Kids On The Move

Arlene Colman noticed that her second son, Fawkes wasn’t speaking at 18 months old. In fact, he had lost a few words. Even without an official diagnosis, she believed that her son was on the autism spectrum. So, with her doctor’s referral, Arlene reached out to Kids On The Move and placed Fawkes in the Early Intervention program at age two.

“Before Kids On The Move, I watched Fawkes… he didn’t like to play with anything and he didn’t even get along with his brothers,” says Arlene.

“As a parent, it feels like you’ve been dropped in the ocean. Having a son with autism means you don’t know where to turn until you discover that lifeline. At Kids On The Move, you can get the help you need. Now, Fawkes interacts more and even likes to hold his brothers’ hands.”

Fawkes and his younger brother, Kian, are enrolled in the Kids On The Move childcare center, while oldest brother, Xavier, attends the sibling shops once a month. The boys enjoy the great outdoor play area and Arlene loves the consistency of having the same providers working there.

“It shows they have a good child care center because they are not always changing people. We’ve known LaRayne for years,” Arlene comments, “They also have a good reward system. It’s almost better than what I do at home.”

“I see that Fawkes cares more. He knows the people and everyone knows him, by name. At age six, he’s happier than he’s ever been and more aware of the world around him."

Jace’s mom and dad believe that addressing Jace’s autism early in his life has made a difference and has made the future hopeful. In fact, they can see him attending a regular school, doing really well and having his delays be indistinguishable from his peers.

When mom, Angela, found out about the Early Intervention program at Kids On The Move from a neighbor, she discovered not just good support for her son, but good support for herself.

“Aubrey is one of the early intervention specialists there and she immediately gave me her cell phone number, “ Angela remembers, “She said, ‘call any time, really’ and when I do have a question or concern, I know they really care.”

Before he started the program, Jace had a regression in his speech at two years old. Charmaine, his speech therapist, knew exactly what he needed. In the six months at Kids On The Move, he has expanded his language. Jace also enjoys time with Mark, his occupational therapist, who works with him during floor time and provides other autistic therapy.

“The people at Kids On The Move set goals for Jace,” says Angela, “ I’ve been really happy with everyone that works with him… he’s really made a lot of progress. And recently, we enrolled him in the Bridges program to get ready for pre-school.”

With three kids in the family, there was a time when Jace had difficulty engaging with his siblings. Now, Jace wants to be in the same room, around people and other kids. He loves to play with his dad. He enjoys being outside on the trampoline and on the swings. He is much more aware of what’s going on around him and “is not just in his own world.”

What three-year old wouldn’t want a dog? For JD, this was to be a very special dog, one trained in seizure alert; one part member of the family and one part service dog. And best of all, JD’s dog gets to fly home with him. On the plane. From Ohio.

When JD was two, he was nonverbal and his parents, Bobbie and Jeremy, didn’t think too much about it. A little later, when he began echoing only what they said, they realized that something else was going on. With a family doctor’s referral and research they did on their own, the family contacted Kids On The Move to address JD’s speech delay and more.

“JD used to have terrible tantrums that sometimes lasted two to three hours, “says mom, Bobbie. “At Kids On The Move, we learned how to help him get out some of his anxiety.  When we incorporated those things at home, JD’s tantrums dropped eighty percent.”

From age two until age three, JD and his parents worked with Kimber to address his overall behavior, Mark for occupational therapy and Alyssa with speech. The family also found that some “quirky” things seemed to help him calm down. Weights strapped onto JD for a short time gave him extra sensory input. His social interaction and communication were among the biggest changes.

“For a time, only his dad could touch him,” Bobbie recalls, “ and he completely ignored his little sister… she had to make him interact. Now he’s more and more social. JD has jumped leaps and bounds through Kids On The Move.”

Since then, he’s moved onto the Bridges program to keep the routine through summer before moving into the school system. But what JD is really looking forward to is getting his dog soon. He knows it’s a big dog, too. Autism service dogs are matched with the family and to get JD’s dog, the family will have to fly to Ohio. It will be JD’s first time on an airplane and his mom hopes they will make it without any issues.

“Changes in his routine are a disruption for JD, but Kids On The Move has really helped us help him,” states Bobbie, “We all got the same training at the same time.”

Kenny’s speech came slowly. His grandparents, Mark and Tilly, who had been raising him, noticed it right away. Their doctor saw Kenny and confirmed there were no problems with his hearing but there was a speech delay. So at 1-1/2 years old, Kenny entered the early intervention program at Kids On The Move.

