Nolan is a 4-year-old from Oklahoma who has Autism, Developmental Delay, and Apraxia of Speech. He has been receiving speech therapy since 2 years old, both privately and in school. He is mostly non-verbal but is using some speech. He has recently received an Augmentative Device to help him with verbal output. The family reached out to The Orange Effect Foundation hoping for a week of speech camp where they are hoping Nolan can learn to use his device more consistently.
Nolan has progressed so much in the last few months with speech therapy. He is trialing an AAC device and has been using his voice more frequently since having it. His favorite things are safari animals, puzzles, and being outside in the sunshine. Nolan’s biggest challenge has been his speech journey. Other people have a hard time understanding what he wants/needs and it makes it a little harder for him to have relationships outside of the family.
In communicating with Mom during the application process she said they learned about the Orange Effect through his amazing speech therapy, Speech Pathway! It’s clear that between them and mom’s great advocacy, success is not far away for this young person.
Mom also shared the following regarding camp in the application:
“A week at intensive camp would be life changing for Nolan. Locally, he does not have a lot of resources or tools to help guide him to use this device successfully. During this camp, he would not only be with individuals who are knowledgeable about these devices, but with children who have likewise experiences. I think this would be the assistance we have been longing for and would better prepare him for school in the fall. I would love for my child to have this opportunity and be able to finally interact with people and children his own age. This would be a step further for inclusion and that’s all we want – for him to be included and involved, and to be able to navigate social instances, using his voice independently.
Nolan is currently considered pre-verbal with minimal or one-word responses. He, in his four years of life, has already struggled to get the therapy he needs locally. We finally found Speech Pathway which has opened the doors for us in many ways, including this speech camp. We unfortunately may not be able to give him this opportunity without the grant’s help.
He has already been put behind by people who, despite his severe language delay, were only focusing on his verbal capabilities. He deserves to have the same chances, experiences, and opportunities as other children. It will just take him a little longer to get there. This camp would change everything for him. It would give him the one-on-one services he needs, while also helping him navigate around an AAC device. This would finally give him the opportunity to communicate with individuals who are not limited to only his family members. This would give Nolan a chance to be included. He has a hard time making friends or being around other children due to them not understanding his disability. I would love to give him the chance to be understood, included, and able to communicate his own needs independently.”
Our thanks to Mom and Speech Pathway for all they are doing for Nolan, and we are so excited to be part of his speech camp. We look forward to hearing all about it.
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