Christina H.

My daughter is nearly seven years old and started attending the NSA four months ago. I had previously attempted to place her in school with disastrous results and thought she was just not ready. I was wrong. It wasn’t that Alexandra wasn’t ready, it was just not the right school for her. NSA proved that to me. I noticed changes very quickly. The first improvement I noticed was in gross motor skills and coordination. All of a sudden, she could jump on her trampoline and clap her hands at the same time. Her gross motor skills have continued to improve. The latest improvement happened this past week when, for the first time, she could use the playground swing by herself, pumping her legs beautifully and moving her body very naturally. There have also been improvements in fine motor skills. Her hands have never been strong and now she can even put her stockings on by herself. In general, she’s become a lot more independent; much more able to do things by herself. The most recent development is that she’s washing up in the bathtub. It was at her own initiative. A couple of days ago she simply asked me for the soap, and she began to wash up by herself, and very well at that.

But the most significant improvement has been in language. Alexandra has global delays, but her toughest challenge is language. The most problematic for us is her receptive language delay. That also began to improve quite rapidly at NSA. We went from Tarzan-like syntax and a lot of pointing, to speaking in normal sentences. Whereas before, there was a noticeable pause when we asked her to do something, now she responds right away. She’s even listening in on conversations around her. The other day, I was asking her what she wanted for breakfast and she was responding very nicely, and my husband looked transfixed. He couldn’t believe the change in her. Even more amazing: she had a dental appointment this week and she began to cry as soon as we went in. Usually, when she gets in such a state, she’s oblivious to anything else, but this time, I was actually able to talk to her, get through to her, and get her to calm down.

The most wonderful thing of all, though, is how much Alexandra loves school. She looks so happy every morning when we arrive. Everyone is so accepting, so loving towards her, and she responds in kind. The first thing she does is make the rounds to hug all the teachers, and her face just lights up when she sees Shannon. When I talk to the teachers about improvements I’ve noticed at home, and my eyes well up, the teachers’ eyes well up too and we end up hugging. They celebrate every improvement with me, no matter how small. They genuinely care, and it’s a great comfort to me to know that my daughter is in such excellent hands. She’s loved and respected, and she’s thriving.

My thanks to everyone at NSA!