Kaiden’s Story

Where Kaiden Started

Kaiden came to Cornerstone in July 2013. At that time, his communication was very limited and he was only motivated by dinosaurs or animals. He was working on requesting items only by pointing to them.

He struggled with transitions and participating in group activities.

How Kaiden Improved

Kaiden still loves animals and dinosaurs, but is also motivated by a variety of other things, especially peer interaction. Kaiden loves to play with his peers, chat about his favorite movies and is quick to give compliments. He is a social butterfly! He now uses full sentences and has functional conversations.

These days, Kaiden is extremely flexible with his schedule, handles changes with ease and is the first to volunteer to help or answer questions in group settings.

Over his time at Cornerstone, Kaiden has mastered a total of 7,401 targets. He can read, write, identify letters and count to 100. Did we mention he loves his peers? He will spontaneously initiate conversation, has excellent eye-contact and will respond to his peers when they ask questions. He has masters quite a few daily living skills, including tying his shoes, washing dishes and making the bed.

Kaiden graduated in December 2018 and has transitioned in January to an elementary school full-time. “Kaiden, I’m thankful I was able to be your therapist,” said RBT Kelcie Lewis at Kaiden’s graduation. “I think I can speak for all of us when I say your compliments, spontaneous singing and contagious laughter will be missed around here, but we know you are on to bigger and better things ahead. We hope you come back to visit us!”

Watch Kaiden’s graduation video here.

Watch some videos of Kaiden’s progress and personality here!