One Man's Easterseals Journey from Preschool to Adulthood
Johnathan Watson is a prime example of Easterseals Arkansas' continuum of services. He started at Easterseals in 2003 when he was enrolled in our Little Rock Developmental Preschool and now he's involved in our college program, ACCE, at UA Little Rock and living independently in one of our apartment complexes.
The summer before his senior year, Johnathan participated in our high school transition program – SET for Success – and completed his work experience in that program at our Children's Rehabilitation Center. He says, he enjoyed "giving back to Easterseals." He graduated from Bryant High School in 2018, and soon after, he enrolled for his second summer in the SET for Success program held at Baptist Health. Johnathan's work experience for Baptist Sodexso food service has paid off. At the end of the program, he accepted a full-time work offer from Baptist as a patient transporter.
Johnathan wanted to continue his education and chose our college program. He attends the ACCE program in the mornings and in the afternoons and will graduate with fellow students in May.
Johnathan continues to reach his goals and moved into his first apartment at Harold Court. He will miss seeing his dogs, but says he looks forward to playing his video games and watching cooking shows. His mother says she is proud of him, because in only a couple of weeks of living on his own, he has mastered cooking spaghetti!