We first noticed that our child’s development was not what we were expecting at 14 months and we decided to get a diagnosis when he was 2 ½ years old.

At first, we were in shock and feeling helpless with limited access to resources. We were up all-night reading about Autism, listening to videos, trying to reach out to different therapists. There was a period of time where nothing we did was helping our son.

Our biggest challenge was trying to find appropriate therapies and after that, haggling with insurance companies to help us pay for the same. Our son's limited talking led to many issues including him being forgotten on the school bus by the driver, the inability for him to make friends and cope with chaotic environments like daycares, and having to spend most of his childhood in therapy. His other challenges included sleep issues, noise sensitivity, and eloping without understanding the dangers outside. The courage to remain strong while seeing your child struggle is probably the biggest challenge of all. He was still our sweet little boy; just unable to express himself about why he is crying or to even express what he needs. Then one day, a parent at our son’s public school suggested we reach out to WAAA for direction and resources. That was the beginning of our journey with WAAA.

Since then, WAAA has been integral in providing extensive support to our family. The staff at WAAA were helpful in providing a long list of resources and providers in our community. Their pro-bono attorneys have helped us draft appeals to the insurance companies over the past 3 years. Most of those appeals have been successful in ensuring there was partial coverage for in-home ABA services. Without these key services through WAAA, we would have given up on these expensive therapeutic modalities just like most other families in our situation would have. Over the past year, their attorneys have successfully appealed a denial, providing for in-school ABA services.

Thanks to WAAA, we have been able to provide our son with the therapies/tools that have given him his voice. Even though he is still verbally limited, he is making progress every day. And like an oak tree, we hope that he will realize his full potential, after all these years of nurturing. We are blessed to have the support of these selfless folks at WAAA.

Upcoming WAAA Event:

Day Out for Autism

Family Fun & Resource Fair will be Sunday, April 14th, 2019 at the new Downtown Park in Redmond at 16144 Cleveland Street Redmond, WA 98052.