Autism Center in Portage, Michigan

How have you impacted Adam’s life? There are 3 areas that stand out to us and are in no particular order. Getting Adam to try any new foods outside his “home” foods continues to amaze us and we can’t help but shake our heads in bewilderment . Hands down you guys have gotten him to eat food we never could. Adam’s vocabulary has increased over 150 words when it comes to sign language. He continues to identify actions with words. Transitioning Adam to “big boy” underwear has been nothing short of amazing.

We would like to say “Thank You” for all that you do with our little buddy Aidan. We’ve seen so much progress since has started at Lighthouse that it is hard for us to mention everything. The first thing is that he loves going to Lighthouse, and loves his therapists, although he will occasionally feign an illness to stay home. This was not the case with public school. Everyday was a battle to get him to school. We are so thankful that we learned of the center when we did.

Since enrolling, Morgyn is beginning to make the 180 degree turn we never thought was possible. She is making great strides because of our LAC family. Each and everyone of you who work with Morgyn is the reason. To us we see you as Autism Angels. We see people who care. We see people who know this as a career, not a job. We see compassion in everyone of you in your unwavering dedication to help. Most importantly we see Morgyn being treated as more, much more, than a statistic.

In just three short months, Brody has made amazing progress. His communication and language skills have vastly improved, which has resulted in far fewer tantrums since he is better able to communicate with us what he wants or needs. He responds to his name usually on the first or second time we call to him, whereas this summer it sometimes would take us saying his name up to ten times until he faced us. I could go on and on, but the number one thing we want to thank the Lighthouse staff for is loving our child.

When we first toured LAC 18 months ago and met with Leila and Lisa I left in tears with so much hope and relief because we finally found a place that we knew could really help Ally. We never imagined that she would be at where she is today! The change in her is surreal to us and we’re just trying to keep up with her! Thank you so much Sandy for helping us navigate the insurance end of things or this wouldn’t have been possible!

The Lighthouse staff has won our hearts, and our gratitude, for the incredible job they do with Chaz and all the kids – it is evident that they love and care for, and find joy in, each one of the children. As you all know, we moved to South Bend from Hawaii just over 5 years ago. In Hawaii, the word “aloha” is commonly used for a friendly greeting and warm farewell, but it is also used to describe the spirit of one who is kind, welcoming, caring, and mindful. The spirit of aloha infuses LACand all that goes on within its walls.

As many of you can recall, prior to coming to the Lighthouse, our Chazzy boy had a permanent knot and scab on his forehead from repeatedly whacking his head out of frustration. He was flying into daily rages and was harming himself and us. Fast forward to today, and we see a completely transformed child. He charges to the front door and makes his daily grand entrance as if to say ” Hi everyone! I’m here!” We never know what he is going to learn next, but we are filled with joy and hopefulness that he will continue to thrive and grow.

The biggest thing I have noticed is that Lighthouse has taught him how to be so much more patient with himself, and to keep trying. A year ago he couldn’t play a video game for 30 seconds without getting frustrated and giving up , always wanting someone else to do it for him. Now when we play Mario, he tries over and over again to jump on something until he gets it, so impressive! They are teaching him to think outside of the box, if you can’t get something to work one way, try it another way

9 months ago we dropped Ethan off for his first day. We had no idea what to expect. Ethan didn’t interact much. We were all frustrated and lost.
Fast forward these short months and WOW! Ethan is a completely different kid! He expresses what he wants! He plays with his brothers and sister. He even looks for which sibling he wants! (Each one has something different to offer him). He calls for “da” and says “mama”.