BLOOMINGTON - On Thursday, Jamie Powers taught Kade Davis to tie a knot.

Kade is a 6-year-old Bloomington boy who was diagnosed three years ago with moderate to severe autism.

"The smile on his face was miraculous," said Powers, a 31-year-old behavioral therapist based in Normal. "I knew it was terribly hard for him but I knew he could do it.

"When you are given a diagnosis, you shouldn't be told that you can't do well."

Powers understands. At age 3, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Her parents were told that she wouldn't be able to walk or ride a bike.

Her determination and mastery of those skills and others helped to prepare her for a career using applied behavior analysis to help children and teenagers with autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, cerebral palsy, behavior disorders and developmental delays.

Powers's spirit and work have not gone unrecognized. Ford Motor Co. has awarded Powers a $35,000 Ford Edge and an additional $10,000 for licensing, fees and taxes as part of the auto maker's "Edge Across America" promotion with ABC-TV's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" program.

Ford solicited inspirational stories, received 115,000 entries nationwide, and named 50 winners - one in each state, according to information from John Carlson, sales manager with Bob Dennison Ford in Bloomington, and www.edgeacrossamerica.com. Powers was named the Illinois winner and is expected to receive the Edge in mid-August.

"I'm humbled," Powers said. "I always bought old cars from dad."

Edgy plans

Powers already has plans for her Edge, a crossover sport utility vehicle. She does her therapy in children's homes, day care centers and schools, and brings therapy equipment, supplies, toys and books with her. Because they don't always fit in her 2000 Ford Taurus, she has to make two trips or the children's parents bring some equipment in their vehicle.

"Now I can fit all my equipment in my SUV," she said.

Her father, Roy Powers of Naperville, wrote the essay about Jamie that resulted in her winning the recognition.

"She works miracles with these kids," he said. "Because of her cerebral palsy and what she went through as a child, she identifies more with these kids and they sense it and they identify with her."

Kade's mother, Stacy Davis of Bloomington, said "I truly can't think of someone else who deserves it more. She struggles with her own disability every day, yet she uses her energy to help children."

Jamie Powers was born prematurely and spent the first three months of her life in an incubator. She was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age 3.

"My parents always pushed me," she recalled of her youth in Naperville. "When they were told I'd never be able to talk or hold down a job, they signed me up for speech therapy. When they were told I'd never be able to walk, they bought me a new pair of shoes. When they were told I'd never be able to ride a bike, they bought me a bike."

She was in physical, occupational and speech therapy. She wore braces on her legs to help straighten them.

"I remember crying because it hurt," she said of the braces and of therapy sessions. "But the more I did it, the easier it got."

Transferred to ISU

Powers, who has lived in Normal since 1997 when she transferred to Illinois State University, has spastic cerebral palsy. While it is no longer detectable in her speech, she continues to get physical and occupational therapy from time to time because she has less control of her right side than her left side.

She has trouble typing, writing and throwing with her right hand. Her right foot turns in, meaning she has to think about every step, she has to hold onto handrails going up and down stairs, and she can't jump.

"I knew early on that I wanted to be a therapist and work with kids with disabilities because I've been there," she said.

Through her business, Power Toolz Inc., she evaluates, develops plans for, and does one-on-one behavioral therapy with special needs children.

The Davis family moved from Lincoln, Neb., to Bloomington in October 2004 so Kade could get Powers's therapy, Stacy Davis said.

When Powers started with Kade, he wouldn't sit in a chair, didn't know how to ask for something, and would have an emotional "melt down" at what other kids would consider minor changes or irritations, his mother recalled. Powers has taught him to sit to do tasks, to take turns, to write his name, how to greet other people, how to ask for something, and how to deal with frustrations and control his emotions, Davis said.

"Jamie has given us and Kade the tools to succeed."

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Five facts about Jamie Powers

1. She was born three months premature in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. "I had a very dramatic entrance into the world," she said.

2. She weighed 2 pounds 1 ounce at birth and dropped to 1 pound 9 ounces before her recovery began.

3. She has been involved in the Bloomington-Normal Jaycees and chaired for several years the McLean County Can-A-Thon to benefit local food pantries.

4. Earlier this year, she went to Haiti for a week to work at a special needs orphanage.

5. Her mother, Georgie, died suddenly of cancer three years ago. Now, Jamie is helping her father, Roy, in his cancer battle.

SOURCES: Jamie and Roy Powers