Levi's Mountain

                                                          

  Sharing our journey with Levi as we strive to conquer the mountain of Autism and give our son the gift of speech!

                             

Thank you for joining us in our journey with Levi as we strive to help him aquire language and reach his potential! Levi is our 9 year old autistic son. When he was 3 years old, he was officially diagnosed with severe Autism and moderate intellectual disability. We believe that there is no intellectual disability, and refuse to put Levi in that box. He is a bright, intelligent little boy. He is full of love, laughs and energy, loves to play outside, enjoys humming a huge array of tunes that he's memorized and simply adores his littlest sisters. Since his diagnoses, we have been researching, doing therapy and helping him grow. He has made immense progress over the past 6 years... he now has meaningful eye contact, a desire to be with others and enjoy their company, willingness to "take turns" and interact. But we still have no speech. We need training in order to help Levi jump this last hurdle and learn to have verbal communication with others! We started a Google+ page, called "Levi's Mountain", in order to spread awareness about Autism and raise the funds we need to give Levi the tools he needs to learn to communicate with speech. Please consider following "Levi's Mountain" on Google+, as well as sharing his Google+ page and this blog page with anyone that you feel may be interested in supporting us on this journey. The three things that we are raising funds for are as follows:

1. A week of training for Mommy (Angela) at the Autism Treatment Center of America on how to effectively work towards communication with Levi. 
2. An iPad for Levi, so that we can take advantage of the many wonderful apps that are geared toward children with Autism.
3. A service dog for Levi that will be his constant companion and help ease our minds as he grows and becomes more independant.  

The three of these goals combined amount to several thousand dollars. We will be setting a concrete goal, a specific amount that we are trying to raise, in the near future. We are still trying to research and assess all of the expenses involved. Thank you all so much!

Trevor and Angela (Levi's Mommy and Daddy)

       

                                                           

The following short video clips playfully explain the major reasons why parents (including us) choose to follow the Son Rise Program's approach to therapy, rather than the more common ABA program. 

                               

                               

                               

                               

In the video below, the CEO of the Autism Treatment Center of America, Raun Kaufman (also the first child to overcome severe Autism through the principles of the Son Rise Program, which was developed by his parents), explains the science behind one of the key principles of the Son Rise Program: Joining.