Our Shining Stars

Karissa

Karissa is 9-years-old. She has been going to Arizona Autism Charter school since kindergarten. She attended developmental preschool due to issues with her speech. However, her family felt that she was just being pushed through. Teachers would tell Karissa’s mother; she knew her letters and her numbers but at home she could not recognize them. Her family brought up this concern to Karissa’s teachers, but were brushed aside because Karissa had no behavioral issues. According to her mother, she could not read or count even to ten but could tell you how stars were formed

Karissa has been unable to get a diagnosis. The first time Karissa was seen for a diagnostic evaluation, the doctor informed the family that Karissa was, “not as bad as other kids and she was fine.” The second doctor stated Karissa “just needed more discipline,” and the third doctor canceled without informing the family and never rescheduled.
Thankfully for Karissa, her mother Asimo was relentless in finding some solution for her daughter. She happened across Arizona Autism Charter School (AZACS) and won a lottery for a spot for Karissa to attend kindergarten. Karissa still struggles with reading, but has been able to make some progress. However, she still has no official diagnosis.

Despite Asimo wanting to do everything she can for her daughter, it is difficult for her to chase after doctors due to her own health. Asimo has myasthenia gravis and a possible tumor on her heart. She has been unable to make headway seeing a developmental pediatrician and the family can’t afford a doctor outside of their ACCCHS network.

There is a history of diagnosis of developmental delays in her family. First cousins on both parents' sides. Asimo feels that a proper diagnosis for Karissa would get the care and therapy she needs to fully succeed as an adult in a world built for neurotypical people. “I want her to have all the opportunities that other kids get.”

From Asimo:
This grant will give us the tools to be able to seek services that are desperately needed for her. I may have constant seizures and cannot work anymore but this grant would help us get her the help she needs to keep thriving and therapies she needs to catch up and excel academically, emotionally and physically.