Shane
Crossroads School
On a hot Sunday in early June, Shane Maturah, 13, counted to ten with the support of his parents and grandfather, leading more than 300 runners and walkers out on the course at the 9th Annual Crossroads 5K and Family Fun Day.
Shane has autism and is considered “non-verbal.” Eight years ago, he enrolled at Crossroads School, a private, non-profit special education school for individuals with autism ages 3-22. He receives speech therapy and uses an electronic device to communicate, and he’s also learning to use his voice. In addition, he also receives home-based services from Community Solutions, another program of Crossroads Continuum, a multi-service organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for individuals with autism and related disorders.
“Shane has attended Crossroads School since the age of 4 (almost 5). He has made tons of progress along the way, and there have been so many wins over the years,” says Shane’s mom, Tina Maturah. “However, I think for me, it’s been his improvement in receptive ID, Communication, and most recently some leisure skills.
“For those who don’t live in our world of Autism, those things have allowed Shane to better understand language, follow directions of all kinds, let us know what he needs and wants, and most importantly: play and interact with his siblings and family. Now, he will play organized games such as Tic Tac Toe and Zingo with us. We often catch him cheating, too! He’s a teenager, after all, and likes to win. “
With the help of his mom and grandfather, Shane successfully counted to 10 in front of a crowd, prompting the start of the race.
“He was nothing short of amazing and we are all very proud of him,” said Tina. “This year was nerve-racking for me since it was a new location and an unfamiliar environment, and on top of that, this isn’t something he has done before.”
“But he always reminds me to never underestimate him,” she stated proudly. “Shane is non-verbal, so doing something like that is simply awesome. I will say, he does like a good microphone, so I’m sure that helped!”
Mark Dumas, President and CEO of Crossroads Continuum, also reflected on the achievement, “Having Shane count the runners out was the result of years of his hard work, and the collaboration and partnership between his family, his teachers, and his home services staff. It was great to see this moment come together and for us all to celebrate Shane’s progress as we work to raise funds to expand services for autism programs.”
“Shane has a giant support system, and all his family members want to give him everything.” Maturah said. “These funds are so important to Crossroads Continuum with our new strategic plan; they will help expand on the greatness of what they do.”
“We still have a long way to go, but with the support of Crossroads Continuum and his family, Shane can only win.”
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