If you speak with Preston resident Donna Tonon for more than a brief moment, you’ll undoubtedly learn of her fervor for spreading autism awareness, a cause she has been backing for some time.
While none of her children are autistic, her 9-year-old nephew, Alex, was diagnosed when he was 2 years old, and Tonon said she has watched as her brother, a single parent, has worked extremely hard to find the best care for his son. Worst of all for Tonon is the lack of understanding and discrimination she said she sees on a regular basis, something that has moved her to action. A member of the largely Preston-based group SECASA (South Eastern Connecticut Autism Spectrum Association), Tonon recently found a way she believes will immensely further her cause.
Tonon explained, “The idea came to me when my brother went into the DMV recently to get his car registered and he asked the woman there, ‘You know, you have all kinds of these benefit plates but how come you don’t have one for autism?’ and the woman didn’t know but she told him how he could go about getting one. So he called me and that’s when I started pushing for this.”
Tonon’s first stop was the Norwich DMV, but after finding little support she took her idea to Wethersfield where DMV officials assisted her in finding the correct paperwork and pricing. What she found was that while people could add text onto their existing vanity plates, it would cost an extra $130 to do so; something she feels is inordinately expensive. Understanding that she would need political backing, Tonon began soliciting local and state government officials for their support, with limited success.
“These poor kids and these poor adults, they’re already labeled and misunderstood,” Tonon said. “So getting this plate going and spreading awareness and knowledge is really important. I have written letters to Tom Reynolds, I’ve written a letter to Governor Rell, I wrote a letter to Dodd, I’ve written letters to a lot of important people and most of them have been great, but I have to start with Tom Reynolds and so far he has not
responded to me.”
Tonon has since sent Rep. Reynolds all the necessary information from the Department of Motor Vehicles, registration forms, and even a rough draft of the benefit plate design and hopes her effort will soon come full circle. With additional help from SECASA and some fund-raising efforts planned for the future, Tonon said she will continue to pursue the issue until she sees results.
“These parents have a lot of expenses, with physical therapy appointments and speech therapy and the cost of special schooling and for parents to have to pay that amount for a novelty plate is just ridiculous,” Tonon said emphatically. “I love pets as much as the next person, and God bless our troops, but if they can have benefit plates, why can’t these children with autism? These kids are so misunderstood and it’s so important for people to be more educated, because it would really help them in social situations immensely, and the only way to do that is to push awareness.”
To contact Donna Tonon, send an e-mail to mikeyt0690@comcast.net.