PLEASE CONTRIBUTE!

Below is my testimonial and thank you note to FOCUS. Please help them continue saving lives!

Dear Donna, Fred, and FOCUS staff:

How do you thank someone whom you believe has saved the life of your child? The bumps in the road our son faced - and faces - as an individual with autism in the Western world are challenging! Gail’s first day at the FOCUS Dowd Street location is forever etched in her heart! She could not hold back her tears, watching our overly anxious son be calmed by the staff’s empathy and patience, while she walked away from him, up the stairs to meet Donna. FINALLY, people who UNDERSTAND our son. FINALLY, people who APPRECIATE our son. FINALLY, people whose job is to educate and nurture will not mistreat our son or turn a blind eye to his feelings. And, instead, will help him reach his potential while showing him love. That is what our son experienced at FOCUS.

Willie spent many years in various FOCUS programs, including full day school, after school, and recreation-social, and therapy groups. We had the pleasure of witnessing a staff understand how to get our son out of his shell so that he could thrive in a structured program. Instead of physical harm or run-ins with the law - things his Mom actually feared - Will was able to obtain an undergraduate degree at UConn, lived on campus, now lives independently in an apartment, with a job, a car and his own dog for whom he alone cares!

We would be remiss if we did not note that a lot of the initial credit actually goes to Donna’s twin brother, David, recently deceased, who, in the beginning, seemed to be the only person who could reach Willie outside of the classroom setting. And did so. David became one of Will’s lifelong connections. We are eternally grateful to that generous man.

In closing, Donna and Fred, FOCUS staff, thank you. On this TWENTHY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY!!!, please remember the lives you saved when looking back on your achievements! And here’s to many more lives to be saved by Donna’s “baby,” FOCUS, in the years to come!

With love and appreciation,

Gail Bogossian and Mike Roy