Chris and Carla Howard watched as their son Nick tried to throw a toy.

It wasn’t easy, because he was balanced on his stomach on top of an inflatable exercise ball.

Nick, 5 years old, was doing the exercise to improve his coordination. Occupational therapist Christy Steele encouraged and guided him.

The Fort Gibson couple takes their son to sessions at the Hope Kids Therapy Center in Muskogee several days a week.

Chris Howard said Nick has a form of autism. Although his intelligence is normal, he has difficulty interacting with the world around him.

“He has been diagnosed with PDDNOS; Pervasive Development Disorder Not Otherwise Specified,” Chris said. “He’s non-verbal compared to other 5-year-olds. He says certain words, but he’s not carrying on conversations.”

The therapy center is housed at First Church of the Nazarene on East Peak Boulevard. It has been up and running for approximately six months.

Carla said they first heard about the center while attending support groups organized by Christi Kellogg. Kellogg’s support groups in several area cities are a project of Hope Foundation of Muskogee, an organization that focuses on autism and similar disorders found in children.

“I had him going to speech therapy in Tulsa once every week,” Carla Howard said. “It took a lot just to get him there and back. We wanted more for Nick. When this opened up, it really worked out.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines Autism Spectrum Disorders as “a group of developmental disabilities defined by significant impairments in social interaction and communication and the presence of unusual behaviors and interests.”

Approximately seven out of every 1,000 children born will be diagnosed with ASD. Many people with ASDs also have unusual ways of learning or reacting to sensations. ASD begins before the age of 3 and lasts throughout a person’s life. It occurs in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups and is four times more likely to occur in boys than girls.

Steele said occupational therapy means helping with the things people do every day. For children, those are very basic tasks.

“Even dressing involves fine motor skills, because it means learning how to operate fasteners,” she said. “We use play because that is how children develop.”

In addition to learning slowly, one of Nick’s symptoms has been sensitivity to certain sounds. Chris Howard said his son becomes overstimulated by clapping and loud laughing. However, he and Carla have seen Nick improve in therapy.

“His ability to control himself is better,” he said. “So is his speech in general. He has learned quite a few words, and he picks up new things easier. He’s pretty close to being able to dress himself.”