Free to Be Me

Jack Lucado has always been an intelligent and kind person. But from a young age, he also showed some differences that he and his family were eager to understand.

“We noticed some differences in his development compared to our first son,” recalls his mom, Kim Lucado, a special educator. “He wasn’t really talking and a lot of his milestones were delayed.”

Jack received services from their county’s infants and toddlers program to help with these delays. By the time Jack entered kindergarten, he did not have any learning deficits. Yet Kim and Jack’s father, James Lucado, still suspected that he had some issues that were not being addressed.

“He was a very shy kid and a little quirky,” says Kim. “He was just kind of quietly going through school and being a good boy and doing all the things that he was supposed to do.”

What his parents didn't realize was that Jack was employing a classic coping technique for individuals with autism: he tried to mask his symptoms so that he could fit in.

“When we talk about masking, what we mean is consciously or unconsciously suppressing symptoms, adapting to social norms through mimicking more socially accepted behaviors, or using other internalized strategies to develop sophisticated coping mechanisms to navigate social situations,” explains Susannah Dowling, MSN, MACP, PMHNP-BC, psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at Sheppard Pratt’s Center for Autism.

“What is Going On?”

But by the time Jack entered middle school, his differences started to impact his well-being. Jack’s parents took him to a doctor who tested him to reveal that his anxiety levels were extremely high.

“After high school is when he really struggled,” recalls Kim. “We were just continuously questioning, what is going on? At one point, he even talked about wanting to kill himself because his depression was so bad.”

A series of therapists, medications, and doctor visits followed, yet provided few answers and little hope. Jack’s anxiety and depression became debilitating and even affected him physically, causing him to get sick before and during his work shifts at a local fast food restaurant. An internet search led them to Sheppard Pratt’s Center for Autism, which provides comprehensive autism diagnostic testing and case management services.

A Turning Point

“Connecting with Sheppard Pratt’s Center for Autism was the best decision we’ve ever made for Jack,” says Kim. “That first meeting with a whole team of experts, it was a dream, really, compared to what we had been dealing with in the past.”

A case manager met with the family and provided an initial interview. A series of comprehensive assessments followed, providing the Sheppard Pratt team with the insights they needed to determine Jack’s diagnosis and treatment plan.

“We went that day to meet with his team and they were like, do you want us to go over the reports and then tell you his diagnosis? Or do you want us to just tell you?” recalls Kim. “And my husband, Jack, and I just kind of looked at each other and practically screamed, just tell us!”

The Sheppard Pratt team confirmed what Kim and James had long suspected: Jack had autism. The moment was a life-changing, watershed moment.

The Freedom of a Diagnosis

Today, Jack is thriving, thanks to the freedom of finally understanding and celebrating his differences. “Ever since my diagnosis, it has completely changed my life for the better. It lifted off so much doubt and pressure that was on me,” says Jack.