Tony is a vibrant and intelligent 18 year old teenager who has been coming to Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center since he was just 10 days old. Tony was born with Cerebral Palsy and also suffers from hearing loss.

CDTC provides many valuable services that Tony utilizes. He comes to our primary care clinic for regular medical appointments where he sees Dr. Maria. They have formed a close bond over the years and she has been amazed by his progress. He has also been getting his teeth cleaned at the dental clinic for the past two years. Tony loves the convenience of being able to schedule primary care appointments and dental appointments all in the same building.

Tony was enrolled in the Transitioning Adolescents Forward into Tomorrow program when he was 17 and has been in the program for a little over a year. The TAFT program provides care management services to youth from ages 13 to 24 years old and serves as the compass to help guide families through the conversion to
adult care for their special needs young adult.

Tony is grateful to his mother and the staff at CDTC for supporting and helping him throughout his life. In discussions with his Care Coordinator, he also stressed how important he felt it was for teens, like himself, to learn about their medical issues because the ultimate goal is for them to become more independent. Tony acknowledged that his physical limitations do cause tremendous pain and discomfort -that it is, often, hard to dress himself and drive; however, he feels like he “owes it” to everyone who has believed in him. When asked what advice he would give to teens with medical complexities, Tony said, “I would tell them to sign up for the TAFT Program.”