Diana and John

Our son chose to attend CTA for his senior year of high school. Moving to CTA was the best thing that we have done to help him, our only regret is that we wish we had done it sooner. Al was in one of the largest high schools in the state, where he could get lost in the shuffle. The skills that he required to be an independent adult and part of a community were not fostered at his local high school. CTA has taught him to be both an independent learner, a self-advocate and valuable part of a community.

The structure at CTA has been perfect for Al. He has learned through the point system to be responsible for his health, his school work and his independent living skills. Like most teens, he always had difficulty with keeping his room organized, getting up for school and keeping a schedule independently. CTA’s system of earning points for keeping your living space habitable, getting to class on time and participating in campus life is pure genius. Being held accountable for being on time and participating was new to him and is exactly what he will need when he is in college this year. We have seen that as the year progressed, his number of “lates” dropped and he is now almost always on time. For the first time in years, he is able to independently get himself to school. When he got to CTA, he decided to earn money washing dishes, having this job seems to have made him a more intelligent consumer. He never asks us for money and recently actively refused “the handshake” when we returned him to school. He knows that we have sacrificed to allow him to attend CTA and he has respect that has developed as a result of this understanding. When we speak with him and see him, there is a maturity that is nothing short of amazing. Our conversations have become about how proud we are of his progress, rather than dragging him through a problem-solving process. In short, it has improved how he feels about himself and about his family.

The most important part of CTA that we have experienced is the community. Although we live far from school, we feel like we know what is happening and that we are still an important part of our son’s life. This feeling of community occurs because the folks at CTA make sure you feel like part of things. We receive weekly communications from all of his teachers and advisor. When things have seemed odd or he is out of touch, we have received prompt attention from his other family to ensure that he is okay. We can always count on Laurel, Dan or other staff to find him and either problem solve or put him on the phone if we needed reassurance about his well-being. He always talks about staff in his phone calls and has a genuine affection for the team at CTA. Although he has only been there for his senior year, the impact that the staff has had on him is profound.

Al has already been accepted into his college of choice and we are very grateful to the folks at CTA for helping him to prepare for this new chapter in his life. It was the testimonials of other parents that led us to CTA, and we are hopeful that our testimonial will be helpful to you as well.

-Diana and John

Al Haddad, Class of 2018