The Knowlton Family

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Meet Margot and Family

“To describe Margot in one word it would be, tenacious! She is a great friend, and a strong advocate for kids with special needs. She is sensitive to the needs of others and has such a great spirit! Margot was born with Down Syndrome and has always had to work extra hard to do simple things. But she is wonderfully tenacious.”

“Margot considers herself to be an average 15-year-old high schooler and she has a good group of friends. She has an older brother who will be going off to college in the fall, and a 4-year-old brother we adopted after fostering him when he was a baby. We know Margot sometimes feels left out, being a girl with special needs in the middle of her brothers, but she truly loves her family.”

“As a toddler we received in-home therapy support and the therapists would often come to the home with their bags of toys and treats. Margot quickly learned that bags were like a treasure chest! You never know what is inside. If we were at the beach or with other friends, she would often go through bags hoping to find something fun. She had such a light even as young toddler that her inquisitiveness wasn’t a bother! She has always been very curious of people”

“Now that Margot is 15 years old her curiosity has turned into compassion. Margot was crowned Miss Illinois Amazing Junior Teen and she will be going to Nationals in July. This is an advocacy event that empowers young women with special needs to speak up for themselves, to gain confidence, and to inspire others. Margot wants to be a writer when she grows up and has been doing a lot of writing. She also volunteers, does charity events, and advocacy work for kids with disabilities. We are so proud of her!”

“Margot has a great friend group of kids who have special needs and some who do not. Margot would say that she and her friend group are ‘Really cool!’ . They do typical teenage things like go to the movie theater, go to McDonald’s, or hang out at each other’s home. Though she has great time with her friends and her family, we also know that she needs something special and just for her. Margot’s special place is Jill’s House Windy City Camp!”

“We were so happy to learn about Jill’s House around 4 years ago. A friend of ours shared that she was working at the Windy City Camp. I had no idea this camp existed! We connected with the camp staff and immediately enrolled her.”

“Now that Margot has been going to camp for several years, she has developed some favorite things about camp. For starters, Margot considers herself a foodie and says the food is really good! She also loves having a camp buddy. But hands down, her most favorite thing about camp is the Talent Show. Margot will carefully prepare for the Talent Show. She plans what she will do and what props she will bring. She will sometimes dance or sing along to a favorite song.

“Camp has been so great for Margot! She knows a few of the girls who attend camp regularly, and she loves being able to spend time with other kids who have different special needs than herself. In our family with an older brother and a younger brother, camp is Margot’s special place where she gets her special attention. While Margot is at camp, we spend one on one time with our other kids. We are relaxed because we know that Margot is cared for. The nurses really show love and care for Margot, and that means so much to us. When we pick up Margot from camp, she chatters about her camp experiences for the first few minutes of the 90-minute car ride home. She will sing her favorite camp song, “Father’s House” and share about the talent show. But camp is also exhausting! It never takes long before she is fast asleep.”

“We are so grateful for Jill’s House and the Windy City Camp and providing Margot a place to be herself and feel special.”

Thank you for making stories like Margot’s possible.

The Hill Family

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Meet Ryan and Family

“Ryan is 22 years old, transitioning out of school this month, and Jill’s House been part of our family since he was about 10 years old. Wow, that is 12 years! Ryan has grown up so much in those years.”


“I first heard about Jill’s House at a monthly meeting for Parents of Autistic Children of Northern Virginia (POAC-NoVA). At that time, we would meet as a group every month and different speakers would join us to teach on different topics. A woman from Jill’s House came to speak to us and shared about this new respite facility opening. Honestly, respite sounded wonderful, but seemed too good to be true!”

“I remember those years when Ryan was younger. He was much more of a challenge! Ryan was initially given a diagnosis around 3 years old and around that time we began early interventions. He was quite a challenge in those early years. He had issues with elopement, aggression, and behavior issues.”


“As he grew older, he became a very picky eater, he was resistant to changes in his schedule, and transitioning from a preferred activity to non-preferred activity was very hard. We had been receiving educational services, and we enrolled Ryan in adaptive Tae Kwon Do and Boy Scouts for kids with special needs, but we continued to have so many challenges with him.”

