't really learn anything from them," Davis says. "He couldn't watch 'Nemo.' He didn't understand it.

"Once he got 'My World Learning,' everything changed."

Watching the DVD titled "Shapes," Owen began pronouncing "circle, square, triangle," Davis recalls. "It got him started. He said his first words while watching these videos. They have made a huge difference."

Zachary Ballard has advanced beyond the three DVDs that his mom has produced so far, but still enjoys watching them.

"He's mad!" Zachary declares on a recent day, pointing to the TV and a frowning "My World Learning" character called Mr. Cranky Pants. "He's mad, mad, mad!"

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