By Nancy Young
Enquirer contributor

LIBERTY TWP. - The gravity of her 4-year-old brother's situation became clear to Alicia Fischer, 12, during a visit to Paramount's Kings Island last summer.

The Fischer Family, from left, Timmy, 4, Melinda, Derek, 6, Alicia, 12, and Terry. (Gary Landers photo)

"Timmy was flapping his arms like he always does to communicate with me ... and my friends had no idea what he was trying to say," the Liberty Township girl recalls. "I started to worry what would happen when he goes to grade school if he is still unable to talk, and nobody from our family is around to tell people what he needs."

Alicia and her family are hoping their prayers have been answered, thanks to a grant provided by the Joe Busam Fund through the Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty. Timmy Fischer suffers from a rare condition called Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum (ACC). The corpus callosum is the center of the brain, and allows the right and left halves of the brain to communicate. For unknown reasons, Timmy's corpus callosum did not form.

"Timmy is our third child, and we knew from birth something wasn't right," Melinda Fischer says. "He cried almost 24 hours a day. He wouldn't eat or sleep and his reflexes were slow." Two common side effects of ACC are apraxia (a breakdown in communication between the brain, speech and hands) and autism. Timmy cannot talk and has low muscle tone, and apraxia prevents him from learning sign language. Autism keeps him in "his own little world" as his mother describes it.

The Fischers recently discovered Cincinnati Center for Autism in Fairfield, and Timmy has been accepted for Applied Behavior Analysis treatment. The catch?

"The cost of this can be quite substantial, often more than $15,000 per year. Most insurance companies will not cover the cost, and most schools are not able to provide the level of one-to-one training that these children need," says Jennifer Brown, outreach coordinator for The Kelly O'Leary Center for Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Terry Fischer's salary with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department simply won't cover his son's treatment.

Enter the Community Foundation. Executive Director Katie Braswell learned of the Fischers' plight, and she knew the Busam family had established a fund in Joe Busam's memory for such a purpose.

"My brother was mentally handicapped and died in 1995 at the age of 44," says Barb Busam Kelly of Liberty Township. "He spent many years in a group home. After his death, my mother and all seven of his siblings established the fund to help mentally, emotionally and physically handicapped individuals. The Fischer family's situation sparked our interest ... we felt that we could give this family the help that my brother and mother never had."

Timmy will soon begin a 20-hour-a-week regimen.

"We had reached the point where we were considering moving to Pennsylvania, where more financing options and special schools are available. This would have entailed our other children starting their lives over, an undoubtedly difficult job search for Terry, and leaving family and friends who provide so much loving care to Timmy," Melissa Fischer says. "How can we possibly thank a family who has given our son his only possible opportunity to live a normal life?"