Nicholas Young :Chance For Nicholas

We aren't really sure where to start as we sit writing this synopsis!  Our beautiful 6 year old son Nicholas suffers from severe level 3 Autism Spectrum Disorder and is nonverbal. He also suffers from anxiety, OCD, ADHD (combined type) and self injurious behaviors.  These behaviors include head banging ( in the past up to 400 -500 times a day on the hardest surface he could find - granite, brick you name it), scratching, kicking, pinching, headbutting and biting.  Nicholas' aggression became so severe, so tenacious that it forced us to realize that if we didn't fight for our little boys life now then he would most definitely end up in a residential placement for the rest of his life.  As his parents, we also realized that I needed to take a leave of absence from teaching because no one was able to restrain or control Nicholas , he was not safe at his preschool and Tim was the larger bread winner in our home.  Tim and I worked tirelessly at getting Nicholas into a state funded kindergarten program but realized the spots were nill, waiting lists were long and the one placement that was partially state funded Nicholas made it to as a finalist but he did not make the final cut.  We cannot even begin to describe the amount of road blocks that we have encountered like so many other parents who have autistic or disabled children. Desperate we searched any and all options of schools that addressed the needs of children with severe autism but more importantly self injurious behaviors like head banging.  Tim and I were private about the level of Nicholas' self injurious behaviors- we did not want people to worry about us or be afraid of our child.  We continued to attempt to nourish our professional relationships, our friendships and our family relations. On leave I spent up to 12 hours a day restraining Nicholas sometimes up to 45 minutes at a time, while also raising our other two younger children, one of whom is also severely autistic. When Tim got home from work he would take over and many times Nicholas' tantrums would go into the wee hours of the morning- it is common for children with Autism to have sleeping difficulties. Then a miracle happened- one desperate evening I was sobbing uncontrollably, I said to Timmy "there has to be something we can do??" I picked up my phone and emailed the director of the ELIJA school which we had toured. I explained our situation and pleaded for help - I told her that our little boy was going to kill himself and the next day she was at our house doing an emergency visit.  I asked if I could hug her and was grateful that a stranger cared enough to act upon the desperation that she must have heard in my voice.  We applied to the ELIJA school for Nicholas and by the grace of God he was accepted. We filed for due process.  Nicholas started ELIJA this past January and we instantly saw results.  He was happy and more self regulated but more importantly week by week his self injurious behavior decreased.  We are happy to note that as of today Nicholas on average is attempting to bang his head only 3 times a day as opposed to 400-500, a true miracle and all due to the ELIJA school's behavioral clinic that he has been attending since January.  Unfortunately as of June 30th we are in desperate need to fund Nicholas' school program so he can stay at ELIJA while we await due process once again. Our mission is to pay this process forward for another child who suffers from this neurological disease.  We need to raise capital to keep Nicholas at ELIJA while we await due process.  So putting our feelings of privacy aside and realizing the  importance of saving  our son Nicholas, we are putting our story out there hoping that good people can help us break through the red tape of due process, that so many people face in Suffolk County Long Island with some school districts like ours and help our child.  Please forward this fundraiser to all you know who may be able to help- even pocket change is appreciated.   If  you are unable to contribute financially- prayers are very much appreciated too!  Thanks for your support !  Chrissy, Tim, Nicholas, Michael and Anna xo