MEET MELISSA POORE AND HER FAMILY

Melissa, Bailey, Brooke, Brynna, Brock and David MEET MELISSA POORE AND HER FAMILY

Maria Smietana — Editor-in-Chief

Melissa Poore’s life-long pursuit of learning started with a stepwise approach. Coming from a family of five, she had to pay her own way through college, so the Alexandria, IN, native first earned a certification in radiologic technology from Ball Memorial Hospital’s School of Radiologic Technology. Working as a radiologic technologist gave her the income to graduate with a BS in health science from Ball State.

While raising her family in Anderson and Lapel with her (now former) husband, her youngest child, Brock Troutman, was diagnosed with regressive autism at the age of 36 months. The diagnosis changed everything for Melissa. “[Once Brock was] in ABA we were not given many tools to help us address his behaviors at home,” Melissa recalled. “I decided to go back to school so that I could learn for myself the best strategies to use with him at home and in the community.” She earned a master’s degree in special education (nonlicensure), along with certifications in autism and ABA.

After Brock’s diagnosis, Melissa learned that her kids had gluten and dairy allergies and switched the family to a gluten - and dairy-free diet. This was more than 20 years ago, when many considered the diet to be a fad at best. She remembers that her daughters, who were in public school at the time, found it hard to fit in because they couldn’t eat what the other kids were eating. “My oldest was bullied and made fun of for eating her homemade gluten and dairy free foods.”

Melissa started homeschooling her three oldest in 2006 and continued all through high school. But even in her homeschool co-op, where one would expect to find more understanding, it wasn’t always smooth sailing. “The girls still encountered difficulties for not being able to eat what everyone else did,” she said. “And when their brother did come along occasionally, there were [judgmental] looks and stares because Brock could be unusually loud or behave ‘inappropriately’.”

That acute awareness of how stigmatizing it can be for kids to grow up with a sibling with autism keeps Melissa in awe of her daughters. “As a mother, I still to this day have no idea how hard it was for my daughters to have their childhood geared around [their brother’s] diagnosis of autism,” she said. “The true unsung heroes in a family with a special needs child are indeed the siblings. Brock’s sisters adored him, but I know many times he would also have been a source of embarrassment for them while growing up.”

In spite of, or maybe because of, their early challenges, Melissa’s daughters have gone on to be very successful adults. Her oldest, Bailey Troutman, holds degrees in communication arts and communication technology. She is currently Associate Director of CCIT Communications at Clemson University.

Second daughter Brooke Troutman earned her BS in psychology from IU and is a certified master herbalist and Reiki Level 2 practitioner.

Youngest daughter Brynna Troutman studied graphic design and digital audiences and works as a free-lance artist and entrepreneur. Brynna’s partner David, who is like another son to Melissa, served in the US Coast Guard and now works at a stone company that installs countertops and does other types of stone installation.

Divorced since 2018 after 28 years of marriage, Melissa now shares her home in Lapel with Brooke, Brock, and two beloved cats, a ragamese (part ragdoll and part Siamese) named Simon and a domestic short hair named Poppie “Brock is my hero, and the reason I am the person I am today,” Melissa said. “I am his sole guardian. He enjoys living his best life and plans to start selling his collection of art and be an entrepreneur, too.”

Brock is considered non-verbal but with support, he can type to communicate. He loves making pour paintings. During the summer, he enjoys kayaking, and with a gift from his maternal aunt and uncle, he was able to buy a tandem kayak, which he paddles at a man-made lake in Madison County. He likes to meet at Fort Harrison State Park with another young man with autism. “The fellas enjoy walking at Fort Ben and on occasion will do the musical swings that are close by,” Melissa said. “However, it can be challenging for Brock to do the swings for any length of time and we usually say our goodbyes to his friend and his mother after 5-8 minutes at the swings.”

During the 10 years that Melissa worked as a contracted behavior consultant with a provider group for the Indiana Waiver services, she was always seeking out new modalities to assist her son as well as her waiver clients. “I wanted to help my son’s healing and support him in all aspects of his health, not only physically, but also his emotional wellbeing,” she said.

