May is Better Hearing and Speech Month, so we asked one of our Therapy SPOT families to share the story of their son, Parker, with you. At age 2, Parker was not able to speak and had difficulty understanding spoken language. His parents now refer to him as “the 90 to nothing talker” and credit early intervention including speech therapy as transformative.
At five weeks old, Parker was diagnosed with a very rare genetic disorder, Norrie Disease, which causes congenital blindness and possible hearing loss as he gets older. Parker’s lack of vision caused him to have delays in comprehension and expression of speech, so we began speech therapy at The Therapy SPOT in December 2013.
Parker demonstrated early on that he is a very smart, determined and fearless child that is eager to learn and explore all that he can and lets nothing stand in his way. These characteristics, along with placing our trust in God and a tremendous amount of support and encouragement from Parker’s early interventionists at GA Pines and Babies Can’t Wait, and his therapist at The Therapy SPOT led to the decision to “mainstream” Parker as much as possible.
Parker began his mainstreamed educational experience at Brooklet United Methodist Church Preschool and currently at Nevils Elementary. He has done amazingly well. While at school, he still receives speech therapy once a week, as well as, receiving occupational therapy twice a week, Braille instruction from his teacher for the visually impaired four times a week, and orientation and mobility sessions once a week. His days are full, to say the least, but he enjoys every single minute of it!
Parker is a social butterfly to put it mildly and he made wonderful progress in his communication skills. He has really put his years of speech therapy to good use! He is happy, always smiling and has this contagious joy that spreads to all those around him. He also has a way of inspiring everyone he meets. As his parents, we feel that Parker has already taught us more than we could ever teach him and he continues to teach us daily.
When he is not at school, Parker loves to listen to audiobooks and play, wrestle and laugh with his younger sister, Brooklyn. He enjoys being outside, running and jumping on the trampoline, swinging and spinning around in his swing or playing in the pool. Parker loves to explore new places and always wants to touch every square inch so he can see all there is to see!
“The most beautiful things in the world can’t be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart.” Helen Keller
–Felisha and Matt B.
The Therapy S.P.O.T. – Speech, Physical, and Occupational Therapy
Our multidisciplinary therapy center was established in 2007, and is committed to providing quality therapy services in a fun, family and child centered environment. We provide pediatric speech, feeding, physical, and occupational therapy as well as adult speech and swallowing therapy. Our therapists have unique and specialized skills and training, and we strive to pair our patients with the therapists who will best meet their specific needs. You can learn more about our services at http://www.therapyspotstatesboro.com. Questions or concerns? Call us at (912) 681-7768 for a free consultation.
