ODESSA, Texas —
Four-year-old Jace Rodriguez is a little bundle of energy. He loves to play and talk, but unlike most kids his age, it took a lot of steps to get him here.
“When he had just turned three, he didn't even have 50 words in his pocket," said Jeanette Rodriguez, Jace's mother. “And so that was a huge concern for all of us.”
But now he’s pretty chatty.
“He's always been chatty, just in his own language,” said Rodriguez. “Like, you know, we would always joke he had his own language because he would talk nonstop, we just didn't know what he was saying.”
Jace is autistic and has apraxia, making it difficult for him to speak, interact with the world and perform some tasks.
However, you probably couldn't point that out, now that he's been getting therapy at the Permian Basin Rehab Center.
In under a year, Jace has made some huge steps.
“Before, he didn't want to go anywhere,” said Rodriguez. “I couldn't take him to the store. And so, him coming here was his foundation. And let me tell you, it's been an amazing foundation. They worked with him so well. He has a personal connection to his therapists that help him in school like they helped him trust his teachers."
Jace found a buddy in Occupational Therapy Assistant John Trotman. Trotman is helping Jace explore the world through play.
“Right now, it's like he's almost guided to do what he needs to,” said Trotman. "Guided to show him things. Guided to, you know, stuff like this. I want him to start learning on his own. I want him to start picking stuff up on his own. Looking at his environment and seeing, ‘oh, I can do that. I want this. I can do that and I'm gonna go do this.’ I want him to start doing that on his own.”
Jace is collecting a whole lot of new experiences.
“Everything is starting to click, and he has just made gains like just exponentially, just fast, and we love to see that,” said Trotman.
It's like he's seeing the world through a new lens, and interacting with it.
“It gave me hope,” said Rodriguez. “And that's everything. Because if this place hadn't been here, it would have been rougher for him. I mean, I don't really, I know that this place has made a huge difference in his life. And it still continues to make a huge difference in his life.”
That is something his mom is so thankful for.
“It's everything,” said Rodriguez. "It really is, it's everything to know that there is a place that can help your son when he was struggling so much.”