Fabio-André Sanchez: Happy Y.A.W.A.'s first member
Fabio-André Sanchez: Happy Y.A.W.A.'s first member
He was born on May 29, 1996, firstborn of Ivelisse and Eliseo Sanchez. After the diagnosis of a brain complication during the last trimester of pregnancy, they certified at birth that the complication had no consequences and, at that time, did not have much significance.
His first months of life were what is considered normal; just with some delays in crawling, talking and walking. However, at 14 months old, rather than starting to take little steps, he literally came running and made it on the tip of his toes. Mom began to worry about changes in his behavior such as: only wanting to eat one meal (Cheerios), repeatedly watching the same movie, stopped giving kisses, nodding when wanting something (rather than asking), and had great difficulty falling asleep at night. In several visits to the pediatrician, Mom expressed her concerns, but the physician was not worried and said the best thing was to change at-home-care to a day care. This would help him socialize better and develop his language.
The entrance to the day care was a time bomb: he started having uncontrollable tantrums, hyperactivity was increasingly marked, hardly spoke, had not learned to go to the bathroom, among other things. The day care referred him to a speech therapy evaluation that ended with a possible diagnosis of mental retardation. Not content with that, Mom and Dad continued to seek other medical opinions. They visited a pediatric neurologist who diagnosed him with a Dysphasia Language (a language developmental disability). However, in her heart Mom knew that something was wrong and went looking for answers. He was referred to a Neurodevelopmental Pediatrician, who, after a week-long multidisciplinary assessment, told us the most dreaded word: AUTISM.
Fabio-André at 3 years old was officially diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder and Severe delay in speech. This was just the beginning of an unknown road, with few answers and many questions.
Despite having very few specialized educational alternatives for the condition in Puerto Rico, Fabio-André was blessed to be educated during those first years after diagnosis at the only center (at that time in PR) that used the ABA method (Applied Behavioral Analysis) to treat autistic children. This specialized center, where he spent three years, changed the life of Fabio-André. He began to speak, his hyperactive behavior was modified, he learned to go to the bathroom alone, participated in recreational activities with other children and developed within a school environment where he received 40 hours of weekly therapy. This intensive program, together with medical treatment, turned Fabio-André into a functional and ready to transition to a traditional school child.
In kindergarten, he attended a Montessori School where he was accompanied by a School Psychologist, as a shadow. This enabled him to make the transition to a regular mainstream school with a special program that included individualized attention and regular education. Robinson School became his school from 1st to 8th grade. The following school years were not easy but were achieved with great sacrifice, extracurricular support, therapy, mentoring and the vision of Mom and Dad to turn him into an independent adult.
It was in 8th grade when, after several difficulties for Fabio-André to do group work, Mom was caught with an assessment of Fabio-André, which was the trigger for the decision to seek new directions to meet their dream. The conclusion of this assessment said that "every day that Fabio-André spent at school, was a day lost in his life”. This is because the philosophy of the school was "college-prep" and that was not the reality of Fabio-André. This was in April 2011. Months later, we decided to move from Puerto Rico to a place where we could manage to have independent living options for Fabio-André.
We knew Weston since 2006, when Fabio-André began receiving treatment at the Dan Marino Center (DMC). The experience of participating in the DMC Summer Camp in 2009 helped him meet another group of professionals outside his environment. However, it was not until Dr. Carlos Gadia oriented us about the possibility of being relocated to have other educational opportunities, not available in Puerto Rico that we decided to start a new life as a family.
In August 2011, Fabio-André began 9th grade at Cypress Bay High School ESE program within the Independent Living curriculum. Immediately, we started looking for options outside of school to enrich his social life. Some of these were: Social Skills Groups, After School Program from DMC, Equine Therapy sessions, Best Buddies, Special Olympics, Martial Arts, Summer Job programs, among others. The achievements of Fabio-André were many and notable: he enjoys bowling in youth groups, improves his muscle tone and communication skills through equine therapy, participates in his first Valentine's Ball Best Buddies, runs 100 meters in Special Olympics, gets brown tape in Martial Arts, has his first work experience at Memorial Hospital as coordinator of the materials room, got his first salary working during the summer at the office of Special Olympics and many other "miracles" experienced daily while watching his progress. Medical treatment has changed to integrate biomedical treatment options with Dr. Brian Udell.
Today, Fabio-André continues studying at Cypress Bay High School and participates in the transition program which combines school with 4 hours of work at a Doubletree Hotel. Also participates in the STEPS Program from YMCA where he has received many awards for his commitment and performance. He just passed the Driver's Learner's Permit and is about to start the next school year in Sheridan Technical College in the Game Design program. He shares with his Daddy, the love for Tennis and practices 4 days a week in Midtown Athletic Club. He loves to travel, staying in hotels, sharing with his family and electronic games. He aspires to someday live independently, get married and have his own family.
The story of Fabio-André is a success, marked by: the tireless commitment of Mom and Dad, the sweetest and respectful personality of Fabio-André, combined with his intelligence, the unconditional support and empathy from his sister Mariette, the love of the whole family and the certainty that the purpose of Fabio-André will be great, not only in our lives but in the lives of others like him, that will achieve an independent and happy life.