ReCliff's Testimonials in Peachtree Corners GA

Using Special-Fit to stay Active

Immediately I could tell that this was different from traditional therapies we had done in the past. And as a special needs parent, you're always want to do anything you can to help your children. One thing that really stood out to me here is that they presume competence in everyone that comes in here. I didn't have to worry about if my child had any behaviors that day or his body wasn't listening to what his mind wanted to do. That they understood that and they knew how to work with him and kept going and didn't judge him because of that or think that he was any less capable of what he is.
My son had been diagnosed with Hypotonia, which has low muscle tone and in general would be ... It was a challenge to get them to be active. We would go outside as much as we could and go to the playground. But he would struggle with doing some of the basic things. He couldn't really pump his legs to push on the swing or climb things as easily as some of the other children. And he also would have a lot of sensory issues where he was seeking out sensory input. Along with Special-Fit, one of the other services they provide is yoga and that's been great for my son as well. It really is a great environment for him to get the benefits of yoga without the expectations of a regular environment where you're expected to stay in one place and follow the directions all the time.
So it's wonderful that he has this outlet. Before trying yoga, a lot of times there was lack of focus. So there might be irritability and I think it was from sensory issues not being met. I had never seen a program like yoga for kids like Luke, where it was an environment where he could be himself but still get the benefits of yoga. I've really seen where it's going to benefit his flexibility and with focusing on breathing and stretching. It helps settle his nerves. So he can apply that to all parts of his life.
Everyone can benefit from the benefits of yoga with the stretching and breathing and the calming aspects of it. It's a wonderful environment to try it. The parent is welcome to be in the session with the child. If they are anxious without you, and as soon as they feel comfortable without you, then you can just wait outside for them. But it's a wonderful environment and something that you're really not going to find in a lot of places.
What I would say to parents that are considering coming to ReClif is that the people here really take into account the person as a whole and are very patient and regardless of whatever behaviors they might be having that day or whatever might be going on, if their body doesn't want to listen. They're patient. They understand and I just love all the different kinds of programs they have and that they focus on movement and fitness and presume competence.

Using Yoga to help focus

With my son, Aiden, doing yoga, I think one of the things that was very valuable for him is learning how to control his body in ways and maintain a kind of core strength and overall muscle tone and strength. He clearly understands what he's being asked to do, but he has a hard time getting his body to do it. The instructors are very patient, and they're demanding, but not over demanding and are happy to sit there and you move your body in a particular way, but they also invite the rest of the family in, and we serve as very good models for Aiden to work and move his body along with this. And we've been doing this for over a year and a half now, and we can see his coordination improving and his flexibility improving and his overall attention improvement.
I think yoga is good for everyone, and one of the nice things about ReClif is that if you get a membership for the individual, then family can participate in any of the activities that the individual is in. So we actually have either some subset or all of our family participate in the yoga all at once, and I think that's a nice kind of bonding. Aiden actually benefits from seeing other people do the yoga, not just an instructor say what to do. So I would take advantage of the fact that you can do the yoga with your child.
Well he tells us about how it wakes up his body, and we actually experimented quite a bit with the order in which we do, because we come in on Saturdays, and do three things all in a row now. And the last is the Spelling to Communicate, and I always thought that, "Oh the problem with that is he's done Special Fit, and he's done yoga, and then he's done the Spelling to Communicate." And we said, "Well by the time he gets to the Spelling to Communicate, is he too exhausted?" And in fact it's the opposite. The Special Fit wakes up his body, and the yoga, I think, it's in tune with his body so then he has more control when it comes to the Spelling afterwards. And he talks about how he needs those other things to kind of wake him up and then be able to do other things.
Well, the Special Fit has clearly improved his strength and his conditioning, but I also think it's improved his attitude. I think he enjoys coming. I know he enjoys coming here, even though sometimes it's hard, even though sometimes we push him harder than it is. And it's not, to me, it's not just about the physical conditioning, it's the fact that this becomes like a home. It's a fun place to go, and we do it as a family, and I think that's really what's made it so rewarding for him and for the rest of us.

