Hello! Welcome to my webpage! My name is Christine and I’m 3 years old. This past summer I completed my early intervention education with the Chesterfield Infant Program. I began receiving services when I was 15 months old.
Several years ago my Grandma-Ma and Pa-Pa thought something was different about me because I was not doing a lot of things other babies do. I was not walking, talking, pulling up, or even attempting to get into things. The doctor kept saying things like, “Don’t worry, all babies are different, she is just a little slow, she will catch up”. Even before then, I was not sitting up or holding my own bottle. After lots of fussing, the doctor gave in and told my Grandma-Ma they would get someone to call her that might could help.
A really nice lady came to see me and spent lots of time talking to Grandma-Ma and Pa-Pa. After that Grandma-Ma and Pa-Pa spent lots of time in praying about what to do. God must know Pa-Pa real good, cause he’s a “preacher man” and he does special work for God. God answered their prayers and I began going to this very special place to start treatments. I was scared at first, but after a little physical therapy I began cruising along chairs and looking at myself in the mirror – one of my favorite things to do. After about 4 months, I began making some really good sounds. At first, I thought I was speaking a foreign language cause it was a lot of gibberish. I even began learning to sign, after God spoke to Grandma-Ma about letting them show me. Best of all, I started learning some neat things with toys that I had not been able to do before.
Grandma-Ma began noticing me looking at her, which I could not do for the longest time with anyone. I began to notice that there is a world outside my own and a lot of things were going on that I had been missing. The teacher and speech therapist that worked with me became very special because they showed me so much love. Even when I didn’t feel like doing what they wanted me to, they took time, and lots, and lots of patience with me. I learned a lot of things in 19 months and it has helped prepare me for the special education class I am now in at O. B. Gates school.
I’m becoming more independent and sometimes I can be hard to control. Recently, I have been losing my temper and this makes things hard on me and everybody else. I mostly take it out on Grandma-Ma because I expect her to fix whatever is wrong and make the anger and fear go away. Pa-Pa taught me to count to 10 and says if I will do that while Grandma-Ma works on fixing things, I will begin to feel better.
I have other things that come along with my Autism, but that’s another story. I’m just thankful that service continues for me in the pre-school program until I am 5 years old. I have a hard time with things that come natural to other children my age, but the good news is that the program at Chesterfield will help me to improve my skills. My Grandma-Ma and Pa-Pa pray that you will give a child every chance to be all they can, especially if they are delayed like me. God has a miracle waiting for me, all in his time, but for now, he has shown me that “EARLY INTERVENTION” is the key!
