Michael

“Michael is a great kid who is very gentle and loving,” says Keith Robinson, home coordinator at Heartspring. “He is shy at first and that sometimes gives the impression he doesn’t know what’s going on, but once you get to know him you realize how smart he is.” Michael is profoundly deaf and communicates very well with friends, family and staff by wearing hearing aids and using his NEO communication device. Designed specifically for writing, NEO is a lightweight, power-writing notepad that provides quick and easy writing access. Michael communicates so well staff has a hard time remembering that he can’t hear them.

“When Michael first came to Heartspring in 2006 he primarily used his NEO for leisure activities, making lists of his favorite things like TV shows, movies and actors,” says Lindsay Salomon, director of school therapies and applied technology at Heartspring. “When we started speech services, he needed a lot of help to use the device as a communication system, not just as a leisure item. Michael steadily made progress, learning to answer simple questions with one or two word answers to learning how to ask and answer questions such as ‘what did you do last night?’ Michael has amazing typing skills. He primarily uses his thumbs, but knows the keyboard so well he can look at his communication partner to make sure he has their attention while he types his message. We are currently looking into some speech generating devices so what Michael has to say can be heard by all,” she added.

In addition to his educational program, Michael receives occupational therapy from Tim Koontz. They work on increasing Michael’s fine motor skills such as lacing, squeezing a tennis ball and utilizing clothespins in the correct orientation from pinch to pull and placing them on another object. Michael also works with Cheryl O’Brien in the Vocational Training Program. Cheryl remembers when Michael first came to Heartspring how quiet and shy and socially challenged he was. She says now, “Michael is such a dear to have in our workshop. He comes to workshop independently, sits quietly with feet on the floor and calmly gets all his work done.”

“I remember when I first started working with Michael’s family to get him enrolled at Heartspring,” said Cara Rapp, director of admissions. “The family was in dire need of finding an immediate placement due to the program that he was attending in California had closed. His mother was having a difficult time finding a program that could fit all of Michael’s unique needs. The fact that Heartspring has an audiology department was a big motivator in her wanting Michael to enroll with Heartspring. Thankfully we were fortunate to have an opening within a couple of weeks. We are very happy to have Michael as part of our Heartspring family,” says Cara.

Michael in many ways is your typical teenager. When asked what he likes most about Heartspring he responded, “Running, playing soccer and swimming.” Michael would prefer to do most things independently, but helps classmates with Meals on Wheels. He also enjoys going on outings to the zoo, circus, picking out movies from Blockbuster and shopping at Wal-Mart. Last year, Michael also took horse back riding lessons at C-Arrow stables in Maize. He enjoys using the computer for leisure time. He is able to search the internet to find his favorite movies and TV shows. He also knows how and where to find the picture of him on the Heartspring website! With some support, Michael emails his friends and family on a regular basis. Michael continues to grow socially and is becoming a more independent young man at Heartspring.