Before Collin came to Eden, people told his mom, Kimberly, that he would never be able to communicate with her. “They told me that I should just give up,” she said.
Today, Collin can tell his parents what he needs or wants and can follow directions. “They gave him a voice,” said Kimberly. “His community was non-existent before, and now his skills have skyrocketed and developed in ways that teachers in other schools told me were impossible.”
Since Collin learned how to express himself, his world opened up. He is less frustrated and has begun to show his mom affection.
“He never wants to be touched; it has to be on his terms. I said, ‘Can Mama have a kiss?’ and he came right up to me and just kissed me. It was the best thing I’ve ever had in the world,” said Kimberly.
Collin joined Eden in 2015. At first, Kimberly was worried. Based on past experiences at other schools, teachers didn’t get to know Collin due to his behavior. But at Eden, teachers look forward to working with him. “It doesn’t matter if he’s having a bad day. I haven’t met one person at Eden who asked not to work with Collin or said he’s too much. His teachers want to work with him, and they love him,” she said.
Lead Speech Therapist Abby Tappert worked with Collin to expand his communication skills. “We slowly but surely gave him a way to communicate,” said Abby. “It wasn’t always easy, but seeing him spontaneously ask for things and make very specific requests was huge. He finally has language to be specific and be heard.” When Abby sees Collin smiling and laughing at school, it makes every hard day worth it.
Collin is playful and funny; he loves to laugh. He looks forward to early morning car rides to Dunkin’ Donuts and spending time with his parents. He also loves to swim. He recently spent a lot of time swimming on a family vacation to Florida — something that once seemed impossible for Collin to do.
“Eden, they saved our family,” said Kimberly. “When we felt like we were at the end of our rope, we felt so secluded and isolated; they became our family. They gave us the best people in the world who taught us how to understand and communicate with our child, and how to help him. They gave us skills that we never even knew we had in us.”