“After hearing about Jill’s House, we decided to process our paperwork, but it was still so hard to imagine leaving him for a weekend. Our family has always lived so far away, and we had never considered leaving Ryan overnight with a friend or babysitter. The staff at Jill’s House were so kind, reassuring, professional, and responsive. I cannot over emphasize enough how wonderful it was for us to have Jill’s House at that time! When it was time for Ryan to stay overnight, we were comfortable leaving him and knew that he was going to be loved and cared for. We were convinced that Ryan would be safe.”

“Ryan’s first stay at Jill’s House was in July 2011. Jill’s House had just opened the previous October.”


“Ryan loved going to Jill’s House from the start! I still remember that first time he stayed there. At the end of Ryan’s stay we were given a photo of Ryan playing in the pool. He had this enormous smile on his face, and he looked so happy! This photo of my son playing and having fun was Jill’s House’s way of helping our child say, “Look how much fun I had while staying at Jill’s House!!”.”

 

“We have so much faith in Jill’s House!”


“Ryan still enjoys staying at Jill’s House even at 22 years old. When he was younger, he was really excited about playing in the pool and watching movies. Now as a young man, he still enjoys those activities, but he also enjoys hanging out in Tech trails and watching YouTube videos or chatting with staff.”

“Ryan has been a student with the Fairfax County Davis Career Center and has had multiple job placements to build his vocational skills. Some of his previous placements have been data entry, filing, and mail delivery, and he has been placed at Jill’s House since September 2021 as Front Desk Receptionist. He loves working at Jill’s House!”

“Ryan will be aging out of the school system in June and will be attending PREP (Pre-Employment Readiness and Education Program), a 6-week program at Wilson Workforce Rehabilitation Center. This program focuses on employment readiness and independent living skills. We are excited about the next step for Ryan, though we are all a little nervous about some of the unknowns.”


“When Ryan returns in July, we hope to resume in-home support services offered through Jill’s House. Ryan will probably also pursue additional vocational training. Ryan also the big idea to return to Jill’s House as a volunteer! At first, we were wondering if it was a good idea since we don’t live very close and we weren’t sure how he would manage on public transportation. But he is super committed to Jill’s House, so we just can’t say no!”

“We have been so grateful for Jill’s House, the young man they have helped our son become, and for everything the staff and volunteers have done for our family.”

Thank you for making stories like Ryan’s possible.

The Awlaki Family

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Meet Muna and Family

“I (Senait) came to the US from Egypt in 1992, I met my husband in 1996 and we married in 1997. We have three beautiful daughters and Muna is our middle child!

Muna was around 21 months old when I started noticing that she couldn’t make eye contact and wasn’t responding to her name. We took her to see her doctor, but he didn’t take our concerns seriously. I insisted that something was not right, and we were referred to a neurologist at Washington Hospital. We wanted answers right away but were forced to wait for some time to get an appointment. When we finally saw the doctor, he watched her walk around and play with toys, but he wanted to wait until she was 3 years old to fully evaluate and diagnose her. However, he did say that he thought Muna might have Autism.”

“Autism? We didn’t even know what Autism was!”

“The doctor recommended books for us to read, and I read all of them! In just about every book I was reading I could see Muna. I began to process what she was going to face for the rest of her life.”

“Around this time, we were living in Alexandria, Virginia. Muna was receiving in-home speech therapy and occupational therapy, but we really wanted her to be a part of school and a program for children with Autism. We heard that Fairfax County offered a program for children with Autism so we decided to move into Fairfax County, and placed her in school and an ABA program. Muna has been in school since she was almost 3 years old. She is now almost 22 years old and will graduate this year!”
“Muna is a wonderful girl, but between the ages of 7-9 years old she became very aggressive especially with her older sister. She was also not sleeping at night. She would wake up at night, turn on all the lights and would be extremely active. It was such a difficult time for our family! While at school she was not learning skills to communicate, and we didn’t notice any changes in her behavior. I became a de facto ABA provider for Muna to help her learn skills while at home, but I had to fight very hard for Muna at school. I have always worked so hard for her!”

“Then I heard about Jill’s House!”

