“Juan, it’s time for your bath!” Sara smiled to herself, knowing that her son, Juan, would enjoy the bubble bath she had prepared. When Sara heard no answer, she hurried to his play area only to hear her son repetitively babbling numbers one to four. “Uno, dos, tres, cuatro…” Dismayed, Sara tried another tactic to get her child to respond. “Juan, would you like to have your snack first?” Sara hoped the subject change would […]
Read More →Five words to full sentences
Hide-and-seek is a much loved childhood game. Most children love being “it” and express surprise and joy at the idea of being “caught” by their friends. For children like Matthew, however, hiding under the table was not a game. It was actually a way of expressing frustration with the inability to communicate to due Autism Spectrum Disorder. When Matthew first arrived at The Warren Center, he was non-verbal and was unable to speak even single […]
Read More →He now communicates with his family
Independence is more than a revolutionary concept or theory. It is actually essential to self-determination and liberty. Without the ability to be independent, children can have a hard time reaching milestones and later functioning in society. Therefore, you can imagine the dismay Marco’s mother felt when her son struggled to speak or use words independently. As his mother put it, “This is really important to me because he is my son. I care for him […]
Read More →From no strength to eat to full meals
Many of us have a favorite childhood pastime of running freely at the park while enjoying an ice cream cone or hot dog. While some may simply recall these memories with fondness, they may not realize that even these simple tasks can seem like an insurmountable challenge to children born with developmental disabilities. An example of a child who faced this challenge is a little girl named Mae. Born prematurely at 29 weeks, Mae exhibited […]
Read More →She now experiences the joy of playing
For many children, nothing exceeds the joy of games like singing, playing with bubbles, or settling down for story time with a great book. It is understandable, then, how frustrating it can be for children with special needs to struggle to participate in the joys of childhood. With autism diagnoses on the rise, many children struggle to maintain the focus and developmental skills required to engage in these activities. With the help of programs from […]
Read More →He learned to imitate sounds and play with others
People often associate young boys with energetic noise and rambunctious chatter. When Daniel’s mother realized that he was not speaking, however, the silence became deafening. She explains: “I was really concerned and not happy because he didn’t talk. Even his school complained about his lack of words.” After a period of disheartening frustration, Daniel received a primary diagnosis of mixed expressive-receptive language disorder and enrolled in speech therapy at The Warren Center. At therapy, Daniel […]
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