Our family’s Autism story started before we knew it did. We went through some challenges with our oldest including incorrect diagnosis. Our second son struggled as a baby and toddler and after a long road received his ASD diagnosis at age 5. It is very true that a mother with a struggling child is a better investigator and researcher than the FBI! I went to work for Joey and later realized his older brother may need testing. He received his diagnosis then at age 12.
Annie is the youngest of 4. She developed relatively on time but once she started to speak her speech never improved. She has been in speech therapy for a couple years at WCH and now also receives services through school. After very little improvement I took her to Kauffman Children’s Center. They encouraged autism testing after meeting with us for a few hours. Nationwide Tiffin then diagnosed Annie with ASD this winter. She is 5 years old.
I have been searching for a new speech therapy option to help boost her progress and have been given good feedback about the BGSU speech program. I loved the idea of sending Annie there to try it! She badly wants to be understood by her peers and has started pulling away and secluding herself more and more because they do not understand her. It is heartbreaking to see. I know Annie has a lot to offer in friendship. She is very loving and likes to have fun. She brightens our lives with her laughter and love of all things yellow!
We were so happy to receive the Suzanne Tyner Assistance Funds from Avenues for Autism. Annie was able to participate in an eight-week program with the BGSU speech clinic where she had appointments two times per week this summer. She practiced the Tiny Tongue Tips Program to strengthen, coordinate, and improve her range of motion of oral muscles. She also was given a goal to independently produce word final /ts/ in 50% of opportunities. Annie very much enjoyed this program! Her eating improved quite a bit, and she had measurable improvements from the Tiny Tongue Tips program. She also exceeded her goal for the final /ts/ at 77% accuracy independently! Without the Suzanne Tyner grant she would not have had this opportunity as it is an out-of-pocket only program. This has improved her confidence heading into the school year and we are very grateful!
Story by Jana (Annie’s Mom)
