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Meet Gavin, a boy breaking the communication barriers of autism

The progress Gavin has made through speech, occupational and physical therapy at the Permian Basin Rehab Center is nothing short of amazing.

ODESSA, Texas —

Gavin Marquez is, in many ways, like any other 6-year-old. He loves to play, his curiosity is one of his best qualities, and he has a laugh that will light up a room.

Though, autism makes it harder for Gavin to communicate with others.

"He's very quiet, so he uses words but not in full sentences, he can't always express his wants and needs,” said Jordan Bailey, a speech language pathologist.

Gavin has been attending speech, occupational and physical therapy at the Permian Basin Rehab Center for almost three years, and his progress has been nothing short of amazing.

"He has gone from not being able to do vertical and horizonal lines, to, as you saw earlier, writing his name,” said John Trotman, an occupational therapy assistant. “We're still working on the grip, the proper grip of a pencil. He still wants to use his whole fist to hold a pencil, but whenever he does do a good grip, he can write all of his ABCs. He can write everything now."

The strides he has made shine through in all areas of his work.

"He's definitely gotten more verbal,” said Bailey. “I know his verbal communication, spoken communication is still limited, but his knowledge and ability to operate the lamp device through the iPad, the progress has been super quick. It's like it was almost made for a kid like him."

Gavin's parents see the progress in their son every single day, and they understand it's the people working here that make all the difference.

"The rehab center is amazing,” said Dalila Marquez, Gavin’s mother. “The girls, all his therapists are so good, they're like family, because I've cried to them a couple of times too when I've had a hard day and they're just always on it. Like we can help you, we can email you, we can do anything that you need us to do for him."

And just as much as Gavin has learned in the last few years, he's been able to teach a few things too.

"I knew that I was gonna have to not be cookie cutter, ya know," said Bailey. "Not use what I learned from the books, but use what I've learned from him as a person, so that was the biggest thing."

His personality has inspired others to bring out the best in themselves.

"He doesn't feel embarrassed," said Ector Marquez, Gavin's Father. "He just does him. He's unfiltered. So, if anything, I wish I could have that more, ya know?"

And his progress positively encourages those around him to keep up their own hard work.

"That's my favorite reward is going out and talking to mom and she tells me everything new that he is doing, everything that he' experiencing and things that are happening in his life, and it just makes you warm inside," said Trotman.

He is an example of the impact PBRC’s work can have on children pushing through similar challenges.

"It's very rewarding, especially with our kiddos with autism, their parents and families tend to tell us they see their personalities start to develop," said Amy Burks, a physical therapy assistant. "We start finding pieces of them that weren't there before and unlocking parts of them we didn't think were capable. So it's very rewarding to see that even when it's small things it adds up and starts becoming a big thing."

Thanks to PBRC, many more big things are in store for Gavin Marquez.

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