By Olivia Minnier

A nearly middle school-aged girl chatters ecstatically about everything she got for the holidays this year as her mom and younger sister look on, smiling. Her face lights up as she describes her family home, her siblings, and their new puppy as if she can’t wait to get it out. She gets even more thrilled as she’s asked questions about what she’s looking forward to in the coming months and years.

Adalyn Schwab, an 11-year-old Delaware native, has made significant progress on her goals throughout 2023 and is looking forward to continuing that progress into the next year. She has been getting Level One waiver services through DCBDD since she was six months old and utilizes Medicaid benefits as well.

One of Adalyn’s biggest goals for 2024 is to continue improving her communication skills.

“People can understand what she’s saying now, which has been such a game changer,” says Adalyn’s mom, Allison Schwab.

Adalyn has also worked on personal safety using her GizmoWatch 2. The watch allows Adalyn to call family members by selecting their picture from the scrollable digital touch screen. She said the watch is easy to use and that she enjoys using it.

She has utilized this device to call many of her family members on a regular basis. It also allows Adalyn to participate in after-school activities, such as cheerleading, without her parents worrying or being unable to get ahold of her.

She has participated in equine therapy as well, which helped with her speech, utilizing core muscles, and overall becoming stronger.

“That helped with speech a lot as well,” said Allison.

The family is hoping that the addition of a golden retriever puppy, Hudson, who will be trained as a service dog to accompany Adalyn, will help her become more independent as she grows into her teen years.

“We had a big golden retriever named Hudson who became an informal service dog for Adalyn, he just was never trained for that, but became one over the years. He passed away this past summer, so we got the puppy, and this one we are actually going to train,” said Allison.

The younger Hudson is still working on puppy training skills right now, such as potty training and basic commands. Allison said the whole family is excited to have him around and add additional support.

“My other dog was the BEST dog ever, but I like the puppy too,” Adalyn said.

Adalyn is incredibly excited about all the upcoming transitions she is about to experience. She is entering her last year at her current school and starting the transition to middle school soon and will be turning 12 in June.

“She is starting to get into the pre-teen phase and we’ve been working on changing some of the things she has been requesting,” said Allison.

Allison said she and Adalyn have been working on making her room more “pre-teen friendly” in the new year and have added lights above her windows and other fun decorations. She is very thankful to her parents for helping her with all of the new things she has requested.

“My mom is the best mom EVER because she helped me change my room around and move my bed and clean,” Adalyn said.