What about Ben? Send him to DC!
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What about Ben?
It's a question that his mom, Jane, and I have asked for years as Ben has struggled, persevered, and ultimately triumphed after being born with autism.
The question has become an exclamation, "What about Ben!"
Read on and you'll discover how our son, Ben Gosch, has overcome autism to become an honor roll student as he enters his senior year at Cedar Rapids Washington High School this fall.
Ben was recently nominated to attend the National Youth Leadership Forum at George Mason University in September. It represents a huge opportunity for his continued academic and career development and is the reason we're launching this GoFundMe campaign.
In order to tell Ben's story, we have to start from the beginning. It's a remarkable story about a boy who was thought to be very limited in his ability to learn and cope, yet has exceeded all expectations.
As a toddler, Ben did not develop at the same pace as his twin brother, Bryan. Ben exhibited classic autism traits, such as lining up all of his toys, always in the same direction. Ben also had other traits such as delayed speech and walking, and not looking people in the eye. After verifying these facts on the internet, we decided to turn to the professionals for help.
Ben’s pediatrician referred Ben for testing in Iowa City. After two days of tests, our worst fears had been confirmed. Ben had autism and Attention Deficeit Disorder. A wonderful woman, Roxanne Dittmer from Grant Wood Area Education Agency, began coming to our house and working with Ben. He began to interact with Roxanne.
At age 3, Ben was enrolled in the Early Childhood Special Education program at Monroe Early Childhood Development School. The wonderful staff at Monroe continued to work with Ben, making progress on his social, emotional, coping and academic skills.
In Ben’s second year of Early Childhood Special Education, we attended Ben’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) meeting. We discussed what goals we would like Ben to meet by the end of the next school year and determined what modifications and adaptations needed to be in place to help Ben reach those goals. At this meeting, we were asked, "What are your wishes, hopes and dreams for Ben?"
Jane told them that our dream was to see Ben in a typical classroom with his peers.
We will never forget the next 10 words we heard, "That's a wonderful dream, but you have to be realistic."
Although we were extremely disappointed by this comment, we pressed on, with Ben remaining in special education.
Our dream was realized when
Ben was phased out of special education midway through kindergarten. He was now in a general education class with his peers! Accommodations were put in place to help Ben succeed out of special education midway through kindergarten.
Ben continued to struggle with verbal communication and handwriting throughout his elementary school years. For example, he had trouble putting thoughts to paper and often erased so hard that he put holes in his paper. This was a constant frustration for Ben.
Ben struggled, but persevered and moved on to McKinley Middle School. During Ben’s 6th grade year, we were told he no longer needed the support to qualify for an IEP. We were scared. We didn’t understand why the supports that had been in place to help him succeed were being taken away.
However, Ben was able to accomplish things without any added supports.
Ben continued to struggle with written homework while at McKinley until he was able to use an Alpha-Smart. It was a simple digital typing device that enabled Ben to overcome his frustrations with written assignments. Ben began to flourish academically.
The only time Ben "acted out" at McKinley was at the beginning of his 7th grade school year .
Ben became upset because he was not allowed to use his his Alpha- Smart and the teacher would not give it to him. Ben marched out of the classroom to the office, where he demanded the staff get him his Alpha- Smart. Ben was striving to succeed and the item that was helping him to achieve his goals was taken away.
Ben got his Alpha-Smart and his grades quickly improved at McKinley .
At Washington, Ben made the "Most Improved GPA" list and has made the Honor Roll with a 3.0 GPA every semester since his sophomore year.
Ben will enter his senior year next year with a cumulative GPA of 3.0.
A few weeks ago, Jane, was in an accident and broke her femur in two places. She still is not able to bear weight on her leg. Doctors told her she lucky to be alive.
At the same time, I suffered end-stage kidney failure (I was born with just one) and was told that I was lucky to have survived. I am currently receiving dialysis treatment three times a week in order to live.
A few weeks ago, Ben received a gold-embossed invitation to a prestigious National Youth Leadership Forum conference at George Mason University.
For the cost of $2,150 plus airfare, Ben will be immersed in learning about career opportunities in the defense, intelligence and homeland security sectors.
He'll get to visit the Pentagon, State Department, Spy Museum,
Smithsonian, CIA Headquarters and much, muc h more.
As a longtime communications and media relations specialist for Government Systems at Rockwell Collins, I instantly realized the magnitude of this opportunity.
With former Defense secretary Chuck Hagel and CIA Director George Tenet listed among the presenters, there was no doubt Ben should go.
Then it hit me. Tears ran down my cheeks as I realized that our high-achieving , unique son had been selected for a conference that only top students attend.
We think Ben will continue to achieve great things and this conference in Washington, D.C., is an important part of that.
We have paid the initial $625 fee to secure Ben's spot in the forum, but we could use help with the remaining costs.
Please consider making a donation on this GoFundMe site for Ben. Visit our GoFundMe website if you would like to donate.
For more information on the conference, go to www.nylfns.com/Mason.
