Adam is 13 years old. He has come a long way since first starting with ABS at 3 years old. He made great progress at ABS learning how to talk, use the potty, and ask for things to get his needs met. He never would have made this kind of progress in a traditional special education preschool. By 7 years old he was ready for first grade in our school district. He received OT and speech all through elementary school and although he never did grade level work, his teachers made him part of the classroom. I was disappointed that he could not attend ABS in the summer because his district did not have an adequate year round program. Middle school was hard because the public school wanted to focus on academics yet could not manage to teach Adam basic conversation skills or simple life skills like learning facetime, opening lunch containers or fastening a seat belt. By this time inclusion with peers was not beneficial to him, and there was no real approach or curriculum for teaching the functional skills that we thought were important. We went back to ABS for 6th grade and are really pleased with his progress. He is more independent with dressing, household chores and has even started to initiate conversations with his sisters for the first time. His comprehension and vocabulary are improving. The physical space of the school is ordinary but the teachers, therapists, methods, and materials that they use are special. Adam is thriving, and he likes school.
2
March