A soft humming sound floats down the hall toward the kitchen. Following it, Doug Thayer sees his daughter Casey looking for a jar of peanut butter. Doug and his wife Janice hid it in the dishwasher so Casey could not find it with her keen sense of smell. It is Casey's 22nd birthday. This day has huge significance for the Thayers, because with Casey's birthday comes the most significant change Casey has yet to face--moving out of her parents' house.
Janice lit twenty-two candles on an ice cream cake for Casey's birthday on April 27 at their home in Birdseye. Casey's 22nd birthday was a turning point for the Thayer family and their decision to move Casey into a home in Jasper, because up until this birthday Casey attended Forest Park while her parents went to work. However, in order to continue taking care of Casey at home after she could no longer attend school, either Doug or Janice would have had to leave their job, a job which supported their family.
For most 22-year-olds, moving out happened four years earlier as they headed off to college. Casey, however, was diagnosed with autism as a toddler. She is non-verbal, using her own form of sign language (mostly consisting of candy and cookie signals, naturally) and various humming sounds to communicate her needs and mood swings. People who do not have much interaction with people affected by autism often think that people like Casey are not intelligent and do not have a sense of humor, a sense of pride or a personality. Casey proves them wrong.
Casey rode Chief at Freedom Reins Therapeutic Riding Program in Jasper on April 30.
Casey attended her final high school prom with her mother Janice at Forest Park on April 26. Although many people with autism are overwhelmed by loud noise and wild lights, Casey loved to dance with her mother to the music and watch her classmates interact. Her brother Emerson, who attends Forest Park, was also there with a group of his friends. Janice said, "I honestly think she felt like Cinderella or Belle that day and if it takes me going with her to make that happen, it is worth it to me."
When the Thayers first came into my life, Doug explained that Casey has a way of reading people and judging their character upon meeting them, so when Casey took my hand on my first day photographing the family, I took that as the highest of compliments. Within the first five days of meeting them, Casey had her last high school prom, her 22nd birthday, a therapeutic riding lesson and move-in day for her new assisted living home in Jasper.
People with autism often have habits that help release their feelings of being overwhelmed or frustrated. For Casey that habit is shredding. Casey shredded a piece of plastic while walking along her family's driveway in Birdseye on April 27.
Janice kissed Casey before saying "Goodnight" on Casey's last night sleeping at home.
The Thayers were extremely kind to let me document the entire journey at every hour of the day and night for the next two and a half months. Watching them let go of their daughter, listening to them wonder aloud about whether she knew what was going to happen as she got on the school bus for the last time and then seeing them get used to her becoming independent taught me about the importance of family and the significance of having caring parents. It helped me to understand how my parents felt when they watched me leave a few years ago.
Doug embraced Janice as Casey's school bus pulled away from their driveway for the last time on May 1. Casey did not come home from school that day, but was picked up by her new caretakers and taken to her new home in Jasper. "I wonder if she realizes it is the last time," Doug said.
Casey looked at her new home in Jasper from the passenger seat of Janice's car on June 14. Casey now resides with two other residents under 24-hour care. However, Janice often picks her up on the weekends for the day to go to church or visit the rest of the family. This time she was picking up Casey so that they could spend Father's Day weekend with Doug.
After arriving at her new home in Jasper for the first time without her parents on May 1, Casey went to her room and stayed laying in the same position for hours on her unmade bed.
Seventeen years ago, The Herald ran a story about the Thayer family adjusting to their new life with Casey's autism diagnosis. Telling their story at their next big turning point with Casey was an absolute honor.
Casey always loved to place both hands on Doug's beard as a tactile stimulant, a common desire for people with autism; however, on this night, the first night in her new home, she did not want to make eye contact or fully engage with her dad, because she knew they were leaving her. That did not stop her from wanting to feel his beard though.
Casey stood in the middle of her new bedroom in Jasper silently looking at the belongings her parents had brought from her old home.
As many of you know, three of my biggest passions in life involve visual storytelling, horses and autism. The Thayers' story happened to involve all three. This story will join a handful of others I have done about autism previously. As the number and variety of stories grow, I am hoping to continue creating a larger project about autism that will connect families affected by autism with resources and with each other. The project is called World Within Our Own. If you have any ideas, suggestions, projects, or contacts related to autism and/or the project please don't hesitate to reach out to me.
Casey spends hours every day watching movies to pass the time. She loves Disney and Pixar movies best.
Once Casey discovered that the bench in the backyard of her Jasper home could swing, she stayed there quietly by herself until dinner time on June 22. The feeling of swinging is often comforting for people with autism, including Casey.
The full story, written by Jon Streetman, can be found on The Herald's website with a wider photo gallery. To access the story without a subscription, you must purchase a one day pass, but it is definitely worth it. I will put up a proper sequenced edit very soon.