By: Suzanne Mitchell
Hi! We are The Mitchell Family, and I am Suzanne, self-proclaimed autism mama bear. My husband Darin and I have been together since 1989 when we were just crazy teenagers, and thank goodness for that, because we have truly counted on that special bond to help us navigate this kind of nutty life of ours. Our son Joey is 22 with severe autism (not very verbal, not potty trained, prone to big meltdowns, and also the sweetest, most handsome guy you’ll ever meet!). Our daughter Shayna is 19, beautiful inside and out, and also happens to be the very best big sister that a little sister ever was. It may only be one of us that has the autism diagnosis, but we are most definitely an autism family.
Time has a way of ticking by faster than we think, so when Matthias Academy was still a twinkle in Liz’s eye, we were lucky enough to jump on board. At that time, our need felt so far in the future, yet here we are…the day has come. Grateful does not even begin to cover the newly found calm in my soul.
Joey had been a student at Giant Steps (an amazing autism specific day program) in Lisle, IL since he was 8 years old. We were so blessed to make many forever bonds, and the thought of leaving our second family was absolutely terrifying. Aging out of our safety net at the end of May was a grieving process all on its own. Very painful. I can’t thank our new Matthias family enough for helping us make this life changing transition. You guys have been so wonderful and supportive on every level!!
I was fortunate to meet Liz and much of the Matthias staff about 15 years ago when I started substitute teaching for SEDOL, particularly Laremont. I have seen first hand the level of love and compassion that these beautiful humans have for their students. Working with them for all of those years, I never had any idea that my own son would one day wiggle his way into their hearts as well…but on June 12, 2023 (yes, last week), our complicated and wonderful Matthias Pioneer had his first day of attendance, and started to do just that!!
For the moment, Joey will only be in attendance one day per week. We cannot pick up and move to Wisconsin to cover the remaining tuition, so in my all too familiar autism mama bear style, we are finding other solutions. The intention is for these solutions to not only allow us the opportunity to help our own sweet boy, but to assist other families like ours as well. It’s a very exciting time in the Mitchell house, and I will likely be sharing more details on that front in the near future.
Thank you all so much for welcoming us with open arms, and we look forward to taking this new journey together.
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