Navigating autism through community connections
Kham's Klub helps Central Kentucky families impacted by this neurological condition
Kham Hensley was diagnosed with autism just before he turned two. For his parents, Kent and Keelan, that is when their complex journey began.
Nearly 83,000 Kentuckians are thought to have autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to the Kentucky Advisory Council on Autism. ASD is a neurological and developmental disorder that can be diagnosed at any point in a person’s life, but is typically found by year 2 of an affected person’s life, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
Bereans Kent and Keelan are both EKU alumni, who previously moved around the country from Kentucky to Oregon, Georgia and Texas, for Kent’s work. Their son, Kham, was born in Texas, where he was diagnosed with autism.
“We decided to move back to be closer to family and it’s been great for Kham,” Keelan told The Edge, noting that because of the pandemic, Kent was able to work remotely.
“In addition to family and job flexibility, Kham’s ABA [applied behavior analysis] clinic purchased a facility in Lexington, so we had an easy transfer when we moved,” Kent told The Edge.
“We’ve always wanted to give back in some way, we’re very community service motivated, but when we found out Khamron had autism, we decided to start an autism nonprofit,” said Keelan. “It was very evident when we got here that it was just completely under-resourced [for families with autism].”
The Hensleys founded Kham’s Klub in late 2023. They still have day jobs, with Kent working in tech and Keelan working as a speech language pathologist. All of the fundraising that they get for Kham’s Klub goes into supporting their mission of creating safe spaces for families navigating ASD and helping them along those journeys.
Kent and Keelan said they founded Kham’s Klub with the intent of providing financial and community support to families navigating their own autism journey. They share information about autism and many of those resources on the Kham’s Klub website.
Partially due to the fact that autism can appear in so many different ways, the Hensleys said that it is hard for doctors to give families guaranteed answers about what exactly will help their children. They also said the general public tends to misunderstand autism.
A common behavior for individuals with ASD is “stimming”, lingo for short for self-stimulatory behavior such as hand flapping, head banging, or squealing, according to experts. This can make taking a child with ASD out in public frustrating, according to the Hensleys.
“There were many years we wouldn’t go out to dinner, we wouldn’t go out in public because of fear of behaviors or fear of the unknown,” said Kent.
Keelan said that after moving back to Kentucky, Kham started seeing a local behavioral analyst, Monica Zak, in Lexington.
“She actually worked with Khamron and she was amazing for our son,” said Keelan. When we moved from Texas to Kentucky, he had some words and a little bit of language, but he blossomed under her watchful eye. She’s a great resource to have sitting on our board [Kham’s Klub], to give a different perspective.”
Alicia Rhodus has two children on the autism spectrum, but they exhibit it in very different ways. She said while her daughter, Layken, struggles mainly with sensory issues and some awkwardness in social situations, but is very independent, her son, Braxton, is non-verbal and will elope (running or wandering away), requiring him to have round-the-clock supervision. Both of the children also have ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and Layken has OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), according to Alicia.
“The diagnosis time is ridiculous … and for a lot of it [therapies for children with ASD] you have to have a diagnosis,” said Rhodus. She said that for Braxton, she got a call in 2022 to schedule a diagnosis appointment for 2024, but luckily they were able to get in a year early.
“Kham’s Klub is paired with Smith Learning Services, and that’s who we actually used for Layken. I reached out to Kent, he sent me the referral paperwork, I filled all that out, and he sent it to them,” said Rhodus. Through them, she said, Layken was able to get a diagnosis within two months.
The Kham’s Klub website also offers information about intervention services with locations and contact information for different therapies including horse therapy, applied behavioral analysis therapies, speech, physical, and occupational therapies.
The Hensleys expose some of these therapies to families through Kham’s Klub events.
“What they’re doing is incredible, I mean all the help that they give and all the activities that they do is really an admirable thing,” said Aaron Thompson, father of Colden, his son, who has ASD.
“Seeing the kids get to play together when we did the horse therapy, Colden had never really been around a horse and he did really well with it… it’s a very sweet thing to see,” Thompson told The Edge.
Not only do the events help expose the kids to novel therapies, but it also gives parents and children a safe space to be themselves and an opportunity to meet others in a similar situation.
“Kham’s Klub really helped him [Colden] feel comfortable just being him,” said Laura Thomspon, Colden’s mother. Even though he communicates differently, there’re other kids that he found an interest in, or were very similar, so they bonded… It's been really nice seeing him bond and develop friendships with kids at the events.”
The Thompsons said that the parents involved in Kham’s Klub are like “one big support group” and there is an understanding between what they all go through.
That sentiment is important to the Hensleys, who said they try to make sure that there is a place for the parents to feel comfortable and have some of their own time at the events.
“A lot of this you think is focused specifically on the kids, but it’s really about families and hopefully we create environments where they can relax for a minute, they can take a deep breath, they can watch their kid interact with other individuals,” Kent said. “We try to do this [Kham’s Klub] as much for everyone in the family as the individual themselves.
The Kham’s Klub website also shares information about what places, such as movie theaters, hair salons, and sports leagues are autism friendly to make navigating the autism journey that much less daunting for parents.
“When people express they feel sorry for me, I’d rather they see the love and light my son brings. Instead of feeling sorry, consider supporting organizations like Kham’s Klub, which makes a real difference in our lives with opportunities or helping out,” Rhodus said.
The Hensleys have dreams of growing their nonprofit to not only support their community and to educate others on what autism is, but to make the world a safer place for children and families with ASD.
The next Kham’s Klub event will be swimming at the EKU REC Center on June 21st. You can volunteer your time or donate on the Kham’s Klub website to continue spreading awareness and offering support for families navigating ASD.