“Mateo is a joyful three-year-old who quickly makes friends with everyone he meets! He loves to approach people and show friends the things he enjoys—he always includes others. He especially loves his big brother, Isaac. Truly, Mateo is a delight in every way! 

Mateo communicates with hand gestures and by leading his friends along. He was diagnosed with apraxia of speech, and despite knowing what he wants to say, apraxia makes it challenging for Meteo to produce speech accurately and consistently. There are a lot of additional challenges that come with his diagnosis.

Speech therapy is essential to Mateo’s ability to communicate. Although he can’t fully communicate verbally yet, therapy is helping Mateo overcome his speech delays and helping him build his vocabulary. He’s also learning how to move the muscles in his mouth and create sounds purposefully. He’s making progress! We can see Mateo’s endless possibilities, and it fills us with hope! 

Therapy made so many of Mateo’s goals possible. Before starting therapy, he couldn’t say any words, and he didn’t have any variation in his sounds.  It’s exciting to see how far Mateo has come this past year. Through hard work, he can make more sounds and is starting to say words. We love hearing him say ‘Mama’ and ‘Dada.’ He can now even say his name–this is such a big win for Mateo! We know this is just the beginning, and we can see so many possibilities ahead for Mateo.

Being able to communicate and be understood is such a crucial part of being human, and we want to make every accessible tool possible to Mateo. We know he has a lot of hard work ahead, but we look forward to the journey and the endless possibilities for Mateo!

We want to give Mateo all the tools he needs to communicate—this is so important to us, even though it is financially challenging. His therapy wasn’t anticipated or budgeted, and this first year has been a financial shock. But we’ll work to adjust our budget to accommodate Mateo’s needs.

When we received a scholarship for therapy, it was such a gift; it was a wonderful help in easing our weekly expenses. It gave us some room to breathe.

Meteo may not be able to make sounds and words consistent with his peers, but when we hear his voice, it is the most amazing sound to us. This is the gift that a scholarship from Family Hope Foundation gives to a family. I hope every donor knows the impact they can have on the lives of these kiddos and their families. 

This scholarship allows our sweet boy to continue with therapy and expand his language skills. Knowing that the community is rooting for us and understands our needs means the world to our family. We are optimistic and see the possibilities in Mateo’s future. We can’t wait to check in and share some of his wins!”