Valerie Crawford – American Fork Junior High School

My son is an amazing 14 yr. old boy who has Down Syndrome. I have tried to potty train him every year with no success. Jacob hasn’t been interested. Jacob doesn’t communicate verbally and when he’s in school he doesn’t talk. He loves to go in a corner and stay away from people. Teachers have had a hard time trying to break in the wall he builds between himself and others. So the easier thing to do is to let him be in his corner and not do anything… Until Mrs. Crawford came last September. Where others saw problems Mrs. Crawford saw opportunities… Where others saw failure, Mrs. Crawford saw potential to succeed. She saw Jacob as a child with intelligence and ability to learn. She came to my house every week while he was sick. Mrs. Crawford kept on looking for ways to reach my son and his ability to learn. When she realized Jacob was not toilet trained she took upon herself to come up with a potty training plan. She organized her aides and has begun a process to help Jacob with this impossible goal. Jacob is now working hard on being toilet trained. He’s also learning to dial my phone number in case he gets lost. I never thought someone could help Jacob the way she has done it. She’s inspiring and caring.

-Thelma Sorensen