Intelligence & Mental Development – Maya’s IQ is now 107 which falls within the Average range. 1 year ago, her IQ was 77 which indicated a Borderline score.

Auditory and Expressive Language – Maya is now communicating at her age appropriate level of 3 years 9 months at the time of the assessment. She has made 1 year and 2 months progress in her language ability in 7 months.

Adaptive Functioning – Maya’s level of communication, daily living skills, socialization and motor skills has increased overall to 88, which indicates Adequate Adaptive Functioning. 1 year ago, she scored 67 which is in the Low range of functioning with Mild Deficit.

Getting to where we are now has been tough, we have cried blood, sweat and tears and sunk in enormous amounts of money and resources. We have suffered many personal and professional setbacks, made sacrifices that no one else could understand except perhaps for another parent with a special needs child. The monetary cost, sleepless nights and emotional toll it took may never be recoverable.

Some people have asked us whether it was ABA or biomedical that made the difference for Maya. It was both. The biomedical treatments has healed and repaired some of the damage in Maya’s body. A healthy body is a healthy mind. This in turn allowed Maya’s mind to better concentrate, absorb and learn, making ABA more effective. Maya’s progress has been rapid in the past 9 months, which coincided with us intensifying her biomedical treatments as well as increasing her ABA hours. I do not know whether this is considered `normal progress’ or exceptional progress, however a combination of intensive ABA and intensive biomedical intervention is what works for now.

I am amazed at the strength and resilience of my daughter, she overcame all odds that came her way. She continues to struggle with many debilitating aspects of Autism, throughout it all her naturally sweet and gentle personality still shines through. The glowing assessment report couldn’t have come at a better time. Constantly battling Autism every single day has left us battered, weary and drained.

We celebrated the good news with a long overdue holiday in Phuket. Even though it was monsoon season there and rained continuously, we all had a wonderful time. The girls especially loved breakfast time with the baby elephants every morning. We still have a long road ahead, but at least we know that we’re heading in the right direction.