Nolan’s Story

Where Nolan Started

When Nolan started therapy in January 2019 at age three, he had 15 out of 170 milestone points on the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment (VB-MAPP). He graduated from therapy on December 15th, 2020 with 158 milestones.

When Nolan first started, he wasn’t able to communicate his wants and needs. Nolan was only able to emit word approximations. Nolan did not interact with his peers and made minimal eye contact.

How Nolan Improved

Nolan graduated in December 2020. He was working through Level 3 of the VB-MAPP and had gained 158 out of 170 milestones at the time of his graduation. Nolan will now communicate using full sentences to express his wants and needs, he engages in social play with peers, and he is able answer questions after being read a short passage from a book.

Nolan began working on skills from the Assessment of Functional Living Skills (AFLS) to better prepare him for a transition to school. He mastered programs such as writing and typing his name, writing letters, and stating his phone number and address.

“We just want to thank everyone at Cornerstone,” said Nolan’s mom, Jessica. “We’ve always felt welcome since the first visit to tour the facility. Nolan has come so far in the almost 2 years he was there. He didn’t even talk when he started and now he doesn’t stop talking. He can now communicate his needs and wants, stays within a safe distance from an adult at all times, is fully potty trained, and loves playing with his family/friends. He has come out of his shell, for sure. We are forever in debt to all of you.”

When Nolan started talking, he began to interact with peers frequently and Nolan quickly became a social butterfly! He was always willing and ready to play a game with any friend. We will miss his joyful personality!

Nolan transitioned into a preschool setting with his twin sister after his graduation from Cornerstone Autism Center. “Nolan is going to excel in preschool,” said Macy Smith, MA, BCBA. “He worked incredibly hard each day at Cornerstone to be able to be with his twin sister at school. We are so excited for his bright future!”

Watch Nolan’s graduation day video at this link: