Little Lukes Where Are They Now: Baby to Teen Story - Jake
Our son Jake Chetney began at Little
Lukes 3 months before his 3rd Birthday back in 2004. Two months
after he was diagnosed with a moderate case of Autism, he was enrolled five days
a week, five hours a day, for 2 ½ years.
Believe me
when we tell you, the hardest thing we ever had to do was send our baby to
school every day for such a long day with strangers in hopes that they could
help him. We felt like we just hadn’t had him at home long enough yet. While
accepting and understanding what Autism meant, early intervention professionals
encouraged us that this was the best step we could take to help Jake.
We needed
our son to speak, have a 2 way conversation, look a person in the eye, hold a
pencil, go into a grocery store without melting down, attend a Birthday party
with friends, make friends, sit contently at the dinner table, or even hug his
Mom and Dad. These were all things that
we were very uncertain would ever happen. So with reservation we agreed to
what at the time seemed a drastic measure.
So in January of 2004, Jake was enrolled
in the Orange Octopus room with a full schedule. He had a 1:1, Speech Therapy,
Occupational Therapy, and a Behavioral therapy plan. At first it was very
stressful for him and us. Everyone was crying, Jake, us (his parents), even his
teachers sometimes. This was quite an adjustment for everyone.
By June of that year, we were shocked
at the progress in our son. He couldn’t tell us yet that he liked Little Lukes,
but he didn’t cry and we started to see smiles when he went to school. He was
looking when his name was spoken. He was using sign language to express some of
his needs. He would sit and eat a meal. We saw this carrying over at home as
well. Little Luke’s teachers/therapist were always giving us ideas and ways to
help Jake outside the classroom walls of Little Lukes. They truly wanted his
success to carry over into all parts of Jake’s life. I recall going in to learn
many times how to address his sensory needs. His therapist always took the time
to show us how to help him.
Honestly
the next two years of Jake’s time at Little Luke was one success story after
another. Having a 1:1, teachers and
therapists who simply went above and beyond to reach our child and help him
acquire the skills he needed for school, but more importantly to us, for life
was immeasurable. By the time he graduated and was heading to Kindergarten, he
was speaking short sentences, looking at people when they spoke to him, sitting
for periods of time to listen, learn and engage, and was showing signs of
affection to his family.
Without
question, we believe that attending Little Lukes as soon as he possibly could
for the amount of time that he did, was the most important and critical measure
we as parents took to help our son be as functional as he is today. Jake is now
a freshmen at Oswego High School. While he had a 1:1 at elementary school until
the 3rd Grade, he continued to grow, and improve in all areas of his
life. Jake is now a member of the high school Soccer and Basketball team. He is
a member of the YMCA. He has a schedule of mostly honors classes, and has been
in the top 25 of his class since the 7th grade.
Most
important to us is that Jake has friends. He makes friends, he laughs with
them, and he has fun with them. This area of his life has been the longest struggle
and some days, still is. But everyday he continues to surprise everyone around
him. Jake has some really amazing memories of Little Lukes, but they are not of
times, or activities, rather they are of the people that took such great care
of him. He is still in touch with his 1:1, and his special education teacher.
Like us, they are truly amazed at his every success because we all know how far
he has come. While he can’t remember the moments exactly, he remembers these
amazing teachers who he knows helped him.
Regards,
Julie
and Brian Chetney (parents of Jake Chetney, class of 2006)