East Grand Rapids — Without Conductive Learning Center, there’s no telling what life would be like today for Matteo Garcia, a nonverbal Wealthy Elementary fifth-grader with cerebral palsy.
CLC is a nonprofit organization that offers physical rehabilitation services for children with motor disabilities. When Matteo was younger, and unable to walk, the program gave his family hope where previously they had none. That’s why his mother, Maria Morabowen, is thrilled that CLC is the beneficiary of this year’s Hearts of Gold fundraising campaign at East Grand Rapids Public Schools.
‘There has to be something more’
CLC is what brought Morabowen and her family to the district in the first place. Prior to discovering the program, the family lived on the other side of the state, where Matteo’s physical therapists said he wasn’t making enough progress to continue therapy.
“We were going there every week and we were making zero progress,” Morabowen said. “One day I took him to therapy, and the therapist told me, ‘Today’s your last day.’ And I was like, ‘Why? He still needs help.’ And he said, ‘He’s not making any progress and he’s wasting my time.’
“I was like, ‘There has to be something more. He’s only 2!’ He was hypotonic, so he didn’t have muscle tone, so he wasn’t able to stand up or do many things at that time.”
Morabowen consulted Matteo’s pediatrician, who mentioned CLC as a possible option. The program, developed by a medical doctor in Hungary, takes a cognitive approach to overcoming limited function.
“We had no idea this existed, and it was in desperation that we were looking for alternative therapies for (Matteo), because traditional therapy was not working,” Morabowen said.
She and Matteo visited West Michigan for an initial four-week session, and “everything changed from that day,” Morabowen said.
“Went back home, and the change was immediate,” she recalled through tears. “I put him on the floor, and he went to the slide, climbed the stairs by himself, and went down the slide. I was like, ‘Oh my God, what just happened?’ I told my husband, ‘I think I need to go back for another four weeks.’”
After two additional sessions the change was even more pronounced. In a matter of months, Matteo went from “being wheelchair-bound to walking,” Morabowen said, and the family made the decision to permanently move closer to CLC, to East Grand Rapids.
‘People see him as Matteo, and not the boy that doesn’t speak … they see him as that happy boy who laughs and shares his joy with everyone.’
— mother Maria Morabowen
What makes the program so successful?
“I think it was the intensity. They break every task into little tasks. … Each task is as simple as it can be, and then they make them master one step at a time until they accomplish that goal,” Morabowen said. “Because they do it every day, it’s like rewiring the brain.”
Matteo continued with the program until he was 5 years old, when he was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
“He doesn’t attend CLC anymore because … CLC doesn’t specialize in kids with autism,” Morabowen said. “But he made so much progress there, physically, that there was no point in keeping him there. He made more progress than we ever thought he was going to make.”
Matteo transitioned into East’s early childhood special education program, and is now thriving in the ASD class at Wealthy. His trajectory aligns with CLC’s goals, said Morabowen, noting that the program aims to prepare children to attend their home districts by the time they reach kindergarten, setting them up to return only for follow-up sessions.
At school, Matteo was welcomed with compassion and understanding, Morabowen said.
“In East we have found the best community,” she said. “People see him as Matteo, and not the boy that doesn’t speak, or the boy that makes loud noises; they see him as that happy boy who laughs and shares his joy with everyone.”
More About Hearts of Gold
Each year, the entire EGR school community rallies behind a different cause for Hearts of Gold. The annual fundraiser started in 2009 and has become a crucial part of the district’s philanthropic efforts, bringing in more than $1 million for local nonprofits since its inception.
The story of Matteo’s success with CLC was one of many that factored into the organization being selected, out of a pool of around 30 nonprofit applicants, as this year’s beneficiary, said Ellen Cherveny, co-chair of the Hearts of Gold Committee. CLC stood out in the application process because of its focus on empowering children and young adults with motor disabilities.
“Their mission, stories and resiliency really resonated with the committee and we all felt a strong need to support CLC and the families that benefit from conductive education,” Cherveny said.
Junior Caroline Hegele is a member of the organizing committee, and she’s been taking an active role in student efforts to spread information about the fundraiser, and about CLC, by selling Hearts of Gold T-shirts and talking to community members about the organization at sporting events.
“Obviously one of the main goals is to raise money for the organization, but I think another big part of it is raising awareness and teaching people about what CLC is,” Caroline said. “It emphasizes the theme of, like, kids helping kids.”
She said firsthand accounts like Morabowen’s, of a beneficiary organization making a real impact on children in the community, go a long way to generating support.
“Hearing stories from parents and families helps make everything come together,” Caroline said. “Like, this is why I’m doing this.”
Fundraising for CLC is underway and will continue until the boys varsity football game against Forest Hills Central at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24, at the high school. The fundraiser culminates with a check passing during the game. More information about donations can be found on the district’s website, or on the Hearts of Gold Facebook page.
Read more from East Grand Rapids:
• ‘It’s not about you’ at the annual Day of Caring
• Eighth-graders make mark with murals, with help from Disney artist
