Diane & Dan's Story

Diane and Dan are the adoptive parents of two-year-old Sara, six-year-old Juan, and seven year-old Christiana. Their three children have special needs and face a number of social and behavioral challenges related to prenatal exposure to drugs and alcohol.

Through participation in First 5 Monterey County-funded programs, Diane has gained the courage and knowledge to help her children overcome their struggles. The Monterey County Screening Team for Assessment Referral and Treatment (MCSTART) provided assessments, occupational therapy, behavioral therapy, and pediatric services. They assisted Diane in the process of developing Individualized Educational Plans (IEP) for future school support for her children. They also referred Juan to the Easter Seals Central California’s Play and Language for Autistic Youngsters (PLAY) Project.

She states, “Easter Seals was wonderful to us when I called them and told them that my five-year-old son was fetal alcohol [exposed]. They said ‘…Bring him over.’ Easter Seals has been a really good support program for me.” The PLAY Project helped Juan learn to interact with other children and “initiate play.”

Reflecting on Juan’s improvements, Diane expresses, “He had a lot of early childhood trauma…so knowing that he is working through his trauma and he can be silly and role play, these are things that we were hoping for him and we didn’t know if it was going to happen.” Diane feels that her family can now engage in activities they could not participate in before. Diane also joined the PLAY Project’s Parent Support Group to connect with other parents of children with special needs such as autism. MCSTART and the PLAY Project have helped Diane to understand that with the right support, encouragement, and programs, children with special needs “whatever their circumstances, have a chance [at a] regular childhood.”