Nonprofit marks 75 years - Family shares its Heartspring story

By Shae West
The Wichita Eagle
Published January 19, 2009

To walk, to tie a shoe and to ride a bike are milestones in many children's lives. Parents expect, record and cherish them, but for Jim and Cheryl Toth, these moments were only prayers for their daughter, Melissa.

Melissa has Angelman and Prader-Willi syndromes, which caused developmental delays in her speech, movement and cognitive skills.

Heartspring adapted physical education teacher Travis Grover, left, greets Melissa Toth at the center on Friday. Toth, who has Angelman and Prader-Willi syndromes, was a resident at Heartspring until 2005. The Wichita nonprofit teaches developmentally disabled children basic life skills that can help them have more independence. Courtesy Travis Heying, Wichita Eagle.

"She did all the normal things babies do until she was about 6 months old," Jim Toth said. "Then everything just stopped."

The Toths, who lived in the Chicago area, hoped to find a place to meet their daughter's needs but were turned away by several residential schools.

When the found