Posted October 1, 2020

In the eyes of his parents, “Our son Maximus is an absolute miracle, that took many years of hope and faith. Our journey begins with his mother Milagros, which means miracle in Spanish, always determined to make her dreams a reality. We did IVF and found an amazing surrogate and family that sacrificed their lives to make a life for us.”

Maximus who is now 4 years old, was born in Mount Pleasant, SC, He is a sweet boy and is growing big and strong. His parents began to notice that eye contact and responding wasn’t happening, he started speech, music, occupational therapy, applied behavioral analysis and preschool for early intervention around 18 months old. He was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder with speech developmental delay with 22q11.21 duplication with no major medical conditions. Maximus did have fluid in both ears that required surgery and tubes implanted.

He loves playing at the playground and with friends at school, he enjoys the outdoors and amusement parks. He spends his time outside, playing with toys, reading books, and sensory play.

The family says they spend lots of time with early intervention, practice lots of patience, prayer, redirections, and frustration. “We are slowly seeing milestones being met, we work hard every day, he just started saying momma and dada for the first time!” Maximus’ dad says they have used lots of determination, lots of love, and confidence. He reminds us that, “Everyone needs to try and understand your child’s frustrations, be patient, have empathy and love strong.”

Health is always a concern so his diet limits gluten and dairy using more organic-based foods but of course, cake!!! Maximus loves daddy and mommy and their goals for him are to keep him healthy and happy and, “Always continue to strive to be the best he can be, with the guidance of his parents and faith in God.”

As Maximus’ dad says, “I wouldn’t change anything about him for the world, but I would change the world for him!”