G.E.M.S. has dramatically changed the life of each child who has attended the program for the past 20 years. The following is a small sample of testimonials we have collected.

We joined G.E.M.S. when our son was four years old by the grace of God! He had been “hypersensitive” since birth, experiencing two heart surgeries by three months of age. No one could tell us why, other than he was a “fussy baby.” He was at the doctor’s office for the first two years of his life for his heart, allergies, ear infections, etc…

The toddler years came and were exhausting! My husband and I were exasperated by Isaac’s inability to cope in life and his blue-ribbon award temper-tantrums that would last one to three hours! At Isaac’s four year check up, our Kaiser Doc said he thought he had “Sensory Integration Dysfunction” (SID) and needed therapy but did not know where to send him! I met a mom in the summer that attended my MOPS group and had her son in G.E.M.S.! G.E.M.S. – what was that? We had no idea after researching the community the school even existed. We called and were seen right away. Isaac was evaluated by a seasoned OT (occupational therapist)! Yes indeed, he had “SID”!

They enrolled him with ease and the staff had an awesome understanding of kids! We were blessed for two years by this team of angels!!! Isaac went from hiding under tables to total integration into life!!!

His social/emotional, fine and gross motor skills soared like an eagle in those two years! He is now attending a private school in the community for a full day in their Junior First program and loving it! He does exceptionally well at recess and his special classes – like art, computer, P.E., Spanish, etc. He is doing fabulous at transitioning and his academic – fine motor – etc. is ahead of the other kids!

I recently ran into a Sunday School teacher that Isaac had when he was three years old. She could not believe how well Isaac was doing and that he was even the same Isaac she knew when he was three!

Thank you G.E.M.S. for loving God’s children!

Cathy Ocken

My son, Jared spent his first 18 months of life lying and sitting around observing the things that were happening around him. His eyes always seemed to be taking everything in, even though he would not engage in any activities. He was somewhat leary of people and would place his hands behind his head when approached by a stranger. We joked about this somewhat at the time and teased the people he would treat this way. I was also told that I was lucky he was so “laid back” because he was my third child and we all perceived his behavior as a personality trait. When he was still very small, three to four months old, I was told I spoiled him and he must have been held too much because he could not hold himself up on his elbows as other babies his age could do. At six months, he was not sitting up and still at one year he was showing no signs of wanting to walk.

My son sat up at eight months, crawled at one year and finally walked at 18 months. Now everyone joked that he had been observing for the first 18 months and during this time, he was only plotting and planning all the things he was going to get into when he could move around. This was an understatement. He was into everything! He would not listen to us when we told him “no,” disciplining was out of the question, as he would throw himself around and hurt himself when he was put in time out. Our biggest concern was his total lack of concern for his own personal safety. He would touch extremely hot surfaces, jump from unbelievable heights, climb to the top of things our other children had never dreamed of climbing and run into a busy street to name a few. This made him a very challenging child. He would get frustrated that he could not communicate and we would get frustrated that he behaved the way he did.

He still was not talking, but we didn’t become extremely alarmed until he had passed his second birthday. We kept telling ourselves that children develop at different rates and he was just a little slower than our other children, including our youngest daughter, who was thirteen months younger than Jared, but who was babbling and talking more that Jared. We finally voiced our concerns to our pediatrician and she suggested having Jared tested at Children’s hospital by an occupational therapist. We scheduled an appointment for May.

He was asked to perform a series of tests in a room with just one parent and the therapist. He was unable to complete the tasks (these focused mainly on fine motor skills). He would briefly attempt to complete a task, but would then ask for help. Finally, after a fairly brief amount of time, he would place the object in his mouth and then throw it. He searched through the therapist’s bag and would not sit still for the examination. He was then taken to a motor room where his gross motor skills were observed.

Following the exam, the therapist told us she felt he had Sensory Integration Dysfunction and Oral Dyspraxia. She suggested we get tested by the Child Development Unit (CDU) at Children’s Hospital and we were placed on a waiting list for speech and occupational therapy. Upon discussing Jared’s condition with my husband, we decided not to wait, but to shop around for a school for Jared. We found G.E.M.S. in the yellow pages and called. They were beginning their summer program one week later and I was invited to bring Jared so they could meet him and I could evaluate the program.

When I arrived at G.E.M.S. I was impressed mostly by the fact that all the children were sitting still listening to a story, which my son would NEVER do. After speaking with Joan Eckert (the founder) and with the occupational therapist, I decided to enroll Jared for the summer program. He attended the toddler program two days a week for four hours each day. He began showing dramatic improvement after just two weeks.

The summer program ended at the end of July, but the regular school year would start up after Labor Day. In August, we took Jared to the CDU at Children’s and he underwent the same type of tests he had taken in May. The difference being, we were there for four hours (way longer than he could ever have handled in May) and he was observed by a Developmental Pediatrician, an Occupational Therapist and a Speech Therapist.

I knew Jared had been making dramatic progress, but observing him on this day was incredible! He completed every task he was given, although a little more slowly than other kids his age, he did not ask for help one time, he didn’t put anything in his mouth and threw nothing! I was so proud of him! The doctor asked what we had been doing and we told them about G.E.M.S. They had never heard of it! They said to keep doing what we were doing, because it was really working! Jared is still a student at G.E.M.S. I am an active member of the board and assist in fundraising. This is all easy to do because of what the program is doing for my child. He is a happier, better adjusted child now who can communicate his needs to us on a regular basis. He listens when we tell him “no” and we are able to reason with him. We are communicating! I feel very fortunate to have found G.E.M.S. and it is now my mission to get the information to others who have children who would benefit from their unique therapy.

Thank you, G.E.M.S. for saving my life and for giving my child the tools he needs to be happy.

Marla Ledezma