Jayden's Story

How did you discover that your child had special needs?
We knew something wasn't right when he passes every single milestone and then started to regress when he was 2 years old. His speech became babbling, he started to spin and flap his hands. Eye contact became very poor but through it all, he remained happy.

How did you learn about Easter Seals Early Intervention?
We learned about Easterseals through Jayden's Early Interventionist, Tamiesha Jackson from Berkeley Citizens.

How do you feel your child is doing now in comparison to when they first started their early Intervention journey?
As of August 2018 Jayden is able to recognize his colors, and shapes with verbalization and PECS cards. He is able to sit through a treatment session with less interruption from his part. Jayden is making 2-3 word phrases like "I want juice" or chocolate which is his favorite. He has increased his ability to attend tasks, respond to therapist requests, and maintain great eye contact. At this time he can complete over 12 independent tasks and activities such as sorters, puzzles, file games, stringing beads, and number match, and the list continues every day.

What kinds of support have been most helpful to you and why? 
Our support came from a lot of people. Some family and friends helped many times with Jayden but I have to say the foundation of our pyramid started with ABA therapist's Katherine Hassell, Christina Bost, and Paulina Kordoins. Along with those ladies it was Jen Jones, his first OT therapist, and Lindsay Versprille who is an angel! If it wasn't for out EI, Tamiesha Jackon pulling this group together and making sure that our input counted we would have been lost. Now Jayden has a new ABA company names Aspire in which he has made remarkable gains. Meghan Casey and Amanda Wright helped us beyond their ABA, and we are thankful! I could not image life with his team of therapists. Along with Lindsay who has been with Jayden from the beginning of this journey and to see that he still has a way to go but with this team, I can see the top is near.