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Alex was our third so we had kind of an idea where
milestones were with babies and toddlers and Alex just didn't quite reach those as
fast. It's called developmental expressive apraxia.
It's a motor speech delay. (Narrator) Would Alex ever walk? Could he
learn to speak? For the Neu family, and the professionals
at Crossroads, it was not a question of if, but when.
(Erin) We didn't want to limit his ability at all,
and Crossroads' philosophy was so similar to what we believed in.
We started developmental preschool there, he was not quite 2, almost 2.
We did a little more therapy afterwards with his classes
and then he also went to kindergarten there and continued on
with his speech and occupational therapy, physical therapy.
He loved it there, he was so happy there. (Narrator) Since his time at Crossroads a
decade ago, Alex has grown by leaps and bounds.
The boy many thought may never walk, is now an athlete,
a starting lineman for the Ron Collie Rebels. He's also a success academically, never earning
less than a C. And finally, his hard work has payed off.
(Erin) Alex is a senior, he's going to be graduating.
I made a promise to God when Alex was questioning himself
a little bit in his confidence, that if he could just help us get through
these high school years and get Alex his dream of going to college
that we would call and thank all those people that made
such a difference and Crossroads was the very first place we
called. (Phone Call) And my son Alex attended your
developmental preschool and had some pretty significant speech delays
as well as some other developmental delays.
We just found out today that he was accepted to the University of Indianapolis.
I don't know who to thank but I always promised that if he were ever able to succeed and graduate
that I would call you all first and tell you how grateful we are
and how much we appreciate all you do for us
and we pray for you every day thank you thank you thank you.
And Alex thanks you to. (Jim) It was overwhelming to have someone
after all those years still appreciate the impact that we had on
the child's life. (Narrator) Later this year, Alex will pay
it forward in his own way. He's headed to the University of Indianapolis
taking the first steps to a career of helping others.
(Alex) They have a good program in Physical Therapy.
I've always loved to help other people. Being a Catholic, God always said to help
others. (Erin) Alex hopes to graduate with a degree
in PT or OT. He says that that's his way of someday giving
back. He loves kids, loves loves loves kids, and
he would be wonderful with them I think it's a gift that he has.