Support for Luke's Autism and SPD Therapy
Donation protected
We, The Talana Family, are asking for donations to help support the development of our loving 6-year old nephew, Luke Jurado, who has been diagnosed with Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD).
This Christmas, we would like to raise funds to offset the costs of a promising new therapy program for Luke.
Luke's parents, Lindsey and Leo, are the kindest and most generous people you will ever meet. Anyone who knows them can attest to that. They are the type of people who would do anything for their friends, family, and most especially their kids. We have seen how much extra time, energy, and love they have given to help Luke grow as best as he can.
They are also the last people who would ever ask for financial help, so we want to do it for them. Research has made it clear that high quality early intervention can improve learning, communication and social skills, as well as underlying brain development. We know firsthand the high cost of these therapies, and we also know how crucial they have been to Luke’s progress.
We have asked Lindsey and Leo to share their story about Luke.
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"Meet Lukey:
He’s our sweet, giggly, and very energetic 6 year old son who loves tight squeezes and being tickled. When Luke was just 18 months old, we noticed a change in his behavior. He was spinning a lot of things and it was hard to keep his attention. After many evaluations and meeting with specialists, Luke was diagnosed with Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), which came with its set of challenges. Luke is delayed in speech, communication, motor skills and social skills just to name a few. He’s also highly sensitive to certain textures, tastes, movements and sounds like flushing the toilet or turning on a loud vacuum.
Finding out about Luke’s diagnoses left us with a lot of questions and uncertainty about his future. We worried about him being able to take care of himself and do simple things like put on his clothes or feed himself. Sometimes his tantrums would get so bad that he would hit himself or bang his head on the floor. Since he’s sensitive to certain textures or materials, we’d often find him out of his clothes and running around the house naked. Every day was and still is a new adventure with Luke, but he sure knows how to keep us on our toes!
We’ve gone through many years of early development programs, ABA (Behavioral) Therapy, Speech/Language Therapy, and Occupational Therapy. With the help of his teachers, therapists, and support from our family and friends, Luke has made so much progress over the last few years. He can communicate with a few words like “I want water” or “I want to eat chicken”. He can put his clothes on (sometimes backwards). He can feed himself with a spoon, (who cares if most of the rice falls on the floor?) We’re just so super proud of all the accomplishments he’s made so far, and we know there’s so much more potential to unfold.
We recently started seeing a new Occupational Therapist and she recommended that Luke start a program called Integrated Listening Systems (ILS). ILS is basically music therapy incorporated with certain activities that is thought to help improve brain function. On top of all of his other therapies, this meant another out of pocket expense. To be quite frank, they recommend 5 sessions a week, at $125 a session, which means $625/week or $2500/month. Unfortunately, insurance doesn’t cover this therapy, and all of the financial aid programs that we applied for turned us down.
As any parent wants what’s best for their kid, we want what’s best for Luke and want to give him every chance out there to make his life better. We generally don’t like asking for help, but sometimes you have to humble yourself and accept any help that is offered to you.
Thank you all for reading our story. Luke sends his big smiles and tight squeezes to each and every one of you."
---
The $30,000 goal was created in hopes of funding at least one year of ILS, so every dollar counts. We realize these are very tough times and if you can’t donate, your positive thoughts and prayers will still go a long way! We thank you in advance for your generosity and support.
For more information on Autism, Sensory Processing Disorder and Integrated Listening Systems:
https://familydoctor.org/condition/sensory-processing-disorder-spd/
https://integratedlistening.com/what-is-ils/
https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism
This Christmas, we would like to raise funds to offset the costs of a promising new therapy program for Luke.
Luke's parents, Lindsey and Leo, are the kindest and most generous people you will ever meet. Anyone who knows them can attest to that. They are the type of people who would do anything for their friends, family, and most especially their kids. We have seen how much extra time, energy, and love they have given to help Luke grow as best as he can.
They are also the last people who would ever ask for financial help, so we want to do it for them. Research has made it clear that high quality early intervention can improve learning, communication and social skills, as well as underlying brain development. We know firsthand the high cost of these therapies, and we also know how crucial they have been to Luke’s progress.
We have asked Lindsey and Leo to share their story about Luke.
---
"Meet Lukey:
He’s our sweet, giggly, and very energetic 6 year old son who loves tight squeezes and being tickled. When Luke was just 18 months old, we noticed a change in his behavior. He was spinning a lot of things and it was hard to keep his attention. After many evaluations and meeting with specialists, Luke was diagnosed with Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), which came with its set of challenges. Luke is delayed in speech, communication, motor skills and social skills just to name a few. He’s also highly sensitive to certain textures, tastes, movements and sounds like flushing the toilet or turning on a loud vacuum.
Finding out about Luke’s diagnoses left us with a lot of questions and uncertainty about his future. We worried about him being able to take care of himself and do simple things like put on his clothes or feed himself. Sometimes his tantrums would get so bad that he would hit himself or bang his head on the floor. Since he’s sensitive to certain textures or materials, we’d often find him out of his clothes and running around the house naked. Every day was and still is a new adventure with Luke, but he sure knows how to keep us on our toes!
We’ve gone through many years of early development programs, ABA (Behavioral) Therapy, Speech/Language Therapy, and Occupational Therapy. With the help of his teachers, therapists, and support from our family and friends, Luke has made so much progress over the last few years. He can communicate with a few words like “I want water” or “I want to eat chicken”. He can put his clothes on (sometimes backwards). He can feed himself with a spoon, (who cares if most of the rice falls on the floor?) We’re just so super proud of all the accomplishments he’s made so far, and we know there’s so much more potential to unfold.
We recently started seeing a new Occupational Therapist and she recommended that Luke start a program called Integrated Listening Systems (ILS). ILS is basically music therapy incorporated with certain activities that is thought to help improve brain function. On top of all of his other therapies, this meant another out of pocket expense. To be quite frank, they recommend 5 sessions a week, at $125 a session, which means $625/week or $2500/month. Unfortunately, insurance doesn’t cover this therapy, and all of the financial aid programs that we applied for turned us down.
As any parent wants what’s best for their kid, we want what’s best for Luke and want to give him every chance out there to make his life better. We generally don’t like asking for help, but sometimes you have to humble yourself and accept any help that is offered to you.
Thank you all for reading our story. Luke sends his big smiles and tight squeezes to each and every one of you."
---
The $30,000 goal was created in hopes of funding at least one year of ILS, so every dollar counts. We realize these are very tough times and if you can’t donate, your positive thoughts and prayers will still go a long way! We thank you in advance for your generosity and support.
For more information on Autism, Sensory Processing Disorder and Integrated Listening Systems:
https://familydoctor.org/condition/sensory-processing-disorder-spd/
https://integratedlistening.com/what-is-ils/
https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism
Co-organizers (2)
Jennifer Talana
Organizer
San Diego, CA
Lindsey Jurado
Beneficiary
Mitchell Talana
Co-organizer