Morgantown student overcomes disabilities to graduate high school

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — On May 24, Hope Amanda Crichigno graduated from University High School in Morgantown, accomplishing a goal that some thought she never would.

Hope was diagnosed with severe autism early in life and nothing was ever assured in her story. Born at 24 weeks, Hope spent the first six months of her life in intensive care.

“Those days are probably the worst days of our life. We were so grateful to have her,” Hope’s Mom Sarah Crichigno said.

When Hope received her autism diagnosis and her family started looking for treatment, they came upon a stroke of good fortune: West Virginia University was starting the new Intensive Autism Services Delivery Clinic—or iASD Clinic. From age 5-10, Hope was one of the first patients to go through the program.

iASD Clinic Director Dr. Susannah Poe said that when she first met Hope, she was not socially responsive to many people.

“She was not using words yet, she was needing assistance with bathroom and self-care,” Poe told 12 News.

Poe said that one of Hope’s biggest obstacles was that she needed to eat food through a tube. They worked on getting Hope to be able to eat table food. One big breakthrough was her being able to drink through a straw. Now she can order from restaurants, eat on her own, communicate, read, and form friendships.

Her friends and family say that it took a village to get Hope to where she is today but that she gave to them as much as they gave to her.

In fact, for Haley Johnson—Hope’s behavior technician at the iASD Clinic—the experience truly changed her life. Johnson said that before a semester-long experience of working with children like Hope, she was planning on becoming a marriage counselor.

“Working with the kids that semester and seeing the gains and how special it was developing connections with them, completely changed the trajectory of my life,” Johnson told 12 News.

Johnson is now a board-certified behavior analyst and co-founder of the Key Learning Autism Center in Morgantown.

Hope walked across the stage at University High School’s class of 2024 graduation on Friday. Sarah Crichigno said of her daughter’s graduation, “I love you so much. I’m really proud of you.”

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