*Billy has made a complete transformation!

He came to the Ranch when he was seven years old. He was nonverbal and had frequent aggressive outbursts.

Kimberly Vaskor, housemother at Spruce Tree House, said, “When I would take him to school, I’d have to peel him off my leg and hand him to the teacher. He would be there between 15 to 30 minutes, and I would get a call to come and get him because he’d had an outburst.”

Billy’s staff worked very hard with him. He had speech therapy, and plenty of attention from his direct care team.

Three months later he was attending school for half-days.

For the last eight months, he has been attending school for full days with zero incidents!

Matthew McGeough, program manager, said, “He is now speaking in complete sentences, getting 100 per cent on his spelling tests, and doing his homework in the evenings.”

Vaskor said that now when she drops him off at the edge of the playground at school, he waves at her and runs to play with the other kids. “It’s priceless,” she said.

Billy’s teacher said, “Billy is such a happy student that comes in with a huge smile every morning. He is loved by staff and students around the school and brightens everyone’s days.”

She said that Billy is having a great year and is making huge strides with independence and following routines and procedures.

“We are all so lucky to have a little Billy in our lives!” she said.

McGeough said, “He’s just this whole new little guy. It’s been a lot of hard work by his direct caregivers like Kim, Matthew Tillman, a personal support leader, his speech therapist, his caseworker, his personal support workers, and the school board. In my 17 years at Ranch Ehrlo, I’ve never been a part of something like this.”

Billy’s grandmother is astounded. She said, “I have noticed a really big change in my sweet and loving grandson. He is so happy and loves to interact with us. Billy talks a lot, laughs, and plays with his sister and cousins. He doesn’t have breakdowns.”

She went on to say that she is so happy and would like to thank everyone who has helped him with all the changes and accomplishments he has gone through with Ranch staff’s support and guidance.

“It means so much to our whole family. You have all done an amazing job with Billy,” she said.

Billy’s great grandma said, “When I see Billy the first thing I see is his beautiful smile. It just warms my heart.”

Tillman said Billy is very intelligent for his age. He’s quite tech savvy. He’s such a caring young man; he cares for his roommates very much.

“Billy has been such a pleasure to work with for each member of our team. To see his growth and know we’ve been a small part of that is extremely rewarding experience and it’s hard to even put into words,” Tillman said.

McGeough explained that following Billy’s regular routine and daily activities as a team is what has been working for him. Billy knows what to expect on a day-to-day basis.

“We reference therapeutic crisis interventions (TCI); that structure, routine, and predictability that Billy has in his life is what keeps that engine roaring like it should,” said McGeough.

Tillman said, “I think he has a great future, and he can do anything he wants in life. I’m excited to see where he goes from here because I know it will only be great things for little Billy.”

*Name changed for privacy.