User:Basilio Alonzo family

In an effort to assist the special needs community to achieve their artistic dreams, the Academy of Special Dreams will offer a limited number of cash scholarships to those participants who submit their artistic expressions in the competitions sponsored by the Special Academy.

The Working Artists Fund is focused on the disabled adult artist who actively pursues a career or vocation in any artistic field and who occasionally requires financial support to further that career or vocation. Congratulations Basilio for all your hard work. This Grant Award was possible by the STAPLES FOUNDATION. The Staples Foundation is committed to enhancing educational and job skills opportunities in the local communities where our associates and customers live and work.

About the Artist:

My name is Basilio Alonzo, and I have Moderate Intellectual Disability and DiGeorge Syndrome. My vision is to bring awareness to the world about my life and the challenges I face. I came into this world on May 22, 1992 with a heart defect, which required me to have open heart surgery at only 7 months of life. As time passed, I needed another surgery, which I had on November of 2014. It was then where I had a vision. I saw many clouds, and my church. As I walked inside, angels were flying around and I saw God. He spoke to me. He explained the loss of my sister’s baby. She had no name, but he assured me that everything was fine. Suddenly, I woke up and got really sick- vomiting excessively without explanation. I believe that this was the moment that changed my life. It was then that I began going to church every day, praising God for this life he gave me.

This is the continuation of my life story-

As time passed, the chances of my survival were low. The doctors told my mom that I would never be able to speak or eat on my own. I was very premature, but my mom refused to give up on me. Thanks to to prayers and her faith in God, I slowly got stronger. My mom would feed me small amounts of liquid until one day the doctors examined me to see how things were going regarding my situation of being fed through a tube in my stomach. The doctor fed me a bottle of water, and when she  noticed the water was going down normally, she was shocked. It was a miracle! I could eat through my mouth like normal now! That was one step closer to overcoming my challenges.

Next, was my mom’s persistent attempts to teach me to talk. She spent day after day talking to me, teaching me, aiding me in speaking for the first time because she knew that was something I could do no matter what the doctors previously told her. Eventually, I spoke! And look at me now, I am bilingual. It’s still a challenge, sometimes. But I did what everyone said I would never be able to do. I speak, I live, I persevere my dreams.

In High School, I was bullied. I would tell them to stop, to leave me alone, but they never listened. I told my teachers and the principal, and they told them to stop. Since then, they have stopped. I spoke up, and got the help I needed. I ended up graduating from Rosemead High School, class of 2014. After that, I attended El Monte School. I stayed for a couple of months, but I had a lot of problems there with a mean teacher. Then, I went to Mexico to take a break from all that drama. I stayed for a while, had my fun, distracted myself from that school problem. One day, my sister Karla called my mom and told her to find another school to go to. That is when we found LIFT North.

Ever since I switched schools, I gained some awesome friends and got rid of the drama, thanks to my awesome family and friends who helped me through that hard time. I was then introduced to Mr. Michael and the Academy of Special Dreams. I have since joined them and attend their current events. So a big Thank You to the Academy of Special Dreams who have changed my life