Crowley ISD Parent Mentors are parents of a child with special needs who are eager to help other parents seeking support or the opportunity to talk with someone who has walked a similar path.
If you need help, please contact one of the parents listed below or Donna Heim, Special Education Parent Liaison, at 817-297-5319 or
donna.heim@crowley.k12.tx.us.
Tanisha Wilson
tanishawil72@yahoo.com
My husband, Jeff, and I are proud parents of a 17-year-old handsome "typical" son, who is a senior in high school, and a 12-year-old beautiful daughter.
When our daughter was two years old, we started to notice that she preferred to be alone and had limited speech. Her social skills were a big concern as well. She preferred to stay at home. A simple trip to the grocery store would cause her to have anxiety. People would say "hey pretty little girl" and she would cover her face or not make eye contact. Our pediatrician would say, "Give her more time or maybe she's just shy". She was developing fine academically. She knew her abc's and numbers, but her speech was delayed. We would get one or maybe two words at a time if we were lucky. Sometimes nothing at all.
She started walk-in speech therapy through the school district when she was three years old. By the time she was four years old, she was diagnosed by Crowley ISD with highly-functioning autism with a speech delay. Receiving the diagnosis was devastating to hear because we knew little to nothing about it and didn't know where to begin to get our daughter the help she needed. Autism is something that you can never prepare for.
Currently she is in general education classes, but receives speech therapy and resource support for her core subjects; reading/language arts and mathematics. She also receives inclusion support in science & social studies.
My advice to parents with a child on the spectrum would be to never give up. Be your child's voice and advocate. Find resources to help you child be the best they can be. Our daughter is the apple of our eyes and we love her to pieces!
I look forward to supporting you as a parent mentor. I may not have all the answers but I'm willing to brainstorm with you to find them.
Maria Perez
682-558-4726
HOLA: Somos la familia Perez tenemos dos hermosas hijas la menor de ellas fue disgnosticada con autismo? A la edad de 3 anos.
Fue muy dicil para mi enfrentar la situacion yo no sabia lo que ese Diagnostico significabay asi commence abuscar informacion; A leer para saber que era y despues para tratar de aprender como lidiar con eso. En el transcurso del tiempo yo vehia que mi hija prestaba atencion a las peliculas de princesas en el momento que aparecian cantando y asi commence a traerle las historias de ellas puesto que le gustaban y la escuchaba comenzar a cantar las misma musica de sus historias de pricesas. Me di cuenta que la musica era terapia para ella. Asi comenzo la lucha para hacer que mi hija tuviera una vida lo mas normal – Posible como cualquier nina de suedad.
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Hi! We are the Perez family we have two beautiful daughters. The youngest was diagnosed with autism at the age of 3.
It was very difficult for me to confront the situation. I didn’t know what this diagnosis meant and then I started to look for information, first to know what it was, and then to try to learn how to deal with it. As time passed I saw that my daughter paid attention to princess movies in the moment they started singing. I started bringing her more movies. She would sing along; music is like a therapy for her. I started the fight for my daughter to have a normal life like any child her age.
