Pranav is five and is a sweet little boy. He is minimally verbal. He loves swings, cuddles, playing with water, and jumping on the couch. Our lives turned upside down when we learned about his developmental delays at his 2-year doctor checkup. He was diagnosed with mild level 2 autism. I dropped out of school and stayed home ever since. We started him on speech therapy and occupational therapy right away.
After his third birthday, we enrolled him in Union Elementary in Maumee through the Wood County services. He liked the school but struggled to transition and didn’t interact with any of his peers. For the summer, to avoid any regression of skills, we tried New Horizons special kids summer camp, but it was extremely expensive, so we could not go back again.
We realized he learned better in a smaller classroom with more one-on-one support, so we put his name down for the Ready program in Bowling Green. He started at the Ready Program when he was four and improved a lot that academic year in following a routine and working at the table. His behaviors were also increasing with age, so we enrolled him at Hope Bridge for ABA services. They are working on taking turns, sharing, tolerating different sounds, etc. He goes to ABA in the morning and then attends the Ready Program in the afternoon.
He was supposed to attend kindergarten this year, but we decided to stay with the Ready Program one more year and start public school next year. The biggest reason for making that decision is because Pranav’s speech is limited. He knows letters and numbers and recently started saying 3–4-word sentences. Before he goes to kindergarten, we hope to improve his speech a little bit more. Pranav also has poor motor coordination and has issues with finger grasp. We are working on legible handwriting skills. We thought one more year of Ready plus all the speech, OT, and ABA would better prepare him for kindergarten.
We are incredibly proud of the progress Pranav has made. With the help of dedicated therapists, he is developing his communication skills. This journey has not only enhanced his quality of life but has also enriched our entire family. We are especially grateful to Avenues of Autism for supporting Pranav over the years. The Suzanne Tyner Autism Assistance Fund has been instrumental in covering his speech and occupational therapy costs, allowing him to access the care he needs.
Thank you, Avenues of Autism, for your unwavering commitment to helping children like Pranav. Your support has created lasting change in our lives, and we are forever grateful. From the bottom of our hearts—THANK YOU!
Story by Rinda (Pranav’s Mom)
