After spending almost half of his life in a medical home for children, David, age 8, was recently adopted into a loving home. Ashley, his CASA, was his advocate for 3.5 years. David has severe special needs that impact his ability to speak and interact with others. In addition to receiving speech & physical therapy, individual social services, and Applied Behavioral Analysis Therapy, David has spent nearly 4 years living in a medical home for children. Given his diagnoses, many expected him to live his entire childhood in such a facility. David is very sweet and affectionate, but would be quite limited in his ability to communicate with resource parents and others. Throughout his time in the medical home, Ashley visited David and got to know him well. She provided consistency throughout this process and was able to share her extensive knowledge of David to help potential adoptive parents learn more about him. David is now living in a loving home where he is also improving on his communication skills and ability to interact with peers. Despite the challenges and longevity of the case, Ashley never gave up on David and saw his case through to adoption.
