Achieving a Good Life

"I can't tell you how much Elijah has blossomed.

When you're eight years old, school has a big impact on how good your life is. Elijah Ryan has been happier and more successful since The Arc Greater Twin Cities helped resolve some issues at his school. That also makes life better for his mother, Carol Ryan, who adopted Elijah and four other children ages 3-10.

Elijah has been diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). He’s generally a happy kid, but he moved to a new school this year and things started out badly.

Elijah had some behavior issues at his old school, but with medication changes and behavior modification he was fine. Unfortunately, his new school put Elijah in the behavior classroom, and it was the wrong place for him. He was also having problems with another child who was bullying him. He was afraid to go to school.

I contacted MOFAS (Minnesota Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) for help, and they referred me to The Arc Greater Twin Cities. An Arc advocate came to quite a few IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meetings with me, and she was a tremendous help. The school really listened to her. With her help, we got Elijah into a mainstream classroom with supports. We also changed his schedule so he’s not with the child who bullied him.

I can't tell you how much Elijah has blossomed. He's happy, he wants to go to school, he’s catching up academically, and he’s even doing the end-of-day announcements over the school PA system once a week.

Because of his FASD, Elijah needs little reminders to help him stay focused. Now he has a behavior sheet where he gets stars for staying on task. He brings it home every day, and he'll even joke about it. He'll say, 'I had a terrible day today, here's my note," and then he'll say, 'Ha, ha, I'm just kidding." It's a total turnaround – he’s like a completely different kid.

- Carol Ryan

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