TU: FSCJ Graduate with Autism Enrolls in UF College of Veterinary Medicine

Link to article: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2017-09-04/fscj-graduate-autism-enrolls-uf-college-veterinary-medicine

Even though Sara Childers has science textbooks instead of Mickey Mouse ears and anatomy classes instead of rides, she still feels every day at veterinary school is like being at Disney World.

She keeps thinking the same thing over and over: “I just can’t believe I’m here.”

About three weeks ago, Childers started classes at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine.

For Childers, it had been a long journey to that point, but she thanks her mother and her mentors constantly. Without them, she knows she wouldn’t be where she is now — earning her doctorate of veterinary medicine from a top-ranked program.

Instead, doctors predicted Childers might never earn a degree or find a career. She might never learn to love her mother and she would never be independent.

At 24 months old, Childers was diagnosed with autism.

“I am finally able to realize the dream I’ve had my whole life: to be the first openly autistic veterinarian to walk through those doors,” Childers said. “With autism, you look the same, you act the same, but you’re a little bit different. People notice it.”

All Childers’ mother knew about the condition was what she’d seen in the movie “Rain Man” with Dustin Hoffman. Repetitive behaviors, counting cards, Childers said.

Doctors told Pamela Childers, Sara’s mom, she would either have to have her daughter committed to an institution — or be prepared to spend nearly every waking moment with her. They never thought her social skills would be normal enough to be “acceptable in society,” Sara Childers said.

Her mother wasted no time.

The earlier a child is diagnosed and the earlier he or she gets the proper treatments and therapies, the better chance the child has at a normal life, Pamela Childers said.

“When she started to work with experts in the field, she saw potential in me,” Sara Childers said.

When the 26-year-old was younger, her family lived in Fort Lauderdale. There, Pamela Childers enrolled her daughter in Girl Scouts, 4H, and even a whale and dolphin rehabilitation volunteer program.

“I knew from the moment I got in the water with a whale, that’s what I wanted to be,” Sara Childers said.

She gets her passion from Dr. Ruth Ewing, also a graduate of the UF veterinary program. Ewing works for the National Marine Fisheries Service as a member of the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program.

But, according to Sara Childers, any whale that dies within the vicinity of Ewing’s Miami-based practice is reported to the doctor.

“She picked up on me because I asked so many questions,” Sara Childers said. “She took the time out to show me everything.”

At just 9 years old, Sara Childers performed a necropsy on a whale. Ewing showed her how to read slides, how to use a scalpel, how to understand the animal’s habitat and history. The work Sara Childers completed with Ewing allows her to see the caliber of UF graduates, she said. But, it also solidified her goals.

She now calls herself “Dr. Ewing 2.0”

In 2009, the Childers moved from the Miami area to Jacksonville. Almost immediately upon arriving, Sara Childers started her educational career at Florida State College at Jacksonville. Originally, she thought she wanted to be a “double Gator,” earning both her undergrad and her D.V.M. at the university.

However, she quickly realized she learned best in a smaller environment like the one offered by FSCJ.

Still, though, she failed her first chemistry class. Advisers told Sara Childers she should abandon the sciences and instead become an English major.

But, she wasn’t going to give up. She convinced her mother to enroll at FSCJ and complete the biomedical sciences program with her. Together, the two sailed through the bachelor’s degree without a problem.

They took nine different chemistry classes to earn the degree.

Not only that, but Sara Childers eventually became a science tutor at FSCJ and was voted the No. 1 chemistry tutor by her peers.

“When those on the autism spectrum are able to get appropriate one-on-one tutoring, they can go on to not only learn the material, but to excel at it,” Pamela Childers said. “She can think out of the box and so she can figure out things us neuro-typical people wouldn’t even think about.”

As Sara Childers neared the end of her time at FSCJ, she applied to the UF DVM program. They didn’t accept her. She didn’t allow the rejection to dissuade her.

Her mother told her, “If you want this, you really have to tighten your reins.”

Childers applied again. When she received the acceptance call from UF, she accidentally hung up the phone in shock. They reconnected — and Sara Childers asked her mother to relay the university’s message.

“Is this a prank?” Pamela Childers asked. It wasn’t.

University of Florida extended a spot at its College of Veterinary Medicine Class of 2021 to Sara Childers.

Now, she feels she’s finally learning what she wants to learn.

She believes her former academic struggles are in the past. She’s got a lot of support and a lot of great professors at the college ready to help, including Pamela Ginn, an associate professor.

“Our community is dedicated to including all types of people at the college,” Ginn said. “We’ve taken a special interest to make sure Sara feels very welcome. … I think it’s time the world recognizes people on the autism spectrum have a lot to offer.”

Both at the University of Florida and in the veterinarian world, doctors must work with people from all walks of life. That includes people on the autism spectrum. Ginn says Sara Childers will be ready, as a veterinarian, to assist those clients.

In the future, Sara Childers hopes to either assist Dr. Ewing down south or stay on to teach at the University of Florida. She’s not sure yet, but she definitely wants to get the most out of her college experience as possible. The program, Ginn said, is basically a full-time job.

Students spend nearly eight hours a day in class and are then expected to study an hour for every hour in class.

The schedule doesn’t daunt Sara Childers. Every day, as she walks the halls and sees photos of her mentors, she gets a little emotional.

She’s finally working toward her dream.

At the present moment, though, Sara Childers is joining her fellow cohorts in the collective worry: how to pass anatomy class.