making a difference By Maria Smietana
Meet the
Schapker Family
CAMSE Kit
When college sweethearts Chris and Kelsey Schapker decided to start their family, they could not have predicted the hurdles they would encounter. After the Evansville natives graduated from the University of Southern Indiana and got married, they first struggled with infertility. Kelsey decided to stay home rather than start a career. “Due to my severe endometriosis, we tried to get pregnant for over three years,” Kelsey said. “We lost five babies before we became pregnant with our son, Camden. He is a miracle!” But when Camden remained non-verbal for the first three years of his life and never made eye contact, the Schapkers knew that more challenges lay ahead. “He never said ‘mama’ or ‘dada’ as an infant or toddler, and never interacted with us appropriately,” Kelsey said. “His inability to communicate with us was extremely heartbreaking. He was in speech therapy for over two years before he said the word ‘mommy’ and could associate that word with me. How do you speak to your child when it seems that he can’t comprehend what you’re saying?” Receiving a diagnosis for Camden helped tremendously. For some parents, hearing their child’s diagnosis for the first time is devastating. But for Kelsey, it gave her the direction and clarity that she desperately needed. “Camden’s diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and language delay was a relief because I felt a sense of ‘Okay, now I know how to help my child,’” she said. “Before there was any kind of diagnosis, I felt so lost. ‘What does he need? How can I help him?’ These were questions that I often didn’t know how to answer. With the diagnosis, I felt a sense of calm. My thoughts were: ‘Okay. There’s nothing wrong with my child. He’s just going to learn differently and travel through life differently than his peers. And here are the tools I need to set him up for success.’” Believing in their son, working with him every day, believing in his speech therapist, and enrolling him in developmental preschool were all key to Camden’s developmental progress. “A big milestone was when he graduated from developmental preschool,” Kelsey said. “He now knows his full name and how to spell it, he knows his age, and he can recognize and say the names of the important people in his life - Daddy, Kendi, Nana, and Papa - as well as his teachers and therapists. The day he said ‘mommy’ and pointed to me, I sobbed. It’s a happy memory that I’ll never forget because I waited over four years to hear him say it.” Now 5, Camden attends a developmental kindergarten class Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. It teaches the same curriculum as a regular kindergarten class, just at a slower pace. He also receives speech therapy and occupational therapy at Easterseals Rehab Center.
18 Special Needs Living • January 2022
