Member-to-Member Connection (Summer 2014)

Time flies. Cooper was a premature baby born 8 weeks early. It was a hard beginning for the three of us.

When he turned 2 years old, his paediatrician suspected some autism tendencies. It was very hard to hear that. We were living in Alberta at that time with no family support but had great co-workers and very understanding managers there. Thank God my request to transfer to Ontario went through and now we have family and friends to support us. Cooper is almost 3.5 years old now. Last August he started nursery school at a very good daycare. The teachers and other specialists told us it would be really beneficial for Cooper to start going full days but we could not afford it. My wife is still trying to find a sustainable job.

In January 2014, Cooper started to go three full days as my wife had found a temporary job (which ended in March). We were debating how we could afford to continue sending Cooper for three full days. Now with the help of Special Needs Projects he will continue going the three days. Our goal is that by September this year, my wife finds a sustainable job that will make it possible for Cooper to attend junior kindergarten five full days in the recommended private daycare where the teacher-student ratio is lower.

Overall Cooper has improved a lot, especially his social skills and speech. He is very active and loves the outdoors. We are still waiting for a
developmental reassessment this year. In the meantime, we are working on specific targets with him like independence skills and how to interact
with his peers.

Thank you Special Needs Project for helping Cooper receive the proper care. It is really appreciated.

Class 3 technical services
Bolton, ON