This is Tegan ~
RideAble fundraiser 2011
RideAble
Tegan lovin' the sky tram at one of our Shriner's appts
Tegan's Story:
Tegan is my gift in every way. Amazingly, I love my life now more than ever, I am fulfilling my purpose in my career and as a mom. I am where I am in life largely because of him.
Tegan has developmental delays and special needs. He was born this way, and looking back, he developed them in-utero. His vision is limited, the opthalmologist says he can "see" fine, but it is evident he does not process what he sees well. He has symptoms of autism, has difficulty using his body - he has signficant muscle weakness and ligament laxity (he wants to walk on the inside of his feet and rotate his toes outward), and is cognitively very slow. He learns with thousands of repetitions (thank goodness for his iPad) and forgets what he has learned if the task is not repeated daily. He cannot open a door knob, a jar, his dresser drawers, or the car door. He can't get himself a snack, pretend play or make up a story. He can walk without his walker (although he still uses it to keep his upper body toned and for stability), eat with a spoon and tell me what he wants. He is working on eating with a fork, potty training, and telling me how he feels. He has mastered eating with a spoon, opening a DVD case, reciting his favorite story books, and how to laugh.
Over the last couple years, he has begun using expressive communication. His first sentence in context was, "That was really great" after a beautiful song we heard in our church. I almost fell out of my chair with tears in my eyes. At 11 yo, he is just now beginning to learn to read and can recognize a few simple words. He does not know how to relay complicated feelings or desires; sometimes he gets very frustrated.
I quit my job as a veterinarian when he was 5 months old. He could not handle child care for the hours I needed to work. I learned extensively about nutrition when I realized his gut doesn't work correctly. I created a small animal, holistic consulting practice in my home to utilize what I learned - and my animal patients are grateful. My own allergies and inhaler went away after I completely changed our diet to help heal his gut. I have pursued everything I know to understand how best to bring him to higher levels of competence - through medical diagnostics, osteopathy, physical therapy, energy work on his body, an extreme whole food nutrition diet, and now spiritually. All of which I bring to my work. Our journey has brought me the understanding of healing, love and following our hearts.
This is our next step - and I need a little help - which I have difficulty even asking. He has responded amazingly well to ABM - the Anat Baniel Method through 3 to 6 sessions over a weekend, about once a month. ABM is body work that links the body to the brain. The brain can then rewire, once these connections are made. It is fascinating. By working with his body in this way, his cognition, ability to speak, and engage with his world has blossomed exponentially over the last year. We still have a looong way to go.
I now have the opportunity for Tegan and I to attend a 5-day, hands-on work shop with Anat, to gain competence and master this technique myself - and forTegan to get intense therapy treatments directly from her. Anat has created miracles with children, illustrated so magically in her book, Kids Beyond Limits.
I believe, I feel in my bones, that this workshop is Tegan's next opportunity to "graduate to life." I borrow this term from The Institutes for Human Acheivement, another amazing opportunity I found to help Tegan's development. The term means become independent and capable as a birth-right of all persons. This is the possibility I am creating for him - and I believe it is possible. There is nothing medically wrong with him, his genetics, MRI's, and countless other tests are all "normal". Yet Tegan is still with limited speech and the ability to be independent. Tegan has given me my life, now I would like to give him his.
Please help us continue Tegan's journey toward "graduating to life". This workshop, I believe, will create miracles where little progress has been made over 10 years. And a spark of progress has been made over the last 1. Tuition is $5500 by July 21st, 2016 and travel expenses are about $500 for our journey to San Rafael in September for food, travel, and extra childcare. I do need to raise this money within the next 3 weeks.
I am a single mom, his and his "typical", 9 yo sister, Maddie's, loving dad passed away in 2012. I've walked this journey alone, but not really. The hundreds of people that have helped me along the way including family, friends, clients, teachers, our church family and so many more is extraordinary. I feel so blessed. I'm reaching out now to our community and beyond. Thank you to all of you that have already contributed to us, from the bottom of my heart! And thanks to everyone who reads our story - for all your prayers, loving thoughts, and financial contributions to bring Tegan's graduation to life a reality. Thank you beyond words, many blessings!
Tegan in an ABM treatment. His word streaming and engagement is significant. 1 min 28 sec
This is Tegan's usual engagement, with his birthday toy and then watching his new Baby Signing Times 2 DVD.
(Yes, we did do it "backwards" for him - his favorite way to watch DVD's : ))
WE LOVE YOU TEGAN!!
