Wednesday’s Child: 12-year-old Jaxon has a passion for baseball and other sports
May 8, 2024, 1:24 PM | Updated: 2:16 pm
RIVERTON — If you give 12-year-old Jaxon a baseball bat and an open grass field he’ll waste no time showing you how to hit a baseball like a pro. Baseball is Jaxon’s favorite sport, and it brings him joy when others want to play with him. He also loves basketball and football.
“He loves sports, anything outdoors is really his favorite thing,” said Sarah Price, Jaxon’s caseworker for the state of Utah.
Jaxon has lived in foster care for about four years, he’s mostly non-verbal, but is working hard to learn how to communicate in other ways.
“He can name a few words, but he mostly points and grunt, so it’s great because at school he’s learning some sign language and that’s what’s helping him be able to also put some names to things along with the sign language,” Price said.
12-year-old Jaxon is looking for his forever family. (KSL TV)
Price has worked with Jaxon for about six months, she said her favorite thing about him is his smile, and his loveable personality.
“When he’s playing and showing you stuff, he gets excited about its super fun, if you ask him about something he likes and he gets to show you it, it’s wonderful,” Price said.
Jaxon loves to learn, and he attends a school that specializes in Down syndrome. He also has several support services in place provided by the state. What he’s missing right now is a family, people who will love and support him as he grows.
“People who are willing to be patient but active and recognize that he is such a unique type of kiddo that he will be a beautiful part of the family, he just takes some special type of training and patience,” Price said.
Jaxon is a determined young man who doesn’t give up easily, and when he gets frustrated, he will take a moment to settle his thoughts and try again.
“He takes a moment and thinks no, what can I do to help you understand me,” Price said. “It’s about being patient and trying to figure out the context, what are we doing, what does he want within this context, is he hungry, is he saying things like hamburger or hot dog, those are his two favorite foods.”
Price said Jaxon would thrive in a family that is active like he is and would transition well into a family where he is the youngest child.
“He needs a forever type of family that where he is probably the youngest child so that way, he does get the attention he needs,” she said.
To learn more about Michael visit his Raise the Future profile or contact Raise the Future at 801-265-0444.
