Laurie asked me to speak for all the employees at KOTM on Monday. For some reason I was most nervous about this speaking arrangement. I think it is because all of Luke's lifesavers were in the audience.
Tara (Ty's mom) also spoke with me. I think it went really well. I hope the employees at KOTM know how much I love and appreciate them!
As a thank you gift they gave me, Graham, and Luke Bridges t-shirts :)
Good morning everyone! I’m Keisha Knight, or I also very proudly go by Luke’s mom and I’m here today because Laurie asked me to share a little bit of our family story, and how KOTM and Bridges has impacted our lives.
Some of you in this room know our family and our story. Some of you have directly impacted Luke, Darren, Me, or even our nine month old Graham who LOVES coming to pick Luke up everyday! I haven’t met a lot of you, but the mere fact that you work with such a great organization makes us connected.
Luke is my very active, affectionate, and happy three year old little boy. Just like any other 3 year old he has his struggles, but like other children on the spectrum, it is harder for him to get over the hurdles.
We first became aware of Luke's delay in development when we found ourselves constantly apologizing for Luke's behavior. It got to the point that we felt we couldn't even go around close extended family for fear we would have to make excuses for why Luke wasn't connecting with people. We felt like the only solution for Luke's social and behavioral issues at that time was to isolate ourselves.
At Luke's 2 year check up, we mentioned our concerns to his pediatrician, whom we adore. Without any hesitation his doctor recommended us to Kids On the Move. We quickly got him signed up and went to all the classes that were available and received some tools that were very useful in helping Luke make progress.
In the midst of all of this Luke was fighting cold after cold and had 8 double ear infections in the course of a year. We decided it was best to have tubes put in Luke’s ears. It was the best decision we made for him and his physical health. Since then, we haven't had any problems with ear infections and his speech and language development have improved dramatically. Prior to having the tubes put in his progress was very slow as setbacks came with each ear infection. KOTM helped him make progress, and when he turned 3 last October, we knew we would need something rigorous to continue the progress that had been made.
As we approached Luke's third birthday, we were somewhat stressed about what was next for him, because he would soon be too old for KOTM. We knew he needed help, but we were unsure about what would be best for him. Our developmental specialist, Aubry, handed us a flyer with information about Bridges and the announcement about an open house.
My husband and I decided to go to the open house and see what Bridges was all about. I will never forget meeting Miss Brittanie for the first time. It was a very brief conversation that day, and she was extremely busy with all the commotion of the open house, but we were very impressed. This school seemed all about the kids. That was their focus and that's what we wanted for Luke.
I came straight home and emailed Laurie asking for more information and what the chances were of getting Luke into the program. Within twenty-four hours we had a meeting scheduled with her. The stars seemed to be aligning.
Before our meeting, we felt very weighed down as Luke's parents. There is a lot of information out there, and we felt extremely overwhelmed and somewhat depressed about our possible options at that point. We also felt like lots of people were quick to tell us all of Luke's weaknesses, but not give us any solutions to help him. During our meeting with Laurie all of that changed.
I remember getting chills and becoming quite emotional as she told us she felt like Bridges could help Luke and showed us how they would do it.
Luke was registered for preschool and ABA the day of our meeting with Laurie, and started school that next week. It couldn’t have worked out more perfectly.
What my family has experienced in the last 6 plus months has been miraculous.
My husband and I prepared ourselves for Luke to take weeks to adjust to his new regiment and were telling ourselves it is okay if he kicks and screams about going. We were proven wrong almost immediately. Luke had adjusted and was loving school within the first week. We credit that to the great staff at Bridges.
Luke started school with a very limited vocabulary. I had one sheet of paper with the words he could say. Since Bridges, we’ve can now fill multiple sheets with words and phrases that are coming out of his cute little mouth. It is so fun to see what’s been trapped in his head for so long. He’s a pretty funny little boy, and Darren and I are frequently discussing the funny things he says each day.
