Stories of Bridgeway House: Heather and Avery

Presenter: To celebrate Autistic Pride Day, we’re visiting with the families of Bridgeway House. Here’s Avery’s mom, Heather:

Heather: Bridgeway House has been life-changing for my daughter. The teachers and the staff approach their work with true dedication to these kids, creating a welcoming space for them to achieve their goals as individuals. Avery has made friends who appreciate her just as she is. She’s earned her GED, she volunteers in the community, and next she’s taking steps toward getting her first job.

[00:00:31] None of this would have come easily, if at all, without the support of Bridgeway House. Most importantly, Bridgeway is a place where my daughter feels accepted and appreciated, and that alone has really transformed how Avery sees herself and the possibilities for her future. And I can never fully express my gratitude to Patricia Wigney and all the wonderful teachers at this school.

[00:00:57] I mean, Patricia is an amazing human. She is truly one of the most generous people I’ve ever met and she’s given our family so much love and attention and care. she’s just fantastic. And all of that love she pours into her school and you can see it.

[00:01:13] You can see it in the kids. You can see it in the people who work there. Teaching is not easy. And she has a lot of teachers have been there for a long time. She’s just really created a tremendous community. it’s incredible.

[00:01:27] Presenter: Avery is graduating this year.

[00:01:30] Avery: Well, the staff there, they just, they treat you like an individual and not just like a lump of child. It’s always really supportive. They like, treat your goals, seriously, they truly just believe in you as a person and know you can do great things when in a lot of other places, no one sees that.

[00:01:51] And sometimes in a lot of those schools, they might treat you all like babies, but they don’t here. They treat you like an individual who has goals, ambitions and is going to find their place in the world and they help you do that.

[00:02:06] I’m trying to get my driver’s license. I kind of always have to rely on my parents to be able to go anywhere. I want to be able to get my license so I’m not stuck in this tiny town doing nothing—drive myself to go for a hike, that sort of thing.

[00:02:21] So they’ve been helping me go through the DMV manual and answer some questions and things like that.

[00:02:29] One of my older goals that I actually managed to pass was to get my GED diploma. They had helped me with math questions and they even were able to take part of their day out to take the bus to LCC so I could do prep classes.

[00:02:45] Presenter: Avery is just one of the many students to succeed at Bridgeway House. With more requests each year from families and school districts, Bridgeway House is needed more than ever. You can celebrate Autistic Pride Day this year by donating at the website, BridgewayHouse.org, or call (541) 345-0805.

During summer break, calls to Bridgeway House will be automatically transferred to school admin team cell phones. For faster service, call the cell phones directly: (541) 743-5159 and (505) 930-6910.