Interview with Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning PARENT, Tanya and Greg Johnston

We had done a ton of work for years with our son, and had taken him to different schools, and he just wasn't happy. We were told about Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning and a few other schools through Dr. Glen Davies, who helps kids in the autism Network He had had a client that had gone there before, and it had been successful in helping this boy.

The very first week at Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning was very challenging because we are from BC and this is in Ontario. Once we got settled, he grew to be okay with it pretty quickly. Now he loves it. He loves the structure.

My son loves Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning because the people are warm and caring.

When we dropped our son off at Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning, only about a month later, the pandemic hit, so we couldn't come back to see him. We really had to rely on the people at Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning to let us know what was going on and make sure that our son was going to be properly taken care of. Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning came through with flying colours. The teachers and staff were extremely professional and caring and made us feel that even in difficult and unusual circumstances, our son would be well cared for, which made us feel incredibly good.

Our son, despite the change in curriculum because of the pandemic, still excelled under Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning’s care and supervision, which we thought amazing, and a testament to the school's ability to help him.

Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning has done a really fabulous job.

I was surprised at how warm the teachers atApplewood Academy for Progressive Learning were with the kids, with all of the hugs. I was very happy about that, because I know that's a bit of a controversial thing these days, so I appreciate that. Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning was such a different experience that everything was surprising because we went into this within a matter of a week. We made the decision to take our son somewhere. We found out where we were going to take him, and we were on a plane within a week. Everything was kind of surprising.

I was surprised how confident Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning was in their decisions, and how quickly they understood our son was shocking. We sent the director of Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning all of the tests, everything that we had done with him over the years, and he wrote back a one-page email about our son out of stacks of paperwork. That was within a day. It was like a synopsis of our boy. That was impressive. They really knew him.

The surprising thing about Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning was their ability to be accommodating, understand where we were, and work with us in a very tight timeline. I thought that was refreshing. We didn't expect to get the kind of response that we got, which made things much easier.

The primary focus at Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning is to help build their student’s confidence, and get them to be the best highest functioning person they can be I was focused on things like academic achievements and those types of things, but their view, holistically, of our son as a person is primary, and everything else comes secondary. Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning works to get our son to be the best possible person he can be, and not just focus on one particular area like academic achievements. Being able to understand that was an education for me.

Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning’s highest value is holistic. That's their principle.

We have a parent group on Thursday mornings online, which is great. It's all the parents, plus the main counsellor at Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning. She works through with us different things that they're teaching the kids to do with social ability and social functioning, conflict, and how they're teaching the kids, so that we can somehow parrot that when they come home.

Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning looks at the child and sees where their strong suits are. When they want to learn something, they teach them that area, as opposed to trying to force-feed them certain things at certain times at the same time.

Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning creates confidence in the students by making them accountable for what they do and say. They don't pussyfoot around, but they're not militant. They have a whole program and a strategy for getting the kids to involve themselves with how to help themselves the next time an outburst occurs, or the next time they're confused, or the next time, whatever happens, happens. I think that the parents who have brought their kids to Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning are probably similar to us because we've tried everything. We want the best for our kids. Anyone that I've spoken to has said that Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning has helped their children.

Our son has been able to develop his artistic capabilities, and I think that's been something he's been able to cultivate and look at seriously at Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning. I think that's helped him in a lot of ways.

Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning has improved our son’s communication skills and active listening skills.

At Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning, our son has learned how to listen and communicate, and have a dialogue back and forth, which has really caused a calming effect. It makes his life easier, which is just great.

The teachers and administration at Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning calm you down when you're worried, especially at the beginning when you didn't know what to expect. They are confident in their decisions, not in a ‘We know better than you’ way at all, but in a very open, honest, and thoughtful way.

You know that they have done this many times before and have the experience. You kind of can sit back and relax, and as they say, they ‘have’ our son now, and they will help him in any aspect that he needs help with. We can just sit back and breathe because we haven't had a moment to breathe in years and years and years. Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning gave us time to start being married again and think about how we can best present ourselves to our son, which is a huge part of the dynamic that helps him go forward in life in a healthy way. It's given us time to reflect, and the teachers and the staff have gifted that to us.

Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning makes us feel comfortable that we have our son in the right place and under the right care.

The biggest reason for families to choose Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning is to give your child a chance at learning how to choose for themselves.

Choosing Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning means giving your child the best possible chance that they have at living the fullest life they can possibly live, and that's an amazing gift. We feel that in sending him to the school, we're giving him everything we possibly can before he reaches being an adult and going on. He'll have the tools. He won't be deficient in any way because we're giving him everything we possibly can for when he goes off.

Sending your child to Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning is not an easy thing to do, financially, or emotionally. But as parents, you couldn't do it any other way. If you know of something that will help your child, you do whatever you can to make it happen, and I'm glad we've done it.