UPDATED: Kay County residents speak at interim study on Autism

STILLWATER — Dr. Mandy Seward of Newkirk was one of three Kay County residents who spoke at interim study this week regarding Autism. During her presentation Seward said she was charged in Kay County District Court with abandoning a child and spent nearly 18 months getting the case dismissed. Stillwater attorney and former Ponca City Municipal Judge, Paige Lee, represented Seward in the case.

Lee said that the case was filed by the District Attorney’s office as a juvenile deprived case and not a felony or a misdemeanor crime, therefore the records are sealed.

Lee shared the following comment on the situation.

“The problem with the Department of Human Services and the Office of Juvenile Affairs are not unique to Kay County. However, the complete lack of checks and balances by the district attorney and court is much less prevalent statewide. The law gives options when horrible and dangerous children seek to harm their family. Those options are completely contingent upon the district attorney and court pursuing them. When those entities refuse legal assistance, a parent has no options. That is the true tragedy. A district attorney and or judge should not have unchecked power to quite literally sentence a parent to die at the hands of a violent child.”

OKLAHOMA CITY — Three Kay County residents spoke at an interim study examining ways the state can improve care, services and support for individuals with high-support needs related to Autism, as well as their families and caregivers hosted by Sen. Bill Coleman.

Amber Boyer, Dr. Mandy Seward, and Laura Windom-Olson spoke to the committee about their experiences with those diagnosed with autism.

Coleman began the event by saying that he was looking at the lack of residential care in the state for those with autism.

He said that there is no place for those with the diagnosis to go in the state of Oklahoma. “They go out of state at a cost of about $500,000 per year per person,” said Coleman.

Amber Boyer, of Newkirk, is a mother of a son with autism. Boyer said that her son has profound autism and requires continued support.

She said that services described in agency materials are often not available in rural areas or are denied because one agency says another is responsible.

“A service that exists on paper is not a service a family can use,” she said.

She told the committee that her son was on a wait list for 11 years and never received services. After he was suspended from school, she quit her job to take care of him.

Boyer said that a representative with Developmental Disability Services called to see what services her son needed. 

She was told those services were not available and instead the family started receiving $250 checks in lieu of the services.

Boyer said that the environment with her son became so dangerous that she sent her daughter to live with relatives and that she started living in the garage while watching her son in the home through cameras.

She said after many contacts with Grand Lakes Mental Health, she contacted Sen. Coleman.

She said  that the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse called her the next day to set up a team.

“I sent evaluations, medical and school documents for the group to review,” she said. “I relayed to the team that my son was on the wait list for services and at that time they said they could no longer help because being on the wait list broke the chain of command and that her son already had a diagnosis.”

Boyer soon found herself unemployed with no income. She called the Autism Resource Center. They advised her to take her son to the OU Emergency Room.

“This was our seventh ER visit in a year,” she said. “I was also treated for a stress related event.”

Boyer said social services made phone calls with her to various agencies. She received information for seven locations which did not accept her son. She said staff brought her paperwork that would allow her to relinquish her parental rights citing that it may be the only way to get help. “I refused. No parent should have to relinquish their rights in order to obtain medically necessary care,” she said.

Boyer said that in July of 2023, Grand Lakes found placement for her son in Kansas.

“At this time my home was completely destroyed,” she said. “Everything that wasn’t moved out to my garage was destroyed.”

Boyer said she brought her son home from Kansas in 2025 because he was being neglected and abused. She said her son’s case in Oklahoma was closed and that the process would have to start over.

She said her son regressed and became violent and at one point he broke her ribs.

“After many contacts with law enforcement and the fire department, they told me that they were afraid that one day they would get a call and that I would be dead,” she said.

Boyer said that in November 2025 a case manager sent two people to her home to see what services were needed.

“They came to my house on Nov. 4 and met with me for over an hour,” she said.  Boyer said she explained the issues and the needs. “They did not provide any resources. Instead the next week, two police officers and a DHS investigator came to my door.”

She said they stayed for three hours and that the investigator wanted to see her son. “I put my helmet on and opened the door to his room,” said Boyer. “She would not go in despite having two officers with her.” Boyer said that the investigator spoke to a supervisor and then said she had no resources.

Boyer reached out to Sen. Coleman again and her son was placed in a facility in Dallas until March of 2026. “An ordinary family should not need political involvement for action to be taken,” said Boyer.

Dr. Mandy Seward, Special Education Director of Newkirk Public Schools spoke.

Seward told the study group that she adopted two sons with a traumatic backgrounds.