“We love Linda,” says Mark, “because she had a concern for Kenny’s well-being and a passion for what she did. She was awesome.”

Linda was Kenny’s speech therapist and introduced him to several types of games while she diagnosed his delay. She brought matching puzzles—which Kenny loved, and had him practice vocabulary—which he didn’t. Along the way, Kenny started figuring out the importance of speaking.

Kenny also worked with Mark, his occupational therapist, who noticed a big change in Mark and Tilly, too.

“We became more aware of how to help Kenny,” Mark states. “Before we didn’t know what was wrong or right. The therapy helped us as much as it did him.”

Kenny graduated from the program in April and entered into the school system. He’s still working on his speech and sometimes takes short cuts, say his grandparents. They believe his experience with early intervention was very valuable and that his future is going to be a lot better.

“He is full of life and is going to do well,” they report. “We can’t thank Kids On The Move enough.”

Lucas was born addicted to several drugs and alcohol, and the first challenge of his tiny life was to go through withdrawal. With a strong and supportive family, it was just one of the many challenges he overcame.

His parents, Linda and Jonathon, adopted Lucas and welcomed him into their family and into a home that already had seven children. Soon, they noticed that Lucas was delayed in some areas. He didn’t walk until 18 months and then after, he had no equilibrium and was running into walls. He didn’t talk but screamed plenty, and only calming pressure helped.

“We knew something else was going on,” Linda states. “We just didn’t know how to deal with it. We thought it might be Asperger’s (it wasn’t). We kept asking ‘what can we do.’ Kids On The Move was completely prepared to help us with Lucas.”

Their physician, Dr. Abrams, had knowledge of the Early Intervention program and referred the family. With Lucas’ weak immune system, he wasn’t able to be in an environment with lots of people. It would make him too sick. So Kids On The Move came to him. Paul, Tiffany, and Lizzie were his therapists and helped him with motor skills and his speech. They introduced sign language, which the family still continues. It was amazing to see the progress. Before he was three years old, Lucas taught himself to count to twenty, knew colors and shapes, and could say the alphabet. His parents thought he was the smartest kid for his age that they had ever met.

“Linda Stanton did just about everything for our family,” says Lucas’ mom. “And Karen, our social worker, really came through for me. With all that help, Kids On The Move gave me hope.”

At home, the family created an outdoor play area with several donations from their local Home Depot. There are things to climb on, swings, a ball pit with a chalkboard, and a trampoline. When Lucas is doing well, he plays and plays with his brothers and sisters. Hide-and-seek and basketball are two of his favorites. And he love bubbles all the time.

“It seems like ever since I’ve had him, I’ve been fighting for Lucas,” Linda remarks. “Kids On The Move has been helpful… I was able to see what Lucas really needed. He has graduated from the program and is now in the school system, but he still goes to occupational therapy. And we’re very excited because soon we will be adopting Lucas’ sister.”

Sage is the happiest little girl you’ll meet. But as a baby, she wasn’t hitting some of the milestones her mom, Emily, had observed in Sage’s older siblings.

“I was a little scared,” Emily states. “At 10 months olds, Sage didn’t do ‘mama’ or ‘dada.’ And I could tell by her facial expressions that she wasn’t following what was going on around her—she wasn’t really aware.”

“I didn’t realize it then, but she was doing lots of parallel play with her siblings. And I think that because they kind of enabled it, it hindered the real play.”

Emily had heard of Kids On The Move from a friend and when Sage was 16 months, her mom enrolled her in the Early Intervention program. At a certain point, Sage was not progressing on the autism spectrum. But with help from therapy, her response was positive.

“Michelle, Paul and Alyssa were like mini ‘mom’ counselors,” says Emily. “They helped me be strong and to celebrate Sage’s accomplishments.”

The family received most services in-home but often went to the Kids On The Move center to join in some of Sage’s favorites, like the Kinder Music program.  It helped her to understand a schedule. And they continued with their own activities at home, enjoying movie nights, riding bikes and playing at the park.

Later this year, Sage will graduate from the program. The family is looking at the services provided in their school district before filling in the gap with the Bridges program at Kids On The Move.

“My hope is that Sage goes on to have a beautiful life,” Emily proudly beams. “What I learned is that it’s okay to be different. More so, it’s okay to be the mother of a child that is different. The point is to enjoy life with them in their own way.”

Samantha was born on July 28, 2009 in Seattle, Washington, with a rare developmental brain disorder known as Joubert Syndrome, which is an underdevelopment of the part of the brain that helps control muscle tone, coordination, vision, breathing, and other important functions.

