When my son was 18 months old he started to attend the nursery at church. It was a welcome change for Dave and I (though disconcerting) and a challenging one for Raycito. We would look in on Raycito through a peep hole in the door and watch him isolate himself from the other children and wonder why he was behaving in his odd ways. He had the same toy horse grasped in his hands every week and he couldn't be persuaded to move on to other activities very easily.
We didn't know for sure (though I had some suspicions) that he had Asperger's Syndrome which is on the Autism Spectrum. One of the nursery leaders noticed these things. She happened to be the program manager over a preschool called Giant Steps which provides early behavioral intervention for children with varying degrees of autism.
While I agonized over my son's behavior, echolalia, tantrums and difficulty with change; while I got next to no answers or help from his pediatrician; while Dave and I argued over whether there was even anything to worry about, this nursery leader put my son's name on a waiting list for Giant Steps.
When Raycito turned three his name was at the top of the list and he qualified to enter into this preschool. I can't help but feel that it was a miracle on my son's behalf that the nursery leader was there at that time to observe him and allow him a head start by attending Giant Steps. He received two full years of early intervention before starting kindergarten. I received parent training and learned new strategies to help him.
When my close friend Emilie started to describe some of the things that worried her about her baby boy I recommended that she put his name on the waiting list for Giant Steps even though he was a long ways away from preschool. I had no idea if he was autistic but I knew it wouldn't hurt to have him evaluated. And she'd regret it if she missed the opportunity. He ended up qualifying for the program because of his developmental delays and autistic-like mannerisms due to epilepsy and is receiving precious intervention that would otherwise cost thousands of dollars.
I'm so excited that Neon Trees and Lower Lights are doing this benefit concert for Giant Steps. I can't stop feeling so grateful for that nursery leader and what a blessing she gave to us.
One-Hundred-Percent (100%!) of the proceeds will go to Giant Steps. You can buy your tickets here or at Velour and all SLC Graywhale locations. Tickets are $20/person.
2 comments:
As a professional in the field, and having worked in an early intervention program with children with developmental disabilities as well as those in that group in the Autism Spectrum, I can't overstate enough how important early intervention is to the child. I have seen that in Racito's life, and in the countless kids I have worked with.
Marty
This post made me cry. You were that person for me!! It's a miracle that Connor got to go there and it's totaly because of you. I love you forever for that one reason and many, many, many others. See you saturday!!!
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