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A Comprehensive Education

Real World Results

It is difficult to imagine a world in which you are unable to communicate with others. At the age of eight, that’s the reality Melissa faced when a specialist informed her parents she may never gain a functional level of speech.

Over the next few years, Melissa worked on her speech and social skills through separate organizations, but a piece of the puzzle was still missing. As it turned out, that final piece was John Paul II Center. Our comprehensive school program utilizes our own in-house team of related service specialists and teachers to create personalized, well-rounded education plans with real-world results.

This past summer, Melissa found employment through a local work program. Her first placement was a factory in which she was tasked with labeling buckets. When she couldn’t reach her quota, she started to feel like she was letting her supervisor down. The factory was too loud for her to concentrate and the task was too reliant on the use of fine-motor skills.

Taking what she learned from her team at JPII, Melissa took initiative and advocated for herself. During a 15-minute phone call to her mom, Melissa was able to express her feelings verbally. That was a huge accomplishment for someone who was told she may never gain functional speech.

“For parents, JPII feels like a holistic place because it brings all the pieces together to help prepare students for adulthood.”

-Suzanne Fernandez

Shortly afterward, Melissa found a new work placement at Goodwill, where she put away books (a skills she worked on through JPII’s Work for Independence Program) and sorted clothing. In addition to her duties, she also made friends by formally introducing herself to her coworkers and even exchanged phone numbers to stay in touch with some of them!

Melissa has made tremendous strides in the last few years, in part because she found her team at John Paul II Center. With your help, more students like Melissa can find their own team, too!


Are you ready to help?

By donating now, you can help more students like Melissa find their own team at JPII.


From our Related Services Team

“Team collaboration at JPII is vital as it strongly reinforces the carry-over of skills learned in speech, behavior/social, and occupational therapy sessions. When all team members are familiar with the skills and strategies being targeted, it greatly increases student success across various settings. Collaborating as a team is key to ensuring skills learned carry-over into real life settings.” – JPII Related Services Team

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