WARWICK, MASS. (WHDH) - It was a special celebration for a little boy who changed the lives of a couple in Warwick, Rhode Island.
A little more than a year ago, kindergarten teacher Marie DeLoreto, met 6-year-old Shawn. Her husband, Steve teaches special education at a different elementary school and got Shawn as a student.
“I called him and said you are going to get this little boy and you’re going to fall in love with him,” Marie said. “I said there is something about him I know it. We knew in our heart that we were going to take him.”
“He went from within a year and a half from non-verbal to potty training, verbal, counting to a 100, sight words,” Steve added. “It was just a phenomenal turn around to watch and see as a parent and a teacher.”
In December, the couple formally adopted their son but months later were faced with the challenges that come along with distance learning.
“It went pretty well for him academically wise but socially and emotionally it was a little tough for him,” Steve explained.
They decided to celebrate his hard work during the school year with an at-home graduation ceremony.
“It was something that I think he deserved and it was kind of fun and funny at the same time using his classmates as stuffed animals.”
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