About Ava and Milo

Why we started

Ava and Milo was inspired by my son Psalmuel and his autism journey.

At age 2 Psalmuel was nonverbal. He had little self awareness, no sense of danger, and could not tell hot from cold. He was often overwhelmed, and any toy could become a weapon in his hands. I felt lost.

The breakthrough

Thomas and Friends changed everything. When it was time for a bath, instead of asking him to wash, I said, "Time to wash off the dirt like Thomas." He did it. Because that is what the Fat Controller told the engines to do. He understood.

The method

Visual learning became everything. For three years, while he could not access mainstream school fully, I taught him colours on our walks home with a pocket of Skittles.

I would hold one up. "What colour?"

If he got it right, he got the Skittle. If he got it wrong, we would try again.

It did two things at once. It kept him close and safe on a walk where he might otherwise run into the road, and it taught him colours, one small repeated practice at a time.

That is how Ava and Milo came to be, built from a real journey, not a theory. For every parent facing something similar: I see you. You are not alone.