She said that one of her sons needs became more serious and that he took part in substance abuse and violence.

Seward said things reached a point to where it was not safe to bring the juvenile home from a placement. 

She said she was forced to choose between a discharge plan, that she believed placed her family at risk, or refuse to pick the juvenile up.

“I chose safety,” said Seward. “I could not bring him home knowing that it exposed another child and other family members to danger. Instead of receiving help I was charged with abandonment.”

Seward said she spent over a year in Kay County District Court defending a decision that no parent should ever have to make.

“I want to be very clear I did not abandon my son. I was fighting for the level of care he needed while also protecting the rest of my family.”

Laura Windom-Olson, Ponca City, addressed the panel.

She shared stories of taking care of her brother Jonathan.

Windom-Olson told the panel that she is not a doctor, researcher, policy maker, or educator.

“I’m a sister and the sole caregiver to my 30-year-old brother who is completely non-verbal,” she said.

Windom-Olson said her brother was diagnosed with Autism in 1998.

She said she was 13 when she promised her parents that she would look out for her brother if something happened to them.

Her parents died months apart in 2021-2022.

“I have kept the promise for the last five years. And these five years have taught me something that I never expected to learn. I love my brother with every ounce of my being but love can not create services that do not exist.”

She said that right now her brother has nowhere to go but her home.

“With my brother living at my home, I now have become the system,” said Windom-Olson.

“There is no clock, no shift change, no co-worker coming through the door at five-o-clock, there is no one I can hand him to and say ‘I have done everything it is your turn,’ there is just me.”

She said that she is not tired of her brother but tired of a responsibility that was not meant to be carried by one person.

Windom-Olson said that the goal should be helping him to live and not keeping him quiet. She told a tale similar to Boyer’s about contacting agencies to find a place for her brother with no luck.

She then reached out to Sen. Coleman.

“That is how I obtained an emergency waiver for the DDS program so that my brother could receive home healthcare and I could have a job. I’m truly grateful but I have to ask, why did it have to become an emergency before there was an answer? Why do families have to reach out to the point of desperation before somebody knows where to send them? What happens to the families who don’t know who to call?”

She told the story of her brother suffering a crisis and that she called for a police escort to get him to the hospital.

Once there she was told that the hospital could not keep him because he was an adult.

“I was essentially told that he if walked out of the hospital and got hit by a car that is just what would happen,” she said.

“I was later contacted by police and told that if I did not pick up my brother at the hospital, that I could be arrested for neglect of a vulernable adult. That was after an APS case worker stated that I should just leave the hospital and that way they would be essentially forced to get him help.”

She said she is 10 years older than her brother and that she constantly thinks about what would happen if she died or becomes unable to care for him.

“I can’t be the only plan to do this on my own,” she said. “I’m the only thing standing between my brother and essentially homelessness or inappropriate placement.”

She said she is the second generation to take care of her brother and she does not want to pass the nearly impossible responsibility to her children.

“I’m asking for help from the state of Oklahoma. I’m asking for a real emergency plan for profoundly disabled adults whose caregivers suddenly become unavailable,” said Windom-Olson.

“My brother should not have to depend on my survival to have a future. My brother can’t speak. So I will. My brother can not fight for his future. So I will. My brother can not walk into this room and ask for help. So I am.”

In a press release issued by Coleman’s office, it is reported that  Oklahoma is home to over 19,000 individuals with diagnosed autism. 

“These children and adults are among the most vulnerable Oklahomans, and their families often carry an enormous responsibility,” Sen. Coleman said. “We have an obligation to listen to these families; understand the challenges they face and make sure we are doing everything we can to provide the care and resources these individuals need throughout their lives.”

“This study gave us the opportunity to hear directly from families about what they are facing, but it also gave us reason for hope. The upcoming OU Behavioral Health Center represents a significant investment in behavioral health care for Oklahoma children and could be a tremendous resource for families who desperately need more options.

“I appreciate everyone who took the time to participate in this study and share their expertise and personal experiences. These conversations are important, and I look forward to continuing this work and pursuing meaningful solutions for individuals with Autism and the families who care for them.”

During the study, attendees heard from Amber Nealy, vice president of operations for OU Health Pediatric Behavioral Health Center, about the new $129 million Oklahoma Children’s OU Health Behavioral Health Center, which is expected to open in winter 2026. The 72-bed facility will provide inpatient behavioral health services for both short-term and longer-term care. The facility will also allow parents to remain with their children in their rooms while they receive treatment.

To watch the interim study, visit Live Proceedings | Oklahoma Senate