Stories from the Stoop: A life-changing diagnosis

By Melissa Gerr

Published January 3, 2025 at 10:10 AM EST

Here's a Stoop Story from Helen Shafer about how her son, Hayden, changed her life and spurred her to start the Shafer Center for Early Intervention, a private school for children with autism. You can hear more stories and find out about live storytelling events at Stoopstorytelling.com.

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Melissa Gerr

Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'

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