Abbey was mainstreamed until second grade, then moved to an autism school. She attended a vocational program after high school to learn job skills. In a textiles program, she started learning to use a loom to make scarves and hats. But once she graduated, she couldn’t seem to take that skill and apply it to life. So, with a determined mother and the most AMAZING teacher on the planet, Ms. Carol, they figured it out.
Ms. Carol, who had retired, came to Abbey’s home in her spare time to teach her how to make hats on a hand loom. Abbey’s mom, Christine, hoped Abbey would find a sense of purpose and accomplishment from this manageable hat business. With Ms. Carol’s help, that dream became a reality. Family and friends began to support Abbey with hat purchases, and the rest is history.
We are grateful to all those who have supported Abbey: our Dixie Canyon Elementary group, the girls from the card game, the community, friends from mom’s high school, extended family, and now some new faces – it certainly takes a village! So, thanks to the Village that helped us get here!
From Abbey’s Mom
I use the hashtag #everydayautism to give people the full picture of where Abbey started. Because most people use the term ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) now, I think it is hard to understand the individual journey of interventions. Abbey was isolated and alone with limited conversational language. She had words, but was not connected to their meaning. It was as if other children didn’t exist. She couldn’t attend pre-school without an aide. She was mainstreamed until age 7 and then went to an autism school as the mainstreaming did not work.
With 22 years of interventions, including small group speech, OT, Music, Adaptive PE, and a targeted program for Abbey’s deficit areas, she has emerged as a confident, capable, life-loving adult who inspires those around her.
We have a saying at our house that we still use almost every day:
“The more you practice, the easier it gets!”
