Lake Travis Lifestyle

Your Guide to Lake Travis, Austin TX

Autism

Cultivate Behavioral Health & Education: Supporting Lake Travis’ Autism Community

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From the moment you find out you’re going to be a parent or a grandparent, you wish for one thing — a healthy baby. And most of the time, that’s what you get.

But once in a while, your dreams are momentarily sidelined by an unexpected illness, disease or disability. When it comes to autism, the symptoms can be sneaky and hard to identify until your baby is older.

Even for the most optimistic parent, an autism diagnosis is heartbreaking. You have a beautiful, sweet baby diagnosed with a life-long disability. Your heart aches, your brain is frantic …

Now what?

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An Inspiring Story about Martial Arts and Autism

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Robert Roy Kung Fu

Those of us who live in the Lake Travis area know we have a very special community. Whether it’s in our exemplary schools, on our beautiful playgrounds, at our loving houses of worship, or in our neighborhoods, Lake Travis residents have built an amazing community. And this is especially evident for families with special needs children. There are many inspiring stories happening in our own backyard that are a testament to the Lake Travis community and how it helps these children grow and thrive.

When Steele Hale was first diagnosed with autism at the age of three, he was nonverbal and had minimal core body strength, so he couldn’t do simple physical activities most children his age have no problem doing. Thanks to immediate occupational and speech therapy, Steele was able to begin his elementary school journey in Lake Travis as a kindergartner. The students, parents, teachers and staff accepted Steele with open arms and he began to thrive. And thanks to a timely piece of advice from Sam Hicks, the principal at Lakeway Elementary, Steele began practicing martial arts.

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