Let me introduce you to my daughter, Katie. She is a loving, energetic 10 year old girl with an infectious smile, big blue eyes, and the longest eyelashes you’ve ever seen! At first glance, she seems like a typical child who is happy all the time. No one would ever guess that underneath her bright smile she struggles daily with a rare anxiety disorder and multiple neurological issues. For over eight years we have seen countless doctors, specialists and clinicians to address her unique combination of diagnoses. It was always a challenge to have everyone working with Katie on the same page and for them to be able to see all of her challenges and how they interrelate. Katie is a whole person and should be treated as such. For over four years before our evaluation with Joleen and her team, Katie was not even able to speak in private therapy because her anxiety level was so high. The most frustrating part was that we were losing precious time because during this time we were unable to work on her other major issues, including severe dyspraxia, which requires intense speech therapy and verbal repetition to resolve. How would her speech ever improve if she wasn’t even talking to her therapist? We had tried everything under the sun and felt so helpless. We were thrilled to meet the team of clinicians at the SM Clinic. Finally, we were in a room with multiple professionals who could collectively evaluate Katie, work as a team, and offer recommendations to address ALL of her issues. They understood that the right approach was critical to Katie’s success. It was through their recommendations that we were able to put the proper program together for Katie. After four long years, we were finally heading in the right direction and Katie made a huge breakthrough of speaking to her therapists again. Our heartfelt thanks goes out to Joleen and her team for getting Katie on the road to success.
– Mother of a child with SM