Isaiah’s Story: Still Surprising Us

When Isaiah came to Valley Residential Services in February 2021, he was 21 years old and had already experienced more than most people should in a lifetime.

Isaiah has a rare form of cerebral palsy and is also autistic. He had graduated from College Place High School during COVID, when many of the services and supports normally available to help a young person transition out of school were disrupted or simply unavailable.

His life before VRS had also included significant neglect and trauma. At one point, Isaiah was found living in deplorable conditions in a dark basement without the care he needed. Those experiences left their mark. Even today, he is uncomfortable with dark rooms and stairs.

By the time Isaiah came to VRS, he and his mother were living in a very small apartment. He had little room to move around and only limited caregiver hours.

He was largely nonverbal and experienced frequent agitation. Biting, hitting and other behaviors were common. But Isaiah also had very few ways to tell anyone what he wanted, needed or was feeling.

Physically, he required nearly 100 percent assistance with many aspects of daily life. He had a wheelchair and spent much of his time on the floor crawling. Even getting into bed required assistance and specialized equipment.

For Kimberly Niemeyer, who has been with VRS for 24 years and has served as Isaiah’s program manager since he arrived, those first days weren't easy.

“When he first came, I thought all of my staff were going to quit,” she remembers.

But they didn't.

Instead, they got to know Isaiah.

Some of the staff caring for him today have been with him since he entered the program. That consistency has made a tremendous difference. Isaiah knows the people around him, and his program manager says he is remarkably good at reading people.

“He can sense if you don't want to be there,” she says. “They have to care, because if they don't care, it isn't going to work.”

And over the past five years, Isaiah has shown just what can happen when someone has a safe, stable home, consistent support and people who believe in what he can do.

Today, Isaiah communicates.

Staff and his support team helped him obtain a speech device, and he has also learned to use simple words and short phrases to express himself.

When he wants to leave, he might say, “Go. Let's go.”

Staff can tell him to go get his shoes, and he'll go find them. If he can only find one, he knows what to say.

“Help.”

He calls for staff. He is learning to say “thank you.” Most importantly, he can increasingly tell the people around him what he wants and needs.

The young man who once had so few ways to communicate is finding his voice.

His physical progress has been just as remarkable.

When Isaiah arrived at VRS, he did not have an appropriate walker. Today, he has both a wheelchair and a walker, and whenever possible, he gets to choose which one he wants to use.

And Isaiah likes to walk.

He can now walk short distances without his walker. With it, he can go much farther.

One of his favorite places to walk is the cemetery. But simply walking isn't always enough for Isaiah.

He likes to race.

During one physical therapy appointment, Isaiah took off with his walker so quickly that keeping up with him became part of the fun.

The changes continue at home, too. The specialized high-low bed he once needed has been replaced with a regular bed that he can now get into himself. He is more helpful around the house and is continually gaining independence in everyday tasks.

His growth has been physical, emotional and social.

The agitation that once dominated his days has decreased as Isaiah has learned to communicate and as the people around him have learned to understand him.

There is still more to learn. There are still challenges. But more than five years after Isaiah first came through the doors of VRS, his program manager says one thing hasn't changed.

“Every day he still surprises us with what he can do.”

For someone who once spent much of his time crawling on the floor and couldn't tell the people around him what he needed, that progress is difficult to measure in a statistic.

Sometimes it's a word.

“Help.”

Sometimes it's a choice between his wheelchair and his walker.

Sometimes it's getting his own shoes or climbing into his own bed.

And sometimes it's Isaiah grabbing his walker and challenging someone to a race.

Five years ago, VRS began helping Isaiah discover just how much he could do.

He hasn't stopped surprising us since.