~ THANK YOU ~ THANK YOU ~ THANK YOU ~
RideAble fundraiser 2011RideAble Tegan lovin' the sky tram at one of our Shriner's apptsTegan's Story:
Tegan is my gift in every way. Amazingly, I love my life now more than ever, I am fulfilling my purpose in my career and as a mom. I am where I am in life largely because of him.
Tegan has developmental delays and special needs. He was born this way, and looking back, he developed them in-utero. His vision is limited, the opthalmologist says he can "see" fine, but it is evident he does not process what he sees well. He has symptoms of autism, has difficulty using his body - he has signficant muscle weakness and ligament laxity (he wants to walk on the inside of his feet and rotate his toes outward), and is cognitively very slow. He learns with thousands of repetitions (thank goodness for his iPad) and forgets what he has learned if the task is not repeated daily. He cannot open a door knob, a jar, his dresser drawers, or the car door. He can't get himself a snack, pretend play or make up a story. He can walk without his walker (although he still uses it to keep his upper body toned and for stability), eat with a spoon and tell me what he wants. He is working on eating with a fork, potty training, and telling me how he feels. He has mastered eating with a spoon, opening a DVD case, reciting his favorite story books, and how to laugh.
Over the last couple years, he has begun using expressive communication. His first sentence in context was, "That was really great" after a beautiful song we heard in our church. I almost fell out of my chair with tears in my eyes. At 11 yo, he is just now beginning to learn to read and can recognize a few simple words. He does not know how to relay complicated feelings or desires; sometimes he gets very frustrated.
I quit my job as a veterinarian when he was 5 months old. He could not handle child care for the hours I needed to work. I learned extensively about nutrition when I realized his gut doesn't work correctly. I created a small animal, holistic consulting practice in my home to utilize what I learned - and my animal patients are grateful. My own allergies and inhaler went away after I completely changed our diet to help heal his gut. I have pursued everything I know to understand how best to bring him to higher levels of competence - through medical diagnostics, osteopathy, physical therapy, energy work on his body, an extreme whole food nutrition diet, and now spiritually. All of which I bring to my work. Our journey has brought me the understanding of healing, love and following our hearts.
This is our next step - and I need a little help - which I have difficulty even asking. He has responded amazingly well to ABM - the Anat Baniel Method through 3 to 6 sessions over a weekend, about once a month. ABM is body work that links the body to the brain. The brain can then rewire, once these connections are made. It is fascinating. By working with his body in this way, his cognition, ability to speak, and engage with his world has blossomed exponentially over the last year. We still have a looong way to go.
I now have the opportunity for Tegan and I to attend a 5-day, hands-on work shop with Anat, to gain competence and master this technique myself - and forTegan to get intense therapy treatments directly from her. Anat has created miracles with children, illustrated so magically in her book, Kids Beyond Limits.
I believe, I feel in my bones, that this workshop is Tegan's next opportunity to "graduate to life." I borrow this term from The Institutes for Human Acheivement, another amazing opportunity I found to help Tegan's development. The term means become independent and capable as a birth-right of all persons. This is the possibility I am creating for him - and I believe it is possible. There is nothing medically wrong with him, his genetics, MRI's, and countless other tests are all "normal". Yet Tegan is still with limited speech and the ability to be independent. Tegan has given me my life, now I would like to give him his.
Please help us continue Tegan's journey toward "graduating to life". This workshop, I believe, will create miracles where little progress has been made over 10 years. And a spark of progress has been made over the last 1. Tuition is $5500 by July 21st, 2016 and travel expenses are about $500 for our journey to San Rafael in September for food, travel, and extra childcare. I do need to raise this money within the next 3 weeks.
I am a single mom, his and his "typical", 9 yo sister, Maddie's, loving dad passed away in 2012. I've walked this journey alone, but not really. The hundreds of people that have helped me along the way including family, friends, clients, teachers, our church family and so many more is extraordinary. I feel so blessed. I'm reaching out now to our community and beyond. Thank you to all of you that have already contributed to us, from the bottom of my heart! And thanks to everyone who reads our story - for all your prayers, loving thoughts, and financial contributions to bring Tegan's graduation to life a reality. Thank you beyond words, many blessings!
Tegan in an ABM treatment. His word streaming and engagement is significant. 1 min 28 sec
This is Tegan's usual engagement, with his birthday toy and then watching his new Baby Signing Times 2 DVD.
(Yes, we did do it "backwards" for him - his favorite way to watch DVD's : ))
WE LOVE YOU TEGAN!!~ THANK YOU ~ THANK YOU ~ THANK YOU ~