A family’s journey at the UNMC Munroe-Meyer Institute

Joy Beatie is a videographer in the UNMC Department of Strategic Communications and a parent with two children who are patients of the Munroe-Meyer Institute. Her column appeared in the December edition of MMI Monthly.

From the front desk to the very top, I can’t stop singing the praises of the individuals at the Munroe-Meyer Institute.

My family began our journey with MMI five years ago when my second child, Isaac, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Isaac is considered nonverbal and was not responsive to the several months of speech therapy he was offered through another organization.

Isaac began applied behavioral analysis therapy at MMI when he was 3 years old. His therapist, Molly, worked with him every day on many skills, including verbal greetings. Each day Isaac arrived for therapy and was greeted by the smile of MMI’s front desk receptionist, Rosario. Rosario would patiently ask Isaac, “What is your name?” For a few weeks, Isaac returned Rosario’s question with a blank stare until one day he replied, “Isaac.” For the first time in three years, I heard my son say his name!

Just before COVID shut the world down, my youngest child, Hannah, also was diagnosed with ASD at 18 months of age. Because of Isaac’s success with ABA therapy at MMI, Hannah was immediately placed on the waitlist. Hannah also is considered nonverbal, and, due to her inability to adequately express her needs, she can occasionally have meltdowns and tantrums. Due to a mixture of COVID obstacles and insurance issues, Hannah’s enrollment was delayed.

During that time, the team at MMI stayed in contact with me, took time to understand my frustrations with Hannah’s lack of communication and went out of their way to find me opportunities for parent training or research studies that would help me learn what I could to manage Hannah’s setbacks. There was even a time the benefits specialist, Christine, Zoom called with me to do nothing more than be a listening ear, which I appreciated more than she will ever know.

As of August 2023, Hannah became an active patient at MMI, and, just like Isaac, she has shown immediate success. From day one, her team of therapists went to work to develop a plan that would help give Hannah a voice. This plan included the picture exchange communication system (PECS).

Hannah is 5 years old, and, up until a few months ago, I was accustomed to her letting me know she wanted something by throwing herself on the ground and screaming at a level I’m sure could break single-pane glass. The first day she came to me carrying her PECS card of snacks, I squealed with excitement and emailed her case manager a HUGE thank-you message. To date, Hannah’s meltdowns are minimal. When she does start to tantrum, instead of lasting an hour, they are no more than five minutes.

The amount of support and compassion I have received from the team members at MMI has been invaluable to my family. There once was a time I felt like I was on an island by myself when caring for my children. Now, I can honestly say the team at MMI has joined me on that island and brought transportation along with them for us to travel whenever and wherever we want to go.