SANFORD — It’s August and that means getting ready for the school year to begin for children and parents, with shopping for pencils and notebooks, maybe some new shoes or clothes, a backpack, lunchbox, all the prep needed to start school.

Well, maybe not all. For some students, getting ready to begin school takes years of prep, and the first day of Kindergarten represents a major milestone after early intervention services to address the challenges of autism or other disabilities.

Waban’s Fraser-Ford Child Development Center will be celebrating the graduation of 24 students who faced just such a challenge and have accomplished a level of success that will allow them to be mainstreamed into the school system. For them and their parents, Kindergarten readiness is the culmination of years of dedicated support, instruction and teamwork on the part of the teachers, staff and parents.

Krista Leigh, parent of graduate Dana, expressed her gratitude to the teachers and staff.

“Graduating from FFCDC is such an amazing accomplishment for Dana. He has learned so much to help him prepare for his next chapter in life,” Leigh said. “That in itself is the biggest part of what this graduation represents for Dana. It is one of the first stepping stones in this journey of life. I couldn’t be more proud and happy for him to have such an amazing group of people seeing him off after all their hard work together. I think we all know Dana is going to do amazing things and with everything he and I have learned at FFCDC, I think he has amazing future ahead.”

Jessica Montgomery, parent of FFCDC graduate Jackson, also spoke about facing this moment.

“Waban, as a whole, is truly a blessing and we cannot stress enough how much they have done for our family. What they say is true, ‘it takes a village.’ Without the support and encouragement of their entire staff, Jackson would not be where he is today. And I can honestly say, I would not be half the parent I am today if it wasn’t for them,” Montgomery said. “Countless meetings, going back to the drawing board trying to figure out ‘what works’ for Jackson. Their staff is highly educated, patient, and devoted to helping these children get to mainstream Kindergarten. They listen. They strongly advocate for my child. They are my definition of super heroes. Leaving this tribe behind is truly one of the hardest things we will ever have to do.

“I hope that one day our story will help another family who is living in the shadows of autism and needs to hear that there is hope,” Montgomery said.

At the celebration event, teachers took to the microphone in turn, extolled the accomplishments of each graduate, and presented each child with a gift and a hug. Through smiles and a few tears, the teachers spoke of hope.

“This is the hope that we pass on to those families that come to us in search of opportunities for their children,” said Amy Knapp, a teacher in the RISE 3 classroom.

Brianne Westman, a RISE 1 teacher agreed,

“The hope that they will one day find their strength for communication, their power of social acceptance, and their piece of the puzzle,” Westman said. “This is also what drives our team here at the Fraser-Ford Child Development Center to make a difference every day.”

Find out more about Waban’s Fraser-Ford Child Development Center at www.waban.org and see more photos of graduation on Waban’s facebook page.