We’ve only got THREE more days till we all join at Bear Creek Park to celebrate the wonderful students and program that makes up The Arbor School. And as promised, we’ve got more personal stories to share! This one comes from Arbor parent, Julie Evans and chronicles the milestones her son, Benjamin, has achieved in just a short time at The Arbor. Thanks, for sharing, Julie!

My son Benjamin was born in January 2008 after a normal uneventful pregnancy. Within hours of his birth my husband and I were told that something was wrong with our son.  He was diagnosed with a serious heart defect and later a genetic defect.  The first few months of his life were simply about survival. He had open heart surgery and later three more surgeries to correct other problems. We started therapy right away but saw little progress even though we were going almost every day. By the time Benjamin was 18 months old I was starting to feel depressed over how little he was able to do. Physically all he could do was sit up.  Cognitively he was in the 6 month old range.  I started to search for schools and found the Arbor School.  

Benjamin started in Classroom A with Ms. Sonia in November 2009. Over the next 18 months we experienced a series of major successes.  At this time Benjamin was being fed exclusively through a g-tube in his stomach.  Despite twice a week feeding therapy we were no closer to him accepting food by mouth.  Sonia patiently worked with Benjamin every day and slowly he began to eat small amounts for the first time in his life!  This qualified him to enroll in a feeding clinic where he was able to increase the amount he eats. Today he is mostly eating by mouth and he actually enjoys it!

Another major area of improvement for Benjamin is mobility. Within 6 months of starting at the Arbor Benjamin started to crawl.  And then he started to “cruise”.  And finally he took his first steps.  Just in the past few weeks Benjamin started walking independently all the time.

Communication was also non-existent for Benjamin before the Arbor.  Now he regularly uses sign language and is beginning to talk.  He has just started to communicate using an iPad with his new teacher Ms.Tricia.  

Before we found the Arbor I thought the future for my son was bleak.  Now I have hope and the Arbor has helped me discover that my son is bright and full of potential.  Benjamin loves going to school and is thriving under the intensive instruction provided by the teachers.

Thank you Arbor School!

Please consider making a gift to support Benjamin and others through our 2nd Annual Arbor Fun Walk, donating is easy to do and can be done so online at www.arborfunwalk.org/donate.php.