“Jill’s House hadn’t opened yet, but I read a flyer describing Jill’s House and how they would serve kids with intellectual disabilities. Muna had never been to someone else’s house before, and this was going to be place where she could go. I was so happy!”
“Muna has been going to Jill’s House for so many years! She is so terrified of going into new buildings, but she loves Jill’s House so much. She will open the car door when we arrive! She loves the pool, the art room. Everything!”
“When Muna turned 18 years old, we were sad because she was about to age out of the Weekend Program at Jill’s House. I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to find anything for her, but my husband kept reassuring me that we would find something. Then we received an email from Jill’s House explaining that the Weeknight Program was going to be extended in partnership with Muna’s school, and she could continue through 21 years old. We were so happy!! It was a relief for us, but this news was wonderful for her. She loves Jill’s House so much! Everything there is covered in love, and her reaction to hearing anyone say Jill’s House is complete joy!”
“Muna always has the biggest smile, and she has settled down a little. She loves to help in the kitchen making waffles, and she loves walking in our neighborhood. After Muna graduates from school and Jill’s House, we will spend time finding a day program for her. It will take time, but we need to make sure we find the right place for her.”

“I wish Jill’s House could be available for Muna forever.”

“Muna makes us smile and laugh more than anyone. We have so much love for her! I believe that Muna has shown our family how to care and love for one another. She is such a blessing.”

Thank you for making stories like Awlaki Family possible.

The Amicone Family

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Meet Dominic and Family

“Our son Dominic, Dom, is 13 years old. Like other teenagers, he is beginning to grow some facial hair, and he enjoys holding a phone so he can listen to music. We help him show off his personality through funky haircuts, fun socks, and cool outfits. Dom is non-verbal so he won’t respond, but we know that as he gets older, he appreciates being able to fit in more with his peers.”

“When I was pregnant, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding how Dom was developing. We were sent for genetic testing, and later connected with a special team of doctors. Our geneticist shared that Dom had Mosaic Trisomy 6, which is a rare chromosomal disorder, and microcephaly which meant that his head was developing smaller. We continued to meet with doctors for the remainder of the pregnancy. ”
“From that point on, we had an ultrasound every week. We continued to hear a strong heartbeat and see his movement. He was alive, but the doctors couldn’t explain his progress. We weren’t very religious at the time and we had always thought science could explain anything. But since science couldn’t explain our child we began to believe that there must be a God. From that moment, we decided to pray without ceasing for our unborn child!”

When Dom was born, we were so excited! He was perfect, small, and adorable.

“When Dom was 9 months old, he couldn’t sit up or roll over and those delays continued to develop as he grew in age. Medical resources are limited for parents with children with special needs, so as he grew, we saw many different doctors. When he was 8 years old, he had a grand mal seizure and was placed on a new medication, which brought on other side-effects.

Many years later, we feel that he is now receiving better care, his medications are managed, and he can be the 13-year-old he is meant to be. And that is what Jill’s House does for him! While Dom is at camp, he can be the 13-year-old he is meant to be.”
“Before Jill’s House camp started in Nashville, we participated in several family meetings. We remember those meetings so well! We were excited, but each child has different needs and not all programs are suitable for all kids with a variety of special needs. We worried about him staying overnight because it would be his first time out of his element, and we didn’t know how he would respond to this new experience.”

“Finally, his first camp weekend arrived and we were a wreck. We showed up and they greeted us on our first day with a binder including everything necessary for his support and care for the weekend.

When the weekend was over the camp staff returned all his belongings to us labeled and in order. We were put at ease, and we knew this was the right place for him.  ”

“The second time we enrolled Dom in camp we decided to take our older daughter away for the weekend to an amusement park. The time away with our daughter was amazing, and like nothing we had ever been able to do before.”
“Once everything shut down because of COVID, we weren’t sure if camp would return. We were grateful for that season when Dom could participate, especially during his preteen years, but we didn’t know what things would look like in the future. Now that camp has started back up, he knows what to expect and is excited to go. He’s not excited in a way that he is able to tell us, but we know he is excited and ready because he willingly walks away from us and toward the camp staff and volunteers.”

“Jill’s House has helped Dom develop his life-skills. We know that through Dom’s success at camp he is working toward living a somewhat independent life as he grows older. We are also grateful for everyone who serves at camp. They choose to be a part of my sons’ life! We admire them and are just so grateful for the compassion in their hearts for families like ours. It is humbling that Jill’s House is so willing to love and welcome our family.”
“God is leading and growing us all through Dom! We are witnessing God’s image here on earth in our son! Dom has pure joy and loves everyone around him, and we also know that others around him are interested in the joy that Dom has.

Since Dom has been attending Jill’s House Weekend Adventure camp, we have gained confidence as a family. We feel so blessed by our community and the support we have for one another! We feel this is exactly where God wants us to be.”