Jason begins to blossom

Seeing your child learn and achieve new things, no matter how small or insignificant it might be, is always a Kodak moment. But when a special needs child learns something new it is an indescribable moment.

Meet Jason Long, a seven-year-old, sweet-natured boy who has been attending Bloom – a special needs school based in Ballito – since it opened in January this year.

“Jason started at a main stream preschool and although he loved socialising with the other children, he could not keep up with their learning skills,” said his mom, Jill Long.

“Parents are scared,” admitted Long, who has traveled a rocky road with Jason.

“We did not want to accept that Jason was different to other children and we thought that if he went to school with ‘normal’ children, he would be normal.”

The pale, tiny boy was born at 31 weeks, weighing only one kilogram and has been tube fed for the past six years.

Since being at Bloom, Jason has made vast improvements.

“He now rides horses with assistance, eats and only needs the feeding tube at night. His sensor motor skills have improved tremendously and he listens and responds much better,” said Long, with pride and happiness in her eyes.

Spoken words are not necessarily the goal, as special needs children often do not speak, or very little at best.

At Bloom, both the children and their parents are taught sign language to better their communication skills.

This is something that makes Bloom special, they interact with the parents and involve them in their children’s growth.

“The positive parenting share and learn support group that Bloom runs every second Tuesday of the month has helped us enormously, as parents of “normal” children do not understand the obstacles special needs parents face,” said Long, who has started a blog (jasonsjourney.weebly.com) to raise funds for Jason to go to a feeding clinic in Austria.

The support group is run by Nicky Stirton, an occupational therapist, who runs Bloom and Kerry Roberts, a psychologist,

Stirton was inspired to start Bloom, as she saw a huge need in the North Coast area for a school catering for all special needs children, where their therapy needs can be met.

“I used to spend my whole afternoon driving Jason from therapy to therapy and not only did it mean a tight time management schedule for me, but it was also an expensive exercise with petrol costs and all the additional fees,”said Long.

“I believe in a holistic approach,” said Stirton.

The school runs as a non profit organisation.

“God wanted me to make a way, where there was none. It has been a tough year and we have had many battles, but this is a heart thing and I know I have to keep going for the kids,” said Stirton.