Nathanael was born with FASD, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. This irreversible brain damage causes a huge number of daily struggles for him; but on June 8, he graduated from high school! His desire is to be able to live independently. As we searched for ways to help him towards this goal, we found Shepherds College, and Nathanael is eager to attend there. Our initial goal is to raise $85,000 which would enable him to complete the first 2 years of college.
Shepherds is a three-year, post-secondary school for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. With a staff-to-student ratio of 1:8, it offers a very unique, individualized approach geared towards helping each student reach his highest potential and learn to live as independently as possible. This 2-minute interview with Shepherds’ staff gives a quick insight into their philosophy.
The environment at Shepherds would provide the consistency, routine, structure, and supervision needed to help Nathanael progress in independent daily living while also teaching him an employable skill that he could use to help support himself. As the staff at Shepherds have talked to us and gotten to know Nathanael through Zoom meetings, they have told us that he is a perfect match for their school, and they expect that he will thrive and become a natural leader there. He has been accepted to begin in the fall of 2022. We are excited about seeing him progress in this next step of life.
Nathanael was abandoned by his birth mother when he was born and spent the first few months of his life in an orphanage. When he was seven months old, he became a part of our family. During much of his elementary and middle school years, Nathanael was homeschooled so we could tailor his education to help him learn as much as possible. In addition to classes, we spent hours each week working on skills for physical, speech, and occupational therapy. In 2014, he received a service dog, KaBam, who has been a tremendous help with many of Nathanael’s struggles.
To read more about our story or to find additional resources about FASD, please visit our website: The Coopers. Thank you for your help!