My name is Tammy Thomas, and my journey has been a long one. Life has taken me through many twists and turns, but I believe it all happened for a reason. God has prepared me for this new chapter we're in now. I'll start from the beginning and share how it led to the most beautiful little boy we now call our son, Willy.
My husband Will and I got married in 2011 after a whirlwind romance. We first met in 2003, but only started dating in 2008. The timing just wasn’t right before that. We met at the race track, Lake Erie Speedway. Will raced pavement cars, just like my brother Georgie. We both come from racing families - mine through pavement racing, his through dirt track racing.
We started dating and quickly fell madly in love. I left my small town, Eden, NY, and moved to an even smaller town, Sharpsville, PA. We got married on March 19, 2011. They say the rest is history, but for us, this was just the beginning
Right after we got married, we were both eager to start a family. I had always wanted a big family and hoped for three or four children. But things didn’t go as planned. Getting pregnant was much harder than we expected. We struggled with infertility for years. We tried everything, but nothing worked. Infertility is a difficult experience, and if you’ve been through it, you understand. That’s a story for another time. Eight years later, we decided to try one last round of IVF. This time, it worked.
April 4, 2019, was the day Willy was born, marking the beginning of a new chapter for our family of three. But those early months were really tough. My little boy cried far more than he smiled. We had constant struggles with sleeping and eating. He wasn’t reaching milestones on time, and it felt like he was always behind where a baby should be.
I made numerous calls to our pediatrician, who advised us to see a neurologist. In 2020, the trips back and forth to Pittsburgh Children's Hospital became a regular part of our routine. We visited neurology, ophthalmology, cleft-craniofacial, neurosurgery, ENT, Child Development Center, Genetics, and Speech departments. We also went through bloodwork, exams, MRIs, CT scans, EKGs, and EEGs.
In February 2021, we were referred to the Child Development Center in Pittsburgh. There, we met a caring child psychologist who would carry out an evaluation to see if my little boy had any health concerns. The evaluation was really tough. Getting a two-year-old to cooperate for such an important test was nearly impossible. He didn’t cooperate, and it was very challenging. Afterward, we gathered in a small office and heard words no parent ever wants to hear: our child was diagnosed as level three on the autism spectrum. From there we were handed a sheet of paper with behavioral health agencies in Mercer county and told to call for services.
We thought, is that all? You just told us our child has a level three diagnosis. What should we do? Who can we talk to? We need help right away!
We called all the numbers on that sheet of paper. Most of the time, the lines were busy, calls went unanswered, there were no workers available, and each lead ended in a dead end.
Willy is fortunate to have parents who never gave up. I stood alongside him through every tough day - doctor’s visits, therapy sessions, all while trying to keep up with teaching. Will worked hard too, reaching out and connecting with others in similar situations. He made many phone calls. After getting Willy to bed, we would talk with other parents at night, asking what they did, where they went, and what services helped them. We knew finding the right support was essential for Willy to succeed, and we made it happen.
During this journey, we learned how challenging it is to raise a child with special needs and how to understand autism and hidden disabilities. We worked hard to find the right support - ABA centers, pediatric therapy, developmental pediatricians, behavioral health services, horseback riding, swimming lessons, and more. We didn't give up.
Due to the challenges we encountered, we created Willy’s World, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) fund with the Community Foundation of Western PA & Eastern OH. Our mission is to educate, support, guide, and offer resources to families and children with hidden disabilities like Autism and any other neurological disorders that are hidden from plain sight.
The money raised for Willy’s World will help families and children with hidden disabilities. Willy’s World will offer information, support, resources, and guidance to these families. We will also team up with the community to raise awareness and provide sensory-friendly activities and inclusive spaces. Our goal is to secure funding to assist families and local organizations that support children with hidden disabilities.
Please check out our Grants page to see the available funding opportunities.