Luke has some social issues we are also working on. He wants to be social, he just isn't sure how sometimes. It’s so fun hearing about his friendships he is making at school. Just last night as we were tucking him into bed, we told him he got to go back to school tomorrow. We asked who he was excited to play with, and he mentioned over 3 specific kids from his class. He really loves it here. Luke also keeps impressing us with his social skills at the playground. Sometimes quite frankly, I think he is has learned better social skills from Bridges then some of the other kids on the playground have.
We've also seen lots of improvement in his attention span and tolerance. He will sit at the table and not be out of control. Just this weekend he waited for a table at the Cheesecake Factory (which gives anyone anxiety) and sat peacefully through all of dinner.
ABA techniques often make Darren and I laugh. If Luke is doing something and we say “Luke” and get his attention he quickly puts his hands on his legs. Its hard not to giggle when we see this.
Luke is loving participating in story time and singing time. It doesn’t bother me one bit that each night it becomes “Luke’s turn” and he reads me a book. Often times its pretty close to the actual story line from one of our favorites. Within the last couple of weeks, Luke and I were reading “five little monkeys jumping on the bed” and all of the sudden Luke starts singing “you can’t catch me, you can’t catch me” and does some quiet sneaky move and then snaps me like a crocodile. I was dying. I figured it was something he learned at preschool and sure enough they had been singing about these crazy monkeys. I’m constantly asking Bridges teachers to sing me the songs they are singing with Luke at school. Luke’s even started beat boxing for us too so be on the look out for that.
Another miracle I credit all to Bridges is his name writing and spelling. One afternoon Luke and I were coloring and this was within the first 3 months of Luke starting Bridges. I wrote "Mommy loves Luke". Within seconds I was crying because I watched my little toddler spell and write his own name. I had no idea he could do this. After talking with his teachers, I realized they had been spelling his name with him every day at school. He now spells his name all the time. Not only his first name, but also his last.
When we had Luke’s school district assessment done, it was not one of my favorite days. I’m sure you’ve heard that from numerous moms. Its never easy hearing all the things your kid ISN’T good at. There is a tiny sliver of mama bear in me that wants to go to them and tell them he can count to 20 and down from 10. Can identify over 10 colors. Shape naming is coming along great. I love hearing him try to say “octagon”. And his animal sounds are quite impressive. Did you all know that a giraffe says “blah” and a lady bug says “pssss, psss, psss” ?
And then there is potty training... We had an official meeting with Krystn about a month ago to tackle the thing that had been haunting me for months. Once I got Luke to pee one time in the toilet, he loved the potty song and dance I gave him and the treats and prizes that followed. He’s still figuring it all out, but honestly he’s impressed all of us. He went three days over spring break with no accidents. I’m so grateful for the teachers who told me to take it by the horns and say good bye forever to the diaper. Bridges isn’t just for Luke it is for my entire family.
If there is one thing I want to leave you all with today is that you are changing lives. Not just little lives. You have all changed my life. My family’s life.
The work you are doing has helped my two sons build a relationship, which is priceless to me as a mother. Instead of doing the famous “squawk and drop” Luke is learning to calmly say “No, Graham.” Until Luke’s threshold has been met by the 9 month old that doesn’t care. If Graham is upset, Luke is usually the first to say “It’s ok Graham.” And just recently older brother Luke taught Graham how to shake his head no. Something I’m not jumping for joy about, but my heart melts to butter when I see those two interacting.
Out in the hall is the “Welcome to Holland” poem. And I have decided you all are my flight attendants and tour guides. You have kept me calm during a time when I didn’t know I was headed to Holland instead of Italy. You have helped me find the beauty that is to be found in this unexpected country. You’ve done all the right things any good attendant and guide would do. And honestly, most days Darren and I are excited to be in Holland over Italy.
The best thing about Bridges and KOTM is that you see the potential in our Luke. He loves being at here and I love it too (I’m actually a tad bit obsessed). You are positive and patient and celebrate every milestone with us. You are on our team for making our little boy the best boy he can be, and that is truly all we want for him. To be the absolute best he can be.
0 comments:
Post a Comment