Awesome mom’s love sets flight to her daughter’s talents

When Francine Boyer gave birth to daughter Lena Baldoni, the score measuring her newborn’s health was a perfect ten. “That number is not given out easily!” joked Boyer. “I had always thought it was reserved for doctors’ babies.” 

 Boyer was already mom to 22-month-old Alyssa (Baldoni) and she had been running a home-based daycare for years. “At around 10 months I noticed that Lena was not turning her head for sounds or babbling like other kids her age,” Boyer said. “At first we thought she might be hearing impaired, but testing ruled that out.” Soon, Boyer noticed her daughter was not playing with toys, preferring to line them up over and over again. She hated getting dirty and could not endure clothing with long sleeves. “You have no idea how difficult it is to find a snowsuit with short sleeves,” Boyer recalled. “We ended up getting capes for her.” 

 What Lena loved most was the Disney channel; when she heard the music, she would stop whatever she was doing and sit mesmerized in front of the screen. 

 At 20 months, Lena was diagnosed with autism. Boyer closed her daycare and began focusing full time on her daughter’s applied behaviour analysis (ABA) training. Once a week they would attend sessions at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, and every day she was at home with Lena doing what she had been taught by the specialists. 

 When she turned 3, Lena started attending a preschool program three afternoons a week. This was the first time, in years, that Boyer had a few hours to herself. 

 On Sundays, Lena’s dad would take care of her for two hours while Boyer did a special activity one-on-one with Alyssa. 

 When Lena turned 4, Boyer enrolled her in l’École spécialisée John-F.-Kennedy in Beaconsfield of the Centre de services scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys where they focused on life skills. Students there learned reading and basic math by going to the grocery store. They would return to school and create meals with the items purchased. 

 It was at age 5 that Lena began to show a gift for drawing. She would use her writing skills to add descriptive wording to each piece of art she created. 

 Several years ago, after Alyssa moved out, Lena expressed an interest in living independently like her big sister. Boyer proceeded to convert their home into two dwellings. Lena, 32, lives upstairs and has her own kitchen and art studio. She prepares two dinners per week and invites her mom. She loves trying new recipes. 

 Lena has evolved into a gifted artist and has created over 900 paintings. A website produced by Boyer, Sourire Animé, displays and sells her daughter’s artwork. ena still completes two or three paintings each week. “Money is not important to Lena,” said Boyer. “It’s the look on the face of someone who acquires one of her paintings that is her favourite currency.” 

 She has always been very athletic and involved in sports. At age 8, Lena began competing in Special Olympics track-and-field as well as swimming. She enjoys the events and the camaraderie between participants. 

 In recent years, she has developed a love for extreme sports such as parachuting, parasailing and tightrope walking. Lena recently completed her second polar plunge, with her awesome mom close by, watching and filming the event. 

 She currently works at the Ste. Anne’s Hospital in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, where she folds laundry, waters the plants, feeds the birds and fish and sometimes helps out in the kitchen. 

 Lena also teaches drawing to elementary school kids. 

 Alyssa is now a teacher and hosts special lunches with students. She credits her mom with teaching her the value of one-on-one time. 

For more information on Lena Baldoni’s artwork: www.sourireanime.com