{"id":142253,"date":"2025-11-05T09:20:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T14:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/?p=142253"},"modified":"2025-11-07T18:22:33","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T23:22:33","slug":"overcoming-obstacles-matts-best-of-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/2025\/11\/05\/overcoming-obstacles-matts-best-of-all\/","title":{"rendered":"Overcoming Obstacles: Matt&#8217;s Best of All"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-and-flowers-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-142267\" style=\"width:183px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-and-flowers-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-and-flowers-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-and-flowers-768x1151.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-and-flowers-1025x1536.jpg 1025w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-and-flowers.jpg 1366w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"background-color:#98d1ff\">At GiGi\u2019s Playhouse Canton, there is no challenge too big to overcome, and our Best of All honoree this month, Matt, is living proof of that. Matt approaches every challenge with determination, joy, and a \u201ccan-do\u201d attitude that inspires everyone around him.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-and-art-1-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-142273\" style=\"width:185px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-and-art-1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-and-art-1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-and-art-1-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-and-art-1.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Whether it&#8217;s through his school work or here at the Playhouse, Matt actively embraces difficult tasks, always giving his best effort. He works diligently on handwriting and typing skills, building the confidence he needs to thrive. What makes Matt truly remarkable is not just his dedication, but his patience and his thoughtful, calming strategies that help him (and even those around him) navigate challenges with ease. During our one-on-one occupational therapy program, when given non-preferred tasks, Matt uses his learned calming strategies for improved attention to task, activity pacing, and patience to remain engaged until the task is completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Matt&#8217;s leadership doesn&#8217;t stop at his own progress. At our GiGiFIT Kids program, he goes above and beyond to help his mom (our awesome program lead) set up the program activities. Matt has also been observed helping his peers with challenging skills. From encouraging them to take turns and ensuring everyone follows instructions, to simply making sure everyone is having fun, Matt shows that true Best of All spirit is about lifting others up while pursuing your own goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"background-color:#98d1ff\">He demonstrates that challenges aren&#8217;t obstacles, but rather opportunities to grow, learn, and support one another. Matt reminds us all that with patience, persistence, and a positive attitude, anything is possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Click <a href=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/gigifit\/\">HERE<\/a> to discover more about our GiGiFIT Kids program!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"142272\" src=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-exercising-1-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-142272\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-exercising-1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-exercising-1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-exercising-1-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-exercising-1.jpg 1206w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"142271\" src=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/Matt-and-angel-gigifit-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-142271\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/Matt-and-angel-gigifit-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/Matt-and-angel-gigifit-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/Matt-and-angel-gigifit-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/Matt-and-angel-gigifit-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/Matt-and-angel-gigifit.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"142269\" src=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-exercise-ball-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-142269\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-exercise-ball-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-exercise-ball-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-exercise-ball-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/10\/matt-exercise-ball.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At GiGi\u2019s Playhouse Canton, there is no challenge too big to overcome, and our Best of All honoree this month, Matt, is living proof of that. Matt approaches every challenge with determination, joy, and a \u201ccan-do\u201d attitude that inspires everyone around him. Whether it&#8217;s through his school work or here at the Playhouse, Matt actively&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1472,"featured_media":142267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wpo365_audiences":[],"wpo365_private":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,608,616,583,1],"tags":[410,7,592,304,303],"class_list":["post-142253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-awareness","category-best-of-all","category-participant-volunteer","category-programs","category-uncategorized","tag-best-of-all","tag-gigis-playhouse","tag-inclusion","tag-recognition","tag-spotlight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1472"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}