Non-verbal six-year-old Simon has experienced life’s rollercoaster while working hard to overcome his challenges. Yet, some help from Satan’s Little Helper has put him on the right path.
When Simon was four years old, he was yet to have a conversation with his parents. Born with autism spectrum disorder and diagnosed with ADHD, Simon’s parents Iair and Luciana worked hard to give their son the support he required – but, like many families in New Zealand, were finding it to be a lot of hard work.
“Simon was diagnosed as autistic when he was only two-and-a-half and was non-verbal until around the age of four,” says Iair.
Due to the lack of government support available, Iair and Luciana were forced to privately fund a speech language therapist, occupational therapy, early intervention and a teacher aide at school by working multiple jobs and pouring “all their resources” into getting Simon the help he needed.
Isolated from support
Iair originally nominated Simon for Satan’s Little Helper in 2022, just after Covid restrictions were beginning to loosen. As the rest of their family was back in their native Argentina, it was a difficult period for them all.
“They are amazing parents, who were 'alone' in New Zealand as Covid has kept them separate from family in Argentina,” explains Simon’s speech language therapist Meagan. “They are working tirelessly for their amazing little boy.”
Part of that involved nominating him for Satan’s Little Helper. Along with input from Meagan, it was decided that a tablet would help him make great developments in his communication and help him find his words. With that in mind, Satan’s Little Helper contributed to helping his parents purchasing one for Simon.
Massive help
Since receiving support from Satan’s Little Helper, the family have moved to Isreal. Not only has the tablet helped Simon develop his communication, it’s also helped him learn a new language!
“The tablet has been an amazing tool for him. Simon has been exposed to pictograms, words, and their pronunciation, which has helped him learn Hebrew and develop his communication overall.
“He is now much more verbal; he can ask for help, food and even tell us when something hurts!”
Simon has started on medication to help with his ADHD, which has improved his focus and accelerated his development.
“His communication has improved significantly and, in September, he will be entering first grade at a ‘normal’ school, in a classroom specialised for kids on the spectrum,” says Luciana.
While Simon’s future is unclear, he has made “tremendous” progress since receiving the tablet and, with his parents determined to give him all the tools he requires to become as independent as possible, you wouldn’t bet against him continuing to develop his skills!
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