Hope Haven

On Monday, we visited Hope Haven's Down Syndrome Center in Jacksonville, FL. We first went to Hope Haven when Lucas was one and this was our third visit. The center is the only Down syndrome clinic in Florida and provides kids with DS comprehensive speech, occupational, and physical therapy assessments as well as an educational consultation -- all for a mere $85 (this eval usually costs thousands, but is underwritten by a generous grant).

Hope Haven has a wonderful, knowledgeable staff -- on Monday, Lucas was the first patient seen in their brand new 15,000+ square foot therapy facility which is fabulous. Unfortunately, Lucas was too tired to show off many of his new tricks, although everyone got a healthy dose of "no" from our little man. We were frustrated, but after all, he is 2 1/2 in full throttle. We did get many great tips and strategies for things we need to work on, including potty training, as well as great encouragement about how well Lucas is developing.

Below is sleepyhead with Daddy and the center's director, Laura Watts, a trailblazer and dedicated DS advocate who has a 20-year-old son with DS. We stopped overnight in Daytona Beach and St. Augustine on our way up so I'm including photos and video from our time there too.