advise on modifications that can be made in the classroom . Mona works with the entire lifespan , from babies to the geriatric . Catering to that wide demographic , public education plays a big part in helping her to change the narrative and there have been collaborative efforts with the media to that end . She is also educating families , her staff and her friends , hoping knowledge can be spread through that medium . Mona and her staff at CHATS are also exposing their client-children to different activities , such as taking them horseback riding , swimming , tennis - and by so doing they are teaching the children functional skills , and persons in the community , how to deal with the challenges that interacting with a person with an invisible disability may bring .
CHATS teaches parents to be their child ’ s biggest advocate , empowering them so their hope will remain . In addition to speech and language services , CHATS offers early intervention services where they focus on the global development of each child . This program was birthed as many families come to them with the notion that their child will never be able to do a specific thing and that breaks Mona ’ s heart , so she reminds her staff that , “ Through our early intervention program we ' re holding the hands of all families and advocating for and with them so their child can achieve functionality within society . We ' re going to make them functional .” And her promise : “ if it takes me 10 years to make your child function , I ' m holding your hand until then .” 80 % of the people she sees are children with autism .
Mona ’ s practice is run with genuine care for her families as she knows first-hand the heartache of parents or guardians seeing their child live with an invisible disability .
Her own family having lived through a lengthy emotional rollercoaster before and even after her brother ’ s diagnosis , she is determined to change the narrative on the island . Society ’ s insensitivity , lack of awareness and acceptance is a constant source of immense stress for families that are already learning how to raise a child with a developmental disorder or learning disability . Support is needed , not shame or blame .
Mona says proudly , “ my brother is severely dyslexic but does that mean that he can ’ t learn ? Absolutely not ! My brother ' s vocabulary is more extensive than mine . He ' s an auditory learner and does things differently . He ' s a good at drawing and he ' s amazing ! He has so much to contribute to society and we refuse to let anyone limit him . We are his biggest advocates . He is now a college engineering student and we ’ re so proud of him !" brought to life
A room inside CHATS Antigua
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