Autistic Child’s Beads,

Blessings Will Be His Legacy

By John Voket

Tyler Jones did three of his favorite things on his last day here in Newtown.

He enjoyed his favorite bath; his favorite meal — fettuccini alfredo; and a quick evening walk with his mom around the neighborhood, where the oncoming snap of fall and early darkness enveloped the pair for one last time, as it so often did on these late night jaunts.

His mom, Linda, a local dietician and columnist for The Bee’s Health Monitor, talks about Tyler in terms of all that he brought to his family — his dad, Duane, his brother Austin and sister Lindsey — and virtually everyone he met.

Speaking quietly one recent morning as the world rattled busily around her at a local restaurant, Ms Jones also shared, sometimes tearfully, all the hopes Tyler’s friends and family held for him as he began maturing into a young man and beginning to find a place for himself in the world.

Unfortunately, for the many people, neighbors and friends who survived him, that place will be filled only with memories as 16-year-old Tyler died suddenly and inexplicably at his home September 18. But his family and many friends are finding that even in death, the young man will have an opportunity to teach the world a little lesson about autism, while providing something to remember him by.

This Saturday, October 17, from 10 am to 4 pm, or while supplies last, the Newtown Methodist Church craft fair at the Reed School will be featuring more than 500 beaded jewelry creations that were made by Tyler during the past year, along with autism awareness information. Since he discovered the hobby, Tyler launched himself into hand-crafting beaded jewelry pieces — sometimes at the rate of two or more per day, and making them available under his own business label: TJ Designs.

Tyler helped design a brochure for the show that explained some of the things he could not tell clients himself.

“I was diagnosed with this puzzling disorder when I was two years old,” the text relates. “I cannot talk but I communicate with sign language, pictures, and a few words. I have started my own jewelry business to show others that I can have a job that I enjoy doing. I also want to help teach my new friends about autism.” 

The information continues: “I hope you enjoy my Jewelry! Please tell your family and friends about my new business and the facts about autism.”  

 Tyler explained in writing that autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that lasts throughout a person’s lifetime; it impairs one’s ability to communicate and relate to others; and it is part of a group of disorders know as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). 

While there are varying degrees of impairment with ASDs from mild to very severe, Linda Jones was candid, saying, “Tyler had everything that somebody with autism could have.” But she said Tyler’s myriad disabilities began to turn into abilities when he was introduced to beading.

“It was a really calming process for him, and he was really proud of the accomplishments,” his mother explained. “I think in some ways finding something he could do well helped Tyler understand, as best he could, that he had something besides himself to offer to the world.”

Soon after Tyler was diagnosed with autism at age 2, he started an applied behavior intervention training program with Rutgers University under the supervision of Dr Mary Jane Weiss, receiving intensive one-on-one training over a seven-day-a-week program, “learning — how to learn,” Linda Jones said. 

Tyler learned imitation skills after a five-year period, and, according to his mom, “once he got it, he got it.”

“We never gave up even when a representative of the Lovas Group in California observed Tyler and said that Dr Lovas himself would have discontinued [applied behavior] programming after a child like Tyler was unable to get imitation skills within a three- to six-month trial period,” Ms Jones continued.

Tyler was home schooled much of his early life and later attended the Newtown Public School Autism Program, the Foundation School in Orange, another year of home schooling with Dr Robert Murphy supervising the home program, a year at New England Center for Children in Southborough, Mass., and then the Connecticut Center for Child Development. 

Tyler had just started his fourth year at CCCD in Milford on August 27 this year.

He volunteered at the Newtown Youth Academy to help prepare him for employment in the future, and he got his first paying job with ProxTalker, the picture communication system, in Thomaston this year and started his TJ Designs jewelry business in the fall of 2008.

Tyler’s behavior analyst, Dr Murphy, had made the suggestion that Tyler could start beading in 2004, but the thought of the task was too overwhelming until 2008. In August of 2008, Tyler started beading using a random type semiprecious stone — then quickly learned how to bead his own personal line of bracelets using a bead board. 

“There are so many memories to record about Tyler and his life,” his mother related in an article she produced for the CCCD journal after his death. “He struggled to learn and to communicate — but he never struggled to love. His beautiful smile and butterfly kisses always let you know that no matter how bad his behavior was, he still loved you and enjoyed being with you.” 

His mother related proudly one of Tyler’s other most recent accomplishments. 

“A year ago, Tyler could not really hold a writing utensil or crayon correctly,” she wrote. “We took Tyler to an OT hand specialist and worked hard to teach the correct holding of a writing utensil. And he got it!  He learned how to color some pretty awesome pictures and he could complete a dot-to-dot outline of his entire name.” 

Looking back, his mom ventured that all his surviving loved ones and friends learned a lot from Tyler. 

“We learned how to be patient and to know that if Tyler could not learn something we wanted him to learn, that it was our issue to learn how to teach him,” Linda Jones wrote. “To all the families with autistic children, please do not ever give up. Give your little gifts time to learn — and what ever it takes, never, never, never give up!”

Proceeds from the sale of Tyler Jones’ jewelry will be donated at the direction of the family to support autism research and nonprofit outreach causes.