Thank you,
Dave Gosch
Jane White-Gosch
It's a question that his mom, Jane, and I have asked for years as Ben has struggled, persevered, and ultimately triumphed after being born with autism.
The question has become an exclamation, "What about Ben!"
Read on and you'll discover how our son, Ben Gosch, has overcome autism to become an honor roll student as he enters his senior year at Cedar Rapids Washington High School this fall.
Ben was recently nominated to attend the National Youth Leadership Forum at George Mason University in September. It represents a huge opportunity for his continued academic and career development and is the reason we're launching this GoFundMe campaign.
In order to tell Ben's story, we have to start from the beginning. It's a remarkable story about a boy who was thought to be very limited in his ability to learn and cope, yet has exceeded all expectations.
As a toddler, Ben did not develop at the same pace as his twin brother, Bryan. Ben exhibited classic autism traits, such as lining up all of his toys, always in the same direction. Ben also had other traits such as delayed speech and walking, and not looking people in the eye. After verifying these facts on the internet, we decided to turn to the professionals for help.
Ben’s pediatrician referred Ben for testing in Iowa City. After two days of tests, our worst fears had been confirmed. Ben had autism and Attention Deficeit Disorder. A wonderful woman, Roxanne Dittmer from Grant Wood Area Education Agency, began coming to our house and working with Ben. He began to interact with Roxanne.
At age 3, Ben was enrolled in the Early Childhood Special Education program at Monroe Early Childhood Development School. The wonderful staff at Monroe continued to work with Ben, making progress on his social, emotional, coping and academic skills.
In Ben’s second year of Early Childhood Special Education, we attended Ben’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) meeting. We discussed what goals we would like Ben to meet by the end of the next school year and determined what modifications and adaptations needed to be in place to help Ben reach those goals. At this meeting, we were asked, "What are your wishes, hopes and dreams for Ben?"
Jane told them that our dream was to see Ben in a typical classroom with his peers.
We will never forget the next 10 words we heard, "That's a wonderful dream, but you have to be realistic."
Although we were extremely disappointed by this comment, we pressed on, with Ben remaining in special education.
Our dream was realized when
Ben was phased out of special education midway through kindergarten. He was now in a general education class with his peers! Accommodations were put in place to help Ben succeed out of special education midway through kindergarten.
Ben continued to struggle with verbal communication and handwriting throughout his elementary school years. For example, he had trouble putting thoughts to paper and often erased so hard that he put holes in his paper. This was a constant frustration for Ben.
Ben struggled, but persevered and moved on to McKinley Middle School. During Ben’s 6th grade year, we were told he no longer needed the support to qualify for an IEP. We were scared. We didn’t understand why the supports that had been in place to help him succeed were being taken away.
However, Ben was able to accomplish things without any added supports.
Ben continued to struggle with written homework while at McKinley until he was able to use an Alpha-Smart. It was a simple digital typing device that enabled Ben to overcome his frustrations with written assignments. Ben began to flourish academically.
The only time Ben "acted out" at McKinley was at the beginning of his 7th grade school year .
Ben became upset because he was not allowed to use his his Alpha- Smart and the teacher would not give it to him. Ben marched out of the classroom to the office, where he demanded the staff get him his Alpha- Smart. Ben was striving to succeed and the item that was helping him to achieve his goals was taken away.
Ben got his Alpha-Smart and his grades quickly improved at McKinley .
At Washington, Ben made the "Most Improved GPA" list and has made the Honor Roll with a 3.0 GPA every semester since his sophomore year.
Ben will enter his senior year next year with a cumulative GPA of 3.0.
A few weeks ago, Jane, was in an accident and broke her femur in two places. She still is not able to bear weight on her leg. Doctors told her she lucky to be alive.
At the same time, I suffered end-stage kidney failure (I was born with just one) and was told that I was lucky to have survived. I am currently receiving dialysis treatment three times a week in order to live.
A few weeks ago, Ben received a gold-embossed invitation to a prestigious National Youth Leadership Forum conference at George Mason University.
For the cost of $2,150 plus airfare, Ben will be immersed in learning about career opportunities in the defense, intelligence and homeland security sectors.
He'll get to visit the Pentagon, State Department, Spy Museum,
Smithsonian, CIA Headquarters and much, muc h more.
As a longtime communications and media relations specialist for Government Systems at Rockwell Collins, I instantly realized the magnitude of this opportunity.
With former Defense secretary Chuck Hagel and CIA Director George Tenet listed among the presenters, there was no doubt Ben should go.
Then it hit me. Tears ran down my cheeks as I realized that our high-achieving , unique son had been selected for a conference that only top students attend.
We think Ben will continue to achieve great things and this conference in Washington, D.C., is an important part of that.
We have paid the initial $625 fee to secure Ben's spot in the forum, but we could use help with the remaining costs.
Please consider making a donation on this GoFundMe site for Ben. Visit our GoFundMe website if you would like to donate.
For more information on the conference, go to www.nylfns.com/Mason.
Thank you,
Dave Gosch
Jane White-Gosch
Organizer
David Gosch
Organizer
Cedar Rapids, IA