HISTORY OF THE WILLIE ROSS FOUNDATION
By Bobby Ross

"Our third son, Willie, was born on Valentines Day in Springfield, Mass. He was born deaf with Autistic-like tendencies as the result of a sweeping Rubella epidemic in 1964-65 that did more damage to the unborn than the Thalidomide epidemic. The doctors told me that if I didn’t break out from the Rubella, the baby would be all right. Sadly, he wasn’t.

On that cold and bleak New England day, little did we know that about the mysterious and baffling journey we were about embark on a with Willie; a journey that would not only be heartbreaking, but heartwarming. All the love in the world did not prepare us for the chilling reality that we as parents and as a family had to face; not only would Willie’s multiple handicaps challenge us at every level, we were forced to look at  and weigh alternative opportunities available for our son as he progressed through childhood and into adulthood.

We wanted to provide Willie with the best environment so that he could develop the skills he had to their fullest . We felt that a home environment could not be replaced and the "Love" and safety in a home setting would greatly enhance quality of life while furthering the learning process. As Willie approached adolescence, it became clear he was going to need more than we could provide; it was evident that there were no opportunities or facilities that could give him what we wanted. But we found out one positive thing, we were not alone. With forty babies born in our area under the same circumstance, we found or frustration and concerns were shared by many parents of children born deaf like Willie. Action was needed.

Dr. Stella Chess, a noted Psychiatrist who has done extensive research on this rubella group, stated: "though deafness, cataracts, congenital heart disease were, for many years considered the rubella syndrome, but this has now expanded to include defects ranging from the most obvious and severe to the most subtle with a hardly body organ or system left untouched by the virus."

So in 1967, The Willie Ross School for the Deaf was established in Longmeadow Mass. The Foundation was established after Willie was badly abused in another facility in the spring of 1980. It is a concern that there are many individuals who are deaf and autistic, living in a world of silence without the resources to make their own choices in their lives.

There are 75 students at the home campus and 138 mainstreamed in the suburbs and as far as the Berkshires, with teachers provided by the school. This was made possible by a wonderful group of parents and their children, one being Willie.

The Willie Ross Foundation was incorporated in 1982 and expanded itself to California, a branch run by Tim Bodystun. The California branch currently caters to 50 clients and is opening another facility in March. The Foundation is designed to assist deaf/autistic men. Sign language is the primary means of communication. The residents are taught to make their own choices so they may be able to develop self-esteem.

What a wonderful sense of peace I now have, that Willie has a happy life without me! This is what every parent of adult special needs hopes for. Willie comes home every six weeks for a visit and I am at the home volunteering in the interim. "