Behavioral Therapy for Tristin
Donation protected
Friends and family,
Using this site has weighed heavily on my mind for a few months now. I actually created this account ten months ago. I do not take things like this lightly and would never ever use this site to solicite money I don't absolutely need.
As most of you know, Tristin is autistic and has Severe Behavior Disorder. He is currently on a lot of medication to keep his behaviors down to a minimum. It helps, but he needs more. He needs behavioral therapy. I have tried different avenues to try and obtain the money for him to go to the Marcus Institute and enroll him in the Severe Behavior treatment center. This center only takes Medicaid (which we have been denied along with SSI benefits) and our personal insurance will not cover it. It is extremely expensive and our budget is so tight. This is embarrassing for me to come out with...but I would like you to understand our story before you decide to donate.
Tristin is a great kid when these behaviors are supressed. He smiles, laughs and is a beautiful soul. The biggest frustrations we have with him is when he can't communicate his emotions to us. He is somewhat verbal but abstract things like feelings and emotions are very hard for him to understand and communicate.
Currently, he is going through puberty and is having to deal with that while being unable to express his frustrations with it. I can't even begin to imagine what he goes through. However, his way of expressing those emotions outwardly is through hits, screams, tantrums and throwing things. I fell like it is tearing our family apart. We can't go to movies, restaurants, or even crowded places as a family because there is a 90% chance of him having a melt down. The girls then get embarrassed, Trae and I will disagree on how to handle the situation and then it goes downhill frrom there...right in front of everyone. The comments people make about it are the worst. (Not that I care what they say but they say it in front of Tristin) So we literally can't do much of anything without leaving half of our family at home because there is no one we want to leave Tristin with in fear of him hurting someone. When he starts having fits at home there have been broken dishes, things thrown and when he chases after his sisters they have been taught to go in thier rooms and lock the doors. Sometimes this lasts for quite a while so they feel like they are prisoners in their own home, and I feel so helpless. When he had fits in the past, we've come away with a dislocated jaw, (me) a black eye (his sister, Marlana) numerous scratches, pinches, kicks, punches, bruises, etc...We have been to the hospital for this, taught restraints, behavioral modifications and tried a heck of a lot of things to protect ourselves and him, but we need more.
He has been accepted into the behavioral program at Marcus Institute, as well as the feeding program. Tristin's diet consists of just a few things and that bad diet mixed with his daily medicines are causing him to gain a lot of weight and raise his cholesterol levels, hence the feeding program. These programs will start anywhere between two months and eight months and will require funds each time.
Both of the programs require a boatload of money that we just don't have. We have signed up for the scholarship program at Marcus but it looks grim. I sincerely hate that I have to solicit friends and family to help, but I've prayed on it so hard and God keeps bringing me back to this site. Please consider giving so that the Facente family can begin to have a semi-normal life.
Thank you so much for your support, even if you can't donate, kind and upliftiing words are always appreciated.
Using this site has weighed heavily on my mind for a few months now. I actually created this account ten months ago. I do not take things like this lightly and would never ever use this site to solicite money I don't absolutely need.
As most of you know, Tristin is autistic and has Severe Behavior Disorder. He is currently on a lot of medication to keep his behaviors down to a minimum. It helps, but he needs more. He needs behavioral therapy. I have tried different avenues to try and obtain the money for him to go to the Marcus Institute and enroll him in the Severe Behavior treatment center. This center only takes Medicaid (which we have been denied along with SSI benefits) and our personal insurance will not cover it. It is extremely expensive and our budget is so tight. This is embarrassing for me to come out with...but I would like you to understand our story before you decide to donate.
Tristin is a great kid when these behaviors are supressed. He smiles, laughs and is a beautiful soul. The biggest frustrations we have with him is when he can't communicate his emotions to us. He is somewhat verbal but abstract things like feelings and emotions are very hard for him to understand and communicate.
Currently, he is going through puberty and is having to deal with that while being unable to express his frustrations with it. I can't even begin to imagine what he goes through. However, his way of expressing those emotions outwardly is through hits, screams, tantrums and throwing things. I fell like it is tearing our family apart. We can't go to movies, restaurants, or even crowded places as a family because there is a 90% chance of him having a melt down. The girls then get embarrassed, Trae and I will disagree on how to handle the situation and then it goes downhill frrom there...right in front of everyone. The comments people make about it are the worst. (Not that I care what they say but they say it in front of Tristin) So we literally can't do much of anything without leaving half of our family at home because there is no one we want to leave Tristin with in fear of him hurting someone. When he starts having fits at home there have been broken dishes, things thrown and when he chases after his sisters they have been taught to go in thier rooms and lock the doors. Sometimes this lasts for quite a while so they feel like they are prisoners in their own home, and I feel so helpless. When he had fits in the past, we've come away with a dislocated jaw, (me) a black eye (his sister, Marlana) numerous scratches, pinches, kicks, punches, bruises, etc...We have been to the hospital for this, taught restraints, behavioral modifications and tried a heck of a lot of things to protect ourselves and him, but we need more.
He has been accepted into the behavioral program at Marcus Institute, as well as the feeding program. Tristin's diet consists of just a few things and that bad diet mixed with his daily medicines are causing him to gain a lot of weight and raise his cholesterol levels, hence the feeding program. These programs will start anywhere between two months and eight months and will require funds each time.
Both of the programs require a boatload of money that we just don't have. We have signed up for the scholarship program at Marcus but it looks grim. I sincerely hate that I have to solicit friends and family to help, but I've prayed on it so hard and God keeps bringing me back to this site. Please consider giving so that the Facente family can begin to have a semi-normal life.
Thank you so much for your support, even if you can't donate, kind and upliftiing words are always appreciated.
Organizer
Deirdre Facente
Organizer