From birth to 6 months Samantha received intervention services from the Boyer Children’s Clinic in Seattle. Our family moved to Utah in February of this year, and 6 month old Samantha immediately began receiving services at Kids On The Move. A representative at Kids On The Move handled the transfer of care and the necessary records from Seattle, and therapists were ready to get started with Samantha almost immediately upon our arrival.

Samantha receives vision therapy from the School of the Deaf and Blind, a service set up by Kids on the Move. She also meets with physical and occupational therapists at our home on a bi-weekly basis.

Our interactions with Samantha’s various therapists have been VERY helpful. We have noticed her gaining range of motion in her arms and legs, gained ability to roll onto her side, seen her grab for toys several times, and started to taste foods orally. We are learning from the therapists how to help Samantha ourselves at home. They leave us with tasks to implement into her daily routine, which enables us to maximize the benefits of the therapy sessions well after the visit is over. Kids On The Move is making all the difference in Samantha’s life.

Everyone at Kids On The Move knows Skyler. He’s a recent graduate of nearby Timpanogos High School. He’s the great kid who volunteered in the library. And at 18 years old, he’s one of our newest (and youngest) employees.

Years ago, when he was just 18 months old, Skyler was discovered to be on the autism spectrum and was enrolled in the Early Intervention program at Kids On The Move. He’s been part of our family ever since.

“I initially had Skyler’s hearing tested. He responded to Barney the dinosaur but not to banging pots and pans,” says his mom, Becky. “He wasn’t communicating and had a hard time socially. I knew to have him tested for autism, too. And that’s when I heard about the Early Intervention program at Kids On The Move.”

“That was huge for me. I didn’t want to believe there was anything wrong. But I had parents around me going through the same emotions—eventually I ran the Kids On The Move parent support group.”

Back then, the family worked with Eileen, who went on to become the executive director at Kids On The Move. She was the family’s advocate and made it very comfortable for Skyler. He loved the routine. Many others also made an impact on Skyler: Brenda, Gaby, Rose and Holly.  Skyler’s mom remembers him loving the gross motor skills room and the ball pit, back when Early Intervention was in the small part of the building. Even older brother, Cade, took part, attending the sibling classes.

“Skyler used to fight me about most things, most of the time,” recalls Becky. “Although, he’d do anything for a frozen pea or Cheetos. The best thing for our family is that we learned patience and compassion. Skyler’s siblings have a hard time believing Skyler is different. To them, it’s normal.”

There was a time when Becky felt like Skyler might not go to school. But in spring of 2011 he graduated high school. He volunteered at the Kids On The Move library, helping Sharlene, and did so well, it turned into a paid job. College classes may also be in his future.

“Sharlene has been wonderful to work with, and she’s truly his advocate,” Becky states. “Skyler feels responsible and he even has his own key to the library. With the right motivation, I see Skyler doing big things.”

“We’ve been really, really lucky. I feel like we owe them everything. To this day, I go to Kids On The Move for help and have made referrals to the program. There are many opportunities to take advantage of, but most of all they have helped me get to know my own child.”

Tyson has been involved with Kids on the Move since he was about 1 month old.  Tyson was born with Hemimegalencephaly, a rare brain condition that occurs 1 in 1,000,000.  His left brain developed and grew too much when he was in the womb, and it is also abnormal along with being large.  Because of this, Tyson was having 40-60 seizures a day.  He continued to have seizures despite medication adjustments and additions.  At 3-1/2 months old, Tyson had brain surgery, a hemispherotomy, to disconnect the left hemisphere with the right hemisphere to control the seizures.  Tyson has right-sided weakness and has a hard time with motor skills on his right side...but the good news is that he has now been seizure free for 1-1/2 years.  Today, because of Kids on the Move and the services we have received, Tyson is doing amazingly well.  He currently scoots on his bum everywhere, knows 5-10 signs he uses to communicate, eats like a champ and is the happiest little boy ever.  We have received visits from Mark, Betsy, Crystal and Gayleen [from Kids On The Move] and we also go to the motor class on Wednesdays.  Tyson loves the motor class.  He especially loves singing time.  We look forward to this time every week.  All the therapists have pushed Tyson and have helped him become who he is today, and I know with the continued help and effort, Tyson will go far.  This is an amazing organization and I am grateful for everything everybody does to help Tyson succeed.  Thank you! 

~Brande, Tyson's Mom