This is Ryan. He likes Gene Simmons, watching Buena Park TV, and doing martial arts. He has been enrolled at Unlimited Possibilities for about 4 years now and is a yellow belt, something of which he is very proud . He also has Soto Syndrome, a disorder characterized by a distinctive facial appearance, overgrowth in childhood, and learning disabilities or delayed development of mental and movement abilities.
Ryan is excited every Saturday to come to class and it shows. His exuberance is contagious and he brings a smile to everyone’s face as soon as he enters the room. When he first came to Unlimitied Possibilities he had very little muscle tone or flexibility. He also had a hard time running. He would take very small, slow steps on the balls of his feet. One of the first things his parents noticed after bringing him to class for a few months was the improvement in his gait. He is running quite well now and enjoys that part of the warm up . He also learned to side shuffle without falling over and now can be quite fast at it when he wants to be. Ryan has gained a lot of strength and coordination. He can even do a forward roll without any assistance.
Ryan continues to make tremendous improvements in his ability to stay on task and to listen to and follow directions. When he began, he needed constant redirection after only several minutes. One of the most exciting changes that we have seen in Ryan is in his level of participation in discussions. He is engaged and excited to answer questions about the day’s technique. Instead of just watching others participate, he is actively involved in all of the class activities. When not in class, he is excited to show off these new skills to friends and family members, in a safe way of course.
Ryan is pretty sure that one day he’ll be able to take Coach down and kick her butt. Dream big, Ryan!