Keeping Active with Special Fit

I have taken some classes to learn more about exercise and exercise specifically for young adults on the spectrum. It's been helpful for me to learn more about keeping Caroline fit, but one thing I really like about ReClif and their exercise program here, Special Fit, is that I feel like the trainers are attuned to Caroline and of course, I am as a parent, but it's nice to have someone else to be able to work with your child. Caroline responds to different people differently and I think she gets tired of mom every once in a while, so the fact that I'm able to do some exercises with her and things that I've learned here and at other courses is helpful, but it's also nice to be able to have her come in and associate with trained specialists that know what they're doing and that look at Caroline and say, "Wow, she can do this." A lot of times parents have preconceived notions about what their kids can and can't do, and it's not that way here. You come in and they'll give anything a try, which I think is great.
We come on a regular basis, which I think is great for Caroline. And they work with her on things she needs to work with while working on the goals that they have for each student. So they kind of have a list of exercise that they go through, but the exercises that they do, they work with Caroline and her abilities and adjust them to get her to eventually do the exercise. She may not be able to do it at first, but it's wonderful to watch her progress and see how she navigates things and eventually is doing it just like they had wanted and envisioned for her.
I think Caroline's confidence building, the fact that she is more confident, is helpful for her to see that it's important. And I think she enjoys exercise now. I see a self-confidence or a confidence in her that she didn't have before. She's gaining skills with working out and just control of that body, which is a challenge for our young adults. When she does Special Fit, after we have a Special Fit session, we will do Spelling to Communicate. So that kind of calms from her body and centers her body so that she can move on to the next session that we do here, which is Spelling to Communicate, and it makes her more able to receive and learn.
I enjoy coming to ReClif with Caroline because I feel like I get to see her grow, and change, and watch her progress. And I've got the ReClif staff here as my cheerleaders, they're supporting us and Caroline. And it's just wonderful to see that excitement for her and they're always cheering her on, which is great. And it's such a nice thing for a parent. ReClif is changing the conversation of autism by being inclusive to all of our kids, helping our kids be the best they can be, and being supportive of parents too. I mean, hey, we need the support as well as our kids and it's nice to have that family here.

Using IM to help her daughter focus

We struggled a lot with Emily's starting on her own, but she would have a delay in starting something so we would have to gently push her, but they told us about Interactive Metronome. They're keeping a beat and so even after that training is done for that day, she still has this little thing that she doesn't just sit back. She starts wanting to do things at a beat. Even when she was spelling, it's like her pointing was very rhythmic. Before Interactive Metronome, Emily was very sporadic all over the letter board when she was trying to work with the letter board. It was always hit or miss like a day would be like, maybe, maybe not and mostly it was maybe not. It wasn't like going to work. When we implemented the Interactive Metronome, I feel like she was more focused and had more push to initiate moving her hand around the board. Interactive Metronome helped her in other ways, not just with the Spelling. It helped her to keep a good beat. Whenever we're listening to music in the car, she's hitting her lap, and it's really, really cool because she did not do that before.
Some of the most beneficial things that we've seen in Emily since coming to ReClif is her frustration level is a lot lower than it used to be because she can get out things that she couldn't get out before. You know, things like ideas and jokes that we as parents were like, I didn't know you had that sense of humor and it's pretty amazing. ReClif opens the door to people who really have a lot to say, a lot inside their minds. ReClif helps take that out and it's so inspiring. It brings tears to my eyes when we leave and I know that my daughter just had this really wonderful session.
The staff here is absolutely wonderful. They have wonderful caring people. When you walk in, you feel like you're walking into a home and they're welcoming you. Everyone knows everyone's name and it's just warming to the heart. And I know Emily feels that too. She never complains. She might have an off day, but she enjoys coming here because I feel like she's like, "I'm going to say something today that's going to knock the socks off everybody." She's gained so much confidence in herself and her and Austin have this really good connection where she knows she sees his face and she knows I'm going to spell today. This is going to be a good day.
Emily feels their compassion when she comes into ReClif. She can feel the welcoming, the love. She just loves how people treat her as a person and not as a two year old. We are extremely, extremely thankful for ReClif. We love coming and seeing what is Emily going to do next? What is she going to say next? Because it's been too quiet for too long. ReClif is giving people with autism a way to prove themselves and improve themselves.

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