Jakyrie is a lover of music, dancing, and cartoons—he has a wide range of favorites including Akili and Me, Gracie’s Corner, Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, and The Wheels on the Bus. He also enjoys numbers, action figures, bright colors, rocks, flowers, nature, trees—anything outdoors.
Jakyrie was diagnosed at age one with autism. To date he has been mostly non-verbal, but he uses many words with his family. He continues to work on speech and social behavior.
Family is everything to this little boy. He is the first grandchild on both sides of the family, and he brings laughter and joy to a large extended family. He is not shy in their presence. His family is proud of his accomplishments including his ability to retain information, phasing out of Applied Behavior Analysis, and starting 4K class soon. He can also dress and feed himself.
Jakyrie’s mom feels that “The world needs to know that children like Jakyrie have feelings and they can hear and understand what’s being said about them. We need to be supportive—we are all different in our own way, but that’s what make us all special.”