Greeting the world with a smile...Derek Sherman

April is Autism Awareness Month

Derek Sherman is pictured above standing beside his pride and joy -- a 2014 Ford Mustang he purchased with money he earned bussing tables at Fiddler's Restaurant in Dexter. Now 32, he has been employed at the local restaurant since high school.

Editor's Note: First in a series in observance of Autism Awareness Month

There is a genuine "niceness" about Derek Sherman -- an ever-present smile that warms the heart and a sincere appreciation for all who acknowledge his presence and his positive attitude. If he has ever had a bad day, no one has known about it. Those attributes alone would set Sherman apart in today's fast paced world of social media, terrorism threats , bullying and suspicions, but Derek Sherman is also "different" because he is autistic.

When Derek was a toddler, Keith and Rhonda Sherman recognized that their only child might have some developmental delays, but there was nothing physicians could accurately diagnose that would explain his unnatural gait or abnormal head circumference. He was a pleasant, affectionate child who appeared ready to learn. Throughout his school career, he excelled at math and loved to read.

"I liked math, and I liked spelling. I was very good at spelling," he says.

Sherman is shown on the job at Fiddler's, where he says he loves working with his "second family."

His mother agrees. "He never missed a word on a spelling test until his middle school years."

"I loved to write, too," he adds. "I wouldn't write stories, but if I'd watch a movie, I'd write down the words in the credits at the end."

Rhonda Sherman recalls, "He'd also listen to the radio a lot. He would remember everything the DJ would say, and he'd write it all down. He would sit down and just write and write for hours."

"He has a memory out of this world," his father adds.

And then there is the music. "Music has always been his comfort zone," Derek's mother notes.

"I like music from the 1960s, the 70s and the 80s," Derek says.

And not only does he like it, he never forgets a performer's name or the year the song was introduced.

Derek attended regular classes throughout his career in the Dexter School system, but his mother admits that his success often came at a price.

"We did a lot of homework in those days," she recalls, "a lot."

While in the first grade, Derek was referred to a pediatrician for an evaluation.

"We took him to Dr. James Dinkins, who was his pediatrician for years," Rhonda recalls. "He was placed on Ritalin to help him focus, and he remained on that medication throughout his schooling."

The Shermans readily credit Dexter Public Schools with recognizing their son's deficit areas, especially his motor skills, and working with him to better those skills. Still, in the mid-1980s, autism was virtually unheard of. With Derek displaying characteristics that were so varied, a definitive diagnosis failed to come.

When he was in sixth grade, Dinkins suggested the couple seek counseling for Derek. He began seeing Ben Lanpher at Bootheel Counseling, and Lanpher referred them to the Judevine Center for Autism in Cape Girardeau. Home visits were provided through Judevine, and more evaluations were performed. The Shermans were told that Derek met some, but not all of the criteria for an autism diagnosis. He was eventually sent to the Poplar Bluff Regional Center for yet more testing. Again, no definitive label was placed on Derek.

As a result of her son's evaluations and life experiences, the Shermans are well-versed on autism and have no doubt that if Derek had been evaluated as a youngster utilizing devices and procedures that are applied today, the diagnosis would have been Asperger's, a condition on the autism spectrum with some very specific -- yet varied -- characteristics.

"I have done so much research on the subject," says Rhonda Sherman. "He may not have met every single criteria for that diagnosis, but everything points to Asperger's."

"No one ever thought about autism," Keith explains. "The resources just weren't there at that time."

A number of educators played vital roles, the Shermans say, in Derek's formative years, but perhaps none as notable as then school counselor, Karen Stevens and resource teacher at Dexter High School, Debbie McKay, both since retired. Stevens saw that an IEP (Individual Education Plan) was established late in middle school, and when he reached his freshmen year at DHS, help was there.

"I had been able to help Derek with his homework all through elementary and middle school," his mother notes. "But I knew when the time came at the high school level for those upper classes -- including algebra -- I knew I could no longer do it by myself.

"That's when they sent us Debbie McKay," she smiles, and her son does, too, remembering McKay with fondness.

"If it hadn't been for Debbie," says Rhonda, "I don't know where we'd be. She was so instrumental in Derek's life. I can't say enough about what she has done for us."

Derek would attend regular classes at Dexter High, but would spend about an hour a day with McKay, who would help him grasp any elements presented in the classroom for which he needed clarification. But McKay's efforts hardly ended in the classroom. When it came time for Derek at attain a driver's license at the age of 16, she was there to "show him the ropes." He passed on the second try.

Along with Derek's parents, McKay played a major role in teaching Derek life skills that he applies daily as an adult. But perhaps the most significant step she took with Derek was to help him find employment when he was 17 years old and still a high school student. She heard of an opening at Fiddler's, a well known local restaurant, famous for their catfish.

He was hired to do a number of different jobs -- and 15 years later, he's still doing them.

"I bus tables, wash dishes, scrub pots and pans, fill the ice bins, and I fill the ketchup bottles -- things like that," Derek explains. "I love it. These people are my second family."

That feeling is mutual, says Fiddler's owner, Roy Williams.

"Derek's a staple here," Williams says. "Derek is a hard worker, and everybody loves him -- and he knows everybody. Sometimes someone will come in and talk to me, and I'll have no idea who they are. After they leave, I'll turn to Derek and say, 'Ok, who was that?' He always knows!"

Derek works about 20 hours each week at the restaurant. And these days, he rides to work in style in a 2014 lime green Ford Mustang -- bought new off of the Bud Shell Ford lot with his own savings from his job at Fiddler's.

Aside from work, Derek still enjoys his music, classic television shows, time fishing with his father, and attending First General Baptist Church in Bloomfield.

"I love going to church," he smiles, "and spending time with my family."

"I had a high school teacher tell me one time years ago that she could be having the worst day, and then she meets Derek coming down the hallway with that big smile, and everything got better," his mother relates.

Derek's father concurs. "It's always been the same way with me," he says. "Whenever I see his smile, it just changes everything."

Derek Sherman will likely never know how he's improved the lives of so many others with something as simple as a smile.

That seems to be Derek's gift to the world -- anytime, anywhere -- a smile from the heart.