Review statements listed below are unsolicited testimonials shared by families who have received services 2+ years ago and no identifying information is shared.
ETHAN'S STORY
My name is Ethan. I am a senior in High School. During my free time I like to horseback ride, have social get togethers, and play card games with family. I began working with BIA when I was 2 ½ and when I first started I was mostly non-verbal. But I quickly made lots of progress. I had amazing people that worked with me, some of whom I still keep in touch with today. My favorite BIA memories would have to be all the outings we went on like to the library and the Oakland Zoo. I give BIA credit because they helped me get to where I am today.
Ethan's Mother's Reflection
Before we started working with BIA, it was as though Ethan was covered by a veil. He didn’t want to interact with us, with objects or with his world. It was a terrifying place to be. BIA taught Ethan how to learn. It was a building block approach of breaking down skills into the simplest steps and teaching each step, one at a time. They learned what motivated him and used rewards to encourage him to work and play. Over the years that BIA worked with Ethan, that veil was removed and we discovered our son was an incredibly smart, social, outgoing and happy little boy.
BIA also taught my husband, Bruce, and me how to support Ethan. We, as parents of a child with ASD, are on a lifelong course of helping our son reach his maximum potential so we needed to learn how to teach and motivate Ethan once BIA was no longer in our lives. The BIA parent training helped make our family life more normal and manageable.
sareen's story
I’m 22 years old and I am a BIA alum. I’ trilled to show you guys this picture of me in Armenia. Every 4 years, I go to Armenia with Armenian scouts for a couple of weeks and we tour and camp in Armenia for 10 days, I attended Bullard High School for high school and obviously my favorite subjects were theater, math, and AP Psychology. In my free time, I create busy work for myself to do to keep me busy. My passions are dancing and singing. My favorite things to do are study theology, going to Los Angeles, watching and learning about history and writing about anything and everything. I now volunteer at BIA’s Clinic in Fresno, CA. I have been volunteering there ever since I was 17 years old (about 4-5 years now) . Even though I have Autism, nothing seems like it’s an obstacle for me.
ben's story
What would BIA do without Ben? Ben was the MC at a BIA fundraiser and has become a seasoned volunteer, having already assisted at the Clubhouse. Ben also decided of his own accord to have some of his Bar Mitzvah gifts donated to BIA. Ben recently graduated from Harvey Mudd College with a B.S. in Engineering, and is working to help solve the climate crisis. He lectures part time teaching graduate psychology students about the experiences of autistic adults & teens. Our hats are off to you, Ben!
