maximum chances

Learning to Count Using Touch Points [Colleyville Texas Autism Charity]

December 21, 2016By JessicaMarchetti

With Christmas just a few days away we thought we’d spread a little cheer & joy with you all!

We wanted to share with you another sweet boy who is part of our Maximum Chances family, Joaquin. Joaquin is 5 years old, an only son, and he is autistic. Joaquin started at Journey Learning Center in December. At that time he was non verbal. He used to get very frustrated and harm himself. He used to spit a lot, didn’t know how to play with other kids or even with toys. He didn’t know his colors, letters, how to ride a bike, how to follow directions, and he didn’t like to color among other things. Today, after a year at Journey, Joaquin is starting to talk, color and count!

Here is a little clip of Joaquin working on counting (and writing the numbers!) using touch points. You can even see him drawing a little sketch, and if you listen closely his good buddy Brooks (who graduated from the program) cheers him on for a job well done!

His mom shared his successes with us! She said, “It’s something that I did not know it could be possible for him, but he is learning how to talk, we have sounds! We know that he can read! He is playing with the kids, with toys, he learned how to ride a bike, how to color, and how to follow directions. He has improved so much in these nine months, he amazes me every day. Everybody at Journey is amazing, and what I like the most, and the reason why it works it’s because they all have the same goals for the children and work together to help them. I could not have done this without Maximum Chances since I did not have the resources to provide for my son on my own. I really don’t know how can I ever thank Maximum Chances for all what they do for us and other families. To see my son being so proud of himself and happy, it is priceless! Thank you so much Maximum Chances ! You have been a blessing to so many families.”

First Day of Kindergarten [DFW Autism Charity]

August 22, 2016By JessicaMarchetti1 Comment

MAXimum Chances would love to share a story of an amazing little boy and his incredible milestone! Today our first Maximum Chances child at the Journey Learning center is headed off to school. Gorgeous Brooks is starting kindergarten! Now obviously that’s a milestone many children will begin today, but for Brooks, and many children on the spectrum, this is a big step. He was largely non-verbal until just a year ago! Diagnosed with autism around the age of 2, Brooks has worked incredibly hard to get where he is today. He has been at the wonderful Journey Learning Center for more than 18 months, attending 5 days a week and nearly 8 hours a day. He has learned to count, say and write his name, set the lunch table and interact with his little friends as well as the teachers. Imagine learning 5 years of life skills in such a condensed period of time like that!

Sending a child on the autism spectrum off to school where they will largely be integrated with a mainstreamed classroom is such a dream for many parents. Brooks is an amazing warrior and the incredible staff at Journey have worked so hard with him. No doubt this is incredibly rewarding for them to see him be so successful.

We stopped by the Journey Learning Center on his last day to congratulate him and take some pictures of him having fun with friends. He is such a joy to be around, and that smile is quite infectious. Congrats to Brooks and his family, we are so happy to be sharing in this wonderful day with you!

For more information on the Journey Learning Center, visit their site, http://www.journeylearning.org

Above is Brooks with all of his friends eating lunch! And below is one of his favorite activities, riding his bike, and playing on the playground.

One of the activities he worked on was journaling about his day. Here he is copying the sentence “I cut a hat,” talking about how he made a graduation hat earlier in the day. Look at that gorgeous handwriting!