Danny

4 May 2016

Danny has been coming to Blue Sky Autism for one year. It’s hard to remember the boy he was before he started therapy. He used one word at a time to communicate and found it difficult to engage with other children.

Danny developed normally until somewhere between 18 and 20 months when he regressed, he lost some of his language and became socially withdrawn. Everyone reassured us, even the Health Visitor, he was a boy, and boys are slower. My gut told me something was wrong but part of me wanted to hear he was fine and there was nothing to worry about. Eventually I listened to my gut and took Danny to the Drs. About eight months later just after Danny’s 3rd Birthday and just after the birth of Danny’s little sister Carys, we were given a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Our world fell apart.

If the diagnosis wasn’t hard enough to deal with then the fact that there was no help or support for Danny was even worse. Where was all the early intervention I had read so much about? For months we felt so alone and scared for Danny. One day whilst scouring the Internet I came across a place called Speur Ghlan.

Mark and I took Danny to meet Ruth and I knew leaving that meeting that Danny was going to get the help he needed.

Blue Sky has made such a huge difference to Danny. His speech has improved so much and he is learning to socialise with other children. He is a happy and confident little boy. He adores his little sister and they now play (and fight) together. Blue Sky also taught us how to interact with Danny and how to motivate him to learn. If this wasn’t enough we have met so many lovely families who really understand how we feel. I often refer to the family room as the ‘Parent Therapy Room’.

Blue Sky has changed all our lives for the better and I will never be able to thank Ruth and the team enough. Thank you Blue Sky!