Photo by Michael J. GallegosTribune

Tribune

Eddie Hernandez enjoys an afternoon in the pool with his mother and brother at their apartment complex. "He'd stay all day if I'd let him," said his mother, Yvonne Martinez. Eddie, who was found to be autistic at age 4, likes to stay to himself in the pool, Martinez said.

Photo by Michael J. GallegosTribune

Tribune

Eddie Hernandez, 15, gets a hug from his mom, Yvonne Martinez, after becoming upset at the thought of going back to school. Eddie's family learned he was autistic at age 4. Martinez's younger son, Emilio Martinez, 6, watches TV before bed, while her cousin, Jose Martinez, lounges on the couch (right).

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Yvonne Martinez doesn't go through the same challenges as parents with an average 15-year-old.

It's the everyday things like brushing his teeth or dining at a restaurant that are a struggle with her son, Eddie Hernandez, who was found to be autistic when he was 4.

"Certain situations will set him off," Martinez said. "Socially, they (people with autism) will have difficulty with something that is easy."

He will sometimes scream, tense his body and squeeze his mom's arms.

Now that Eddie is approaching adulthood, Martinez hopes for the day he can function normally and care for himself.

With the number of autistic children increasing nationwide, the city and the UNM Center for Development and Disability are teaming up to spread awareness about the disorder.

Mayor Martin Chavez and Cate McClain, the center's director, are holding a town hall meeting on autism this morning at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

"Autism is on the increase in the United States, so, as these incidents increase, it's really important that there be more information," said Chavez.

Martinez said when her son was a toddler, nobody knew what he had.

"I had one doctor diagnose him as a mystery," she said.

Maryellen Missik-Tow, development specialist at the center, said that 10 years ago, one in 10,000 children in the United States had an autism spectrum disorder. Now it's one in 150 children.

No one knows why the number is rising, she said, and autism is diagnosed in a child every 20 minutes in this country.

Chavez said he knows people who have had to look elsewhere for help.

"There's a number of parents who've moved their kids outside of New Mexico because of lack of services," he said.

One goal of today's meeting was to introduce the idea of building a $10 million autism facility in Albuquerque by 2010 that would be available to the rest of the state.

The UNM center currently treats children with autism, but New Mexico doesn't have a center especially for people with the disorder, McClain said.

"As a community, by working together, we can bring a state-of-the-art facility to New Mexico, but only if we work with business leaders, politicians and parents," Missik-Tow said.

The facility will not only help children and families with autism, but the whole community, she said.

"With the numbers, we're going to need special degrees in graduate education and special ed. There is a tremendous need for careers in this field," she said.

An autism center would ensure economic development in terms of bringing top professionals to New Mexico, helping all communities, she said.

While the center is a long-term goal, the city and center officials hope to spread awareness about the disorder to New Mexico residents in the short term.

Awareness is important, said Missik-Tow, because early intervention can help autistic children develop and give them a better chance to live independently.

"If they don't have this early intervention, there's no hope for these kids," she said.

Martinez hopes that Eddie, who is a mid-functioning autistic, will be a high-functioning autistic who can hold a job and live independently one day.

But her ultimate goal is that he find love.

"I love my Eddie," she said. "I want him to eventually meet somebody that can love him . . .."