Multimedia Reporting (Bradford-Utsler)

22 years ago Allison Frizell’s life was taking her down the path she always dreamed of. She was happily married, her husband Trip, just finished law school, and she was pregnant with the couples first child. Since she was young she dreamed about staying at home to care for her kids. The couple had no reason to believe anything was wrong. Her pregnancy was normal. On April 3rd 1984 she gave birth to the couples first son Tom. Allison now had the family she wanted.

Six months after Tom’s birth, Allison began to suspect that something might be wrong with Tom. She didn’t think that Tom was progressing the same way that her friends babies were, but she quickly blew that off convincing herself that she was just an overreacting mother. Tom’s progress did not improve. By one year old, Tom was not speaking, he didn’t make eye contact and his muscles looked very relax. Allison knew something was wrong with her first son.

When Tom was two and a half years old, Allison asked her neighbor who was also a therapist to tell her exactly what she thought was wrong with Tom. Her neighbor told her that Tom was showing a lot of signs of autism and she was right. Within six months Tom was officially diagnosed with autism and non-verbal. The diagnosis crushed Allison because it meant she would have to accept the loss of not having a healthy child

Tom’s autism changed the Allison and Trip’s lives. They moved from Kansas City to Lawrence for Tom to participate in programs conducted through Community Living. Now they are working with CLO to create Midnight Farms, which will be a rural facility, just south of Lawrence, which will give autistic people and care takers alternative living options to the city.

In January 2005 CLO and the Frizell’s began to pursue Allison’s dream creating Midnight Farms. Midnight Farms will be a small community spread out on 40 acres of farmland southeast of Lawrence. It is intended give autistic and mentally handicapped people a place to live the most normal life possible. This type of living arrangement for the mentally handicapped will be the first in Kansas.

Allison Frizell, co-creator of Midnight Farms said, “We hope to create a community of families taking care of people with special needs, that work together to support each other.”

Frizell got the idea to creat Midnight Farms while reading a magazine about autistic children about 15 years ago. The magazine featured an article about a father whose son had spent an entire summer at Bittersweet Farms and how benefical the experience was to his son. Since reading this Frizell has dreamed about Tom living in this type of environment, even if she would have to create it.

Last year, 40 acres of farmland was purchased for Midnight Farms. During the last seven months the Frizell’s have been working with land developers, planners and financial advisors to write grants for funding. They are currently working on the final details of the plans. Final plans are scheduled to be finished within the next month. Next month they plan to meet with the Douglas County Planning Commission to have the project approved.

Once the plans are approved they hope to plan to begin construction quickly. By the end of next year they hope to complete their first home and a large activity center.

The activity center will feature six horse stalls, an indoor horse arena and a large meeting area that can be used for banquets. Its estimated cost is $300,000

Midnight Farms will have four to eight separate homes on the farm. Each home will have one couple or family living in them. These couples will be care providers for one or two mentally handicapped people living with them. It will have an approximate ratio of 1 to1 for care takers to mentally handicapped, which is the ideal living conditions for people with disabilities.

Jim Sherman, professor of applied behavior and science at the University of Kansas said, “A 1 to 1 ratio is best for the people with disabilities because it gives them the most normal living environment possible. This ratio allows them to build a solid relationship with there caretakers”

Each couple hired to live in these homes will have to go through an extensive training program overseen by CLO supervisors. Midnight Farm will also have full time CLO employees working there. Sherman said, “The job of a caretakers is to help a person develop the most normal and independent life possible, but not everybody can be helped. Success depends on the individual.”

Midnight Farms will also feature many unique opportunities for disabled people that would not be able to experience by living in urban areas. These features include a green house, horseback riding, a small amphitheatre, walking trails and a pumpkin patch. These features were chosen by the Board of Directors, consultants and experts about disabilities.

Midnight Farms will provide more than recreational opportunities for the disabled. It will also provide them therapy, which should help to improve their lives. The therapy is based heavily on the laws of learning. It is intended to teach them new behavior that will allow them to interact in the everyday world.

According to Sherman, 47% of disabled people who received intensive amounts of treatment (40 to 50 hours a week) showed signs of improvement that allowed them to be in a normal classroom by 2nd grade. This compared to 10% who received little or no treatment.

Construction of Midnight Farms will take time. It will be completed in different phases. Currently Frizell believes it will take 10 years to complete the entire project.

If and when Midnight Farms is finished she will have lived the dreams she has wanted. She said, “If this happens the way it is planned now, I will be the happiest person in the world.”

Check out these links to learn more information about autism and programs for autistic people http://www.clokansas.org/pages/services.htm http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm http://home.tbbs.net/semisweet/about-us/