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Lilly was diagnosed with: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder - she will always have memory, time, math troubles and cognitive delays, but she is in a self-contained classroom with just 3 kids and 2 teachers; Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - she has basically grown out of this, though she still freaks out whenever she hears a sudden, loud noise; Institutional Autism - with lots of occupational therapy, attention, and socializing, she lost her autistic traits; A mood disorder - she is doing so much better now that she takes Abilify - a mood stabilizer, atypical antipsychotic.  She is no longer mean, violent, moody, angry, impulsive, or manic; Cognitive impairments from organic brain damage - she will always struggle intellectually, as there is no cure for brain damage; Sensory Integration Dysfunction - we did private Occupational Therapy and she also gets OT in the school setting. She has improved immensely and no longer exhibits most of the SID signs and behaviors. Yoga and therapeutic horseback riding also helped; Language Delays - private speech therapy and speech therapy in the school setting. Her speech and grammar are still a bit eccentric and different, but she can communicate just fine with peers, teachers, and she can use humor and sarcasm. At this point, people don't usually figure out that Lilly has disabilities until they spend quite a bit of time with her.  She still has trouble with understanding complex issues, logic, and sophisticated language.  She is slower to pick up on things than other kids, but she fits in with mainstream kids and is doing great!

When Nicholas came to us at the age of three, he suffered from a number of Developmental Delays. The most obvious of these initially was a severe Language Delay. He had behavioral issues, was extremely “busy”, had serious Hearing Problems due to chronic unresolved ear infections, and shortly after arriving home we found he also had Vision Problems. He was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and also exhibited several signs of Institutional Autism, the most pronounced of which was constant rocking accompanied by moaning. Now at the Age of 5 ½, Nicky is doing phenomenal! He is still a little bit behind socially and behaviorally, but not by much. His fine and gross motor skills are still not quite to an age appropriate level but he makes steady progress. His neurologist has indicated that this is partly due to the way his brain processes signals and is just part of who he is. Nicky’s speech is improving as well. When Nicky arrived home he had only a handful of poorly articulated words and did not make any significant gains in the first six months with us. This may also relate to the neurological processing issues he has. He receives speech therapy twice a week and talks all the time now. He still has trouble with articulation and is still behind for his age, but considering where he started he’s doing great! His hearing is now in the normal range after treating the chronic fluid retention in his ears, though his eardrums will always be scarred. He wears glasses to correct a lazy eye and other vision problems. Nicky responds very well to Ritalin for the management of his ADHD and is doing well in controlling his body movements, impulsiveness, and focusing on tasks. Almost all of his institutional autism symptoms have resolved themselves, although he occasionally will still rock if he is tired or bored. He is making tremendous progress and is a very loving and gentle boy. He is the absolute joy of our lives.