Anna’s Story

Where Anna Started

When Anna started with Cornerstone in 2014, she had limited communication skills.  She used a couple of modified signs, and made a few sounds, including “duh” and “sss” to communicate.  Anna resorted to perseveration to gain attention from others, averaging 31.41 instances per day.  Socially, she would play near peers, but never initiated interactions with them.  If tasks were difficult for her, she was very quick to shut down and refuse to try to complete the task.  She also needed assistance with daily living and self-help skills.  Her skills fell in Level 1 of the VB-MAPP, and she started with 5 points on the VB-MAPP assessment.

How Anna Has Improved

By the time Anna graduated from Cornerstone, her language had flourished!  She was able to speak in full sentences and initiate appropriate conversations with her peers. She would ask them what they did over the weekend, about their family, and about trips they went on.  As her language increased, her instances of perseveration decreased substantially, to an average of 0.81 instances per day when she graduated.

Socially, Anna also excelled.  She chose to play with peers often and enjoyed playing derby cars and completing obstacle courses with them.  When asked before her graduation what her friends liked about Anna, they said they liked that she was silly and funny.  Anna’s parents said she has been playing with her brother, Evan, more often by building forts out of couch cushions and “painting the sidewalk” with chalk together.

Anna also learned to ask for help if tasks were difficult.  She showed an increase in independence with self-help and daily living skills, including dressing, toothbrushing, and opening her own containers during meal time.  She mastered a pill swallowing program and is now willing to use the hand dryer after washing her hands.  When she graduated from Cornerstone, she has completed almost the entire VB-MAPP, mastering 163 of the 170 milestones.

“Anna is such a sweet girl with a bright personality, and we will miss her a lot.  She is caring, hardworking, spunky and spirited, and she has made a lasting impression on all of us at Cornerstone.  We are so incredibly proud of Anna and know she will do great things in 1st grade!” said Kelsey Endres, Anna’s clinical coordinator and BCaBA.

Anna’s parents have said she has been riding the bus independently to and from school, and she is happy upon returning home each day. They said she has been doing an awesome job in school!

“As always, we are so appreciative for everyone at Cornerstone and our lives have all been changed because of the caring, supportive staff.  You will be missed.”

To see a video of Anna’s progress back when she first started therapy on our youtube channel, click this link.