Aaron

little boy with a baseball hat on, playing outside

Before we met our IBI team at Woodview, life was very stressful. Aaron had few ways to communicate with me and had meltdowns because I didn’t understand what he wanted. Aaron didn’t know how to play independently and would simply line toys up, and open and close all of the doors in the house. Aaron experienced high levels of anxiety when he didn’t know what was expected of him or didn’t know the routine for the day. He had a very difficult time self-soothing if he hurt himself. I was constantly worried about losing him as he’d take off the minute I looked away- grocery shopping with him was impossible because he couldn’t handle the sensory overload and would try to leave.

When we came to Woodview we started to see changes. Aaron learned how to use strategies to self-regulate when in stressful situations- the “bolting away” stopped. He began to communicate with me more and use more words to let me know what he wanted which meant few to almost no more meltdowns. He learned to sit at the table with us for dinner and learned step-by-step how to dress himself independently and get some of his needs met himself- like getting his own glass of water for a drink. Now we can go grocery shopping without struggle and better yet, he helps me remember and get the things we’ve put on the list!

Today, there’s so much less stress for all of us. I can give Aaron choices and he will choose what he wants. We are able to go out more and Aaron can now let me know how he feels so we can avoid meltdowns due to anxiety. This summer he was able to play soccer with other children in the neighborhood which was so amazing to watch. I’m so thrilled for where Aaron has got to and the gains he has made in the IBI program so far.