Meet Dayton. Dayton LOVES Thomas the Tank Engine he also loves Buses, Skytrains and Trains. He is very good with numbers and also a has a very good memory especially when it comes to the skytrain line names and knows all the stops! He has two sisters, an older and younger sister (Taylor 13, Mady 16 months) and 3 half brothers. Dayton also has Autism and Global Development Delay. His parents knew there was something different with him right from the start. He didn’t develop like a typical child and he was delayed. They fought for the first few years of Dayton’s life to get tested and when he was 4 they finally got the Autism testing done. It was confirmed that he had Autism. It was very difficult to find funding and resources to get Dayton the help that he needed The wait lists for Autism funding and therapy is extremely long and Dayton didn’t talk until he was 6 which made things very hard on them to communicate with him. Although this was hard watching him grow and learn new things everyday was inspiring for his parents. Because of his Autism and GDD he may be 9 yrs old but has the mind of a 5 yr old. So to see him learn new things and want to share that with them, because he is so proud, makes them smile.
Through the struggles of this Dayton has taught his mother a whole new kind of patience and understanding and has made her a better person today. She hopes he can grow up to become a productive member of society and one day have a family of his own. Dayton will carry on with school and hopefully graduate one day although he is learning at a modified level. The future is full of endless possibilities!
Photo courtesy Melissa DePape Photography
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