At four years old, our son was finally diagnosed with autism.  Just a few months in to his public school autism program, our son’s behaviors and functional level declined.  School behavior graphs showed he was often having 10-12 interfering behaviors per day.  He was also unable to function in every day family activities at home and in community without meltdowns or potentially self-injurious behaviors.

Our developmental neurologist and her social worker referred us to The Uncommon Thread.  We were told that our son needed an intensive ABA program to develop and carry over skills from school to home and his life in community. The advice of our pediatrician, neurologist, and the persuasive research of the medical community prescribed a 30 – 40 hour per week comprehensive applied behavioral analytics program.  With most public schools only offering 10-17 hours of ABA programming, we wondered “how we could do this?”.

The answer was found at The Uncommon Thread.  From the moment we walked into your welcoming big blue house, we knew we were in good hands.  The Center Director met us in your lobby with an aura of calm and competence.  She reassured us that our son would do well there.  Our terrific staff of therapists enthusiastically accepted our child despite his behavioral history and embarked on an ambitious agenda of programming.

Within weeks, there was a significant decline in our son’s negative behaviors and an increase in learning readiness that surprised us all. Our son looked forward to every visit to the center.  He adored his therapists.

In time, The Uncommon Thread provided us with home and community programming.  They also coordinated programs with our private speech and occupational therapists to ensure consistency and carry over across all settings; this is so important for children on the autism spectrum.

The Uncommon Thread helped us with everything from independent toileting, good sleep habits, independent dressing and doing homework.  They taught our son how to dance, sing, and find joy in leisure activities with peers.  When community outings were a challenge, they followed us to the mall to help program our child for success. They even supported mainstreaming and integration activities when our son was ready for it.

Also worth noting is the parent training The Uncommon Thread provided.  Our first BCBA taught me how to take simple behavioral data and how to look at school programming.  They trained my husband and me to become valuable participants in the ABA process.

No recommendation would be complete without highlighting the diversity and incredible talent of The Uncommon Thread’s staff.  We had therapists with doctoral degrees who noticed learning disabilities months before physicians and school, and BCBA’s with special education backgrounds who at times toiled relentlessly to help our child learn common core curriculum by carefully breaking down difficult, abstract, subject matter into more accessible units.

Today our son is in a more inclusive public school classroom setting.  We still have some tough roads ahead of us, but our son would not be where he is without the dedication of The Uncommon Thread.

Last winter we pulled into the parking lot on a snowy day.  The Uncommon Thread’s founder was out shoveling the snow off the front path.  He greeted my son and it was clear that they had a very sweet personal interaction.  It is a team approach where everyone is dedicated, hands-on, and has a stake in your child’s best outcome.

I look forward to the day where more young children have an opportunity to receive the gift of this type of care.

I highly recommend The Uncommon Thread for families beginning their journey.