Our Stories

Bailey was 3 years old when he began services with Liberty POST. He had a new diagnosis on the Autism Spectrum. His parents were reeling with what this diagnosis meant therapy-wise, but what it also meant for them as a family. Services targeted Bailey’s social-emotional challenges rather than his pre-academic knowledge. Bailey is a smart young man and he did not need help memorizing skills like color/shape identification and counting. In fact, when therapists first started working with Bailey they were pleasantly surprised by some of his basic reading skills. Bailey was drawn to books and other black and white predictable activities. He liked to do things his way and was easily frustrated when others attempted to take the lead or direct his pursuits.

As his therapy sessions progressed, Bailey began making more eye contact and including others in his play. In the beginning stages, he still needed to be “the director.” But, with time, he learned to let others take turns developing play ideas. Bailey’s bouts of frustration did not disappear, but his strategies to cope with them improved. He no longer used physical means or yelling as his first strategy to let others know when he was upset. Bailey learned some socially appropriate phrases he could use to elicit the help of others and is still effectively applying them in the school age system. We miss Bailey’s spunk, but knew when he “graduated” from our preschool program he was ready for a district based classroom!