Generation ROC: 5-year-old with nonverbal autism honored for outstanding progress
- RochesterFirst.com
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Posted: Apr 15, 2025 / 04:45 PM EDT
Updated: Apr 15, 2025 / 09:19 PM EDT
GENEVA, N.Y. (WROC) — The power to be understood is a feeling you can’t describe, but five-year-old Carmelo Wilson is finding the words and a voice all his own—thanks to the preschool program at Happiness House.
Carmelo has autism and is completely nonverbal. While navigating his behaviors and options, his speech therapist, Alexandra Turner, says she pushed for him to get a speech generated device. News 8 watched as the young child navigated playtime completely though communicating in his own special way.
“You should always should assume competency, and you should always assume that they have a preference in what they want to share and what they want to eat or watch,” says Turner.
In just four short months, Carmelo has learned to navigate multiple menus to form full sentences, name his desires, and he’s proved just how much he really knows.
His mom, Jacqueline Pollino, says the help has massively eased his frustrations.
“It’s definitely a huge switch. He would bang his head a lot when he was frustrated or hit himself, harm himself,” she explains to News 8’s Mikhaela Singleton. “So having the device—him able to tell me ‘I don’t wanna do that’ or ‘I’m upset’—it’s definitely helped out a lot.”
Carmelo has been chosen to act as this year’s honorary chair for the 15th Annual Autism Acceptance and Awareness Walk in Victor. Alexandra says the Ability Partners Foundation chose Carmelo for his frankly outstanding progress that proves anyone can thrive with the right tools and patience.
“He’s grown so much and it’s exciting. It’s just so crazy how getting him assistive technology like a speech generated device and how much that’s opened up his world to be able to communicate—not just during speech therapy, but outside in the community and his classroom. Wherever he wants to go, he can now say exactly what he feels and what he wants,” says Turner.
“He’s about to go into kindergarten. I just hope that he’s able to continue to make as much improvement as he already has. I hope that I can hear him actually talk one day. That’s the ultimate goal,” adds Pollino.
The Autism Acceptance and Awareness walk will be Saturday, April 26 at the Eastview Mall in Victor. It is organized by the Ability Partners Foundation which is comprised of service providers across the Finger Lakes Region that support people of all ages with autism. Visit the link above to sign up or donate.
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