Dr. Jerry Alexandratos (Ph.D. Biotechnology) is a research scientist and laboratory manager living and working in Frederick Maryland for over 30 years.

Jerry has experience with managing budgets, and working with varied people (other board members, homeowners, fellow scientists, contractors, etc.) to accomplish the goals of the organization. Before coming to Frederick, Jerry was a US Navy officer serving in the Medical Department on an overseas deployed ship and then at the National Naval Medical Center (now Walter Reed) in Bethesda.

Jerry has been married to Zoe Handerson Alexandratos, a recently retired Frederick County Public Schools teacher, for over 16 years.

I have a family member who was diagnosed with “unspecified speech and language delays” prior to kindergarten. As this child grew up and experienced all of the big life events and small nuances someone with an “unspecified special need” diagnosis encounters, it became apparent that the segment of the population with a need for a little bit of back up is increasing. I do not know if this is because the definition of various diagnoses is expanding—as humans live longer there are more people who have abilities just outside “the norm”—or some other factor.

What I do see in 21st century America is that there is a growing population of adults who have enough ability to earn a living and take care of most everyday tasks with almost complete independence because of family support. 

When Peter started Kindergarten, he still wasn’t talking. He couldn’t make himself understood to people outside our family. He started talking by the end of Kindergarten, but a serious stutter still kept him from communicating with non-family members. Years of speech intervention and medication for ADHD helped him to communicate and to keep up with school.

There was still a missing piece to understanding him. There was some part of him that all the Special Education Plans and Speech and Language Intervention wasn’t reaching. Finally, in Middle School, he was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. It was suddenly clear why he had such trouble with relationships outside our own family. We all learned to understand his challenges, learned to reach him, and help him to communicate more effectively.