That passion turned her into a non-stop learner. “I finished a total of 18 courses in Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration (MNRI) and became a core specialist in training - level 2 in 2017. I also completed courses in quantum reflex integration (QRI) which utilizes lowlight laser therapy to assist with reflex integration. I am a certified QRI laser specialist as well.”

After completing all four levels of training in the Touch For Health® acupressure method and becoming a Touch For Health® level 4 facilitator, Melissa started coursework toward a doctor of naturopathy degree, which she earned in 2021. She additionally became certified as an emotion code practitioner and later as a body code practitioner. “That is what led me to the (eesystem.com) and why I decided to create Abundance Living Ministries – A Private Ministerial Association (PMA),” she shared (abundancelivingnd@gmail.com).

As chairperson and trustee of this ministry, which Melissa started in February of this year, she oversees an ambitious program that offers members the 12-unit Energy Enhancement System™ experience, body code therapy, and numerous forms of naturopathic treatment. Daughter Brooke offers Reiki natural healing sessions and serves as a ministry trustee. Brock is involved with the ministry too, helping to get the space ready for members on the days sessions take place.

Looking back over the decades, Melissa says her happiest memories are all the time her family spent together during her children’s homeschool years as well as their vacations. “I was thrilled after having started a protocol with my son in 2012 that had been so very helpful for him. That was the year he actually enjoyed the ocean at Myrtle Beach without screaming in terror. This was huge for him and us!”

The family still gets together for their traditional Thanksgiving gluten free/dairy free feast with all the goodies, and all the kids spend Christmas Eve with Mom. Brock likes to celebrate his birthday in January with his Uncle Rick in Sarasota, so Melissa and Brooke make the trip with him. “We used to fly, and Brock did great during the flights,” Melissa recalled. “We now drive, and Brock still does really well with the long trip. He enjoys watching YouTube videos on his iPad as well as playing games.”

At home, Melissa and Brooke try to keep life simple. Brock’s favorite meal is his sister’s homemade gluten free, dairy free pizza. He also looks forward to steak and potatoes night as well as the family’s modified Italian meatball and spaghetti dinner. They might watch Home Town on HGTV and listen to just about any genre of music. During football season, they cheer for Ohio State, where Melissa’s nephew, Justin Frye, is currently the running game coordinator and offensive line football coach.

Brock’s autism diagnosis got the family involved with many organizations when the kids were still young. Melissa remembers that when her daughters were in junior high and high school, they would all volunteer at a local food pantry, with the girls working on site while she and Brock were driving to local restaurants to collect donated food.

Melissa credits The Autism Community in Action (TACA) with helping her navigate the world of special needs. “It has been and still is a wonderful national resource for our family,” she said. “Soon after Brock’s diagnosis, this is where I learned so much about how to help my son physically and biomedically. The National Autism Association in its early years was also VERY instrumental in our journey and remains a great resource for us today.”

When talking to other families, Melissa shines the light on the siblings of special needs kids. “As a mother to four amazing young adults, I cannot stress enough to newly diagnosed families to not forget the siblings. I encourage parents to continue seeking out activities for them, too. We were blessed that there was SibShops when the girls were young, which allowed them to be with others who had a sibling with special needs. As parents we can sometimes forget how taxing it can be on the siblings, in ways we may not even understand.”

Another thing Melissa has learned on her journey is that “everybody’s body is different. No matter what someone else has found to be the “key” thing, it does not necessarily mean it is going to be the “key” for me and my son. Always go into whatever therapy/modality you try with an open mind to receive what is best and for your highest good. What worked for one person, and how it worked, does not mean it will be identical for you. Seek out groups and organizations pertinent to your child’s special needs. Community is critical, and the best way to learn about different modalities that have worked for others.”

“I had to learn early on that even though my son did not progress as I had hoped, there is ALWAYS progress going on in deeper, unseen layers at the cellular level,” she added. “One should never quit after once or twice doing a modality and not seeing major improvements. I know my son’s regression was not instantaneous and his speech was the last thing that was lost. Just because he doesn’t speak verbally, it doesn’t mean that the treatments we’ve tried haven’t helped in some way.”