Villa Marie is a FAMILY

Joshua is a very bright young man, now 15 years old and halfway through his second year at Villa Marie. Joshua is a Down syndrome child, and before finding Villa Marie, he disliked going to school. Joshua would tell me he’s done with school and didn’t want to get out of bed to go to school. Within several weeks of starting Villa Marie, arriving at the school Joshua would run into the school because he wanted to see his buddies. Villa Marie was not “school” to Joshua anymore, it was a loving family of his peers.
Joshua is learning to be more independent, caring for himself, following the example of his peers and the tutoring of his teachers. Joshua can verbally spell his name. His sister was so impressed she asked him so many times he will not spell it anymore.
 
Joshua is in Special Olympics bowling, basketball, and track. With the encouragement and support of other kids just like him, Joshua qualified for the state Special Olympics in track.
Joshua is learning new techniques that use visual objects to verbalize his thoughts, this enables him to communicate with others more easily.
The Villa Marie family atmosphere with the students and teachers allows Joshua to be as comfortable as he would be with his brother and sisters. Joshua has two and a half years left at Villa Marie before graduating.  I look forward to his progress.
It has long been my prayer to our Lord, that Joshua will come to know our Lord in his Sacraments and reach his full mental and physical capabilities. I believe Joshua’s education at Villa Marie will go a long way toward answering this prayer. God bless.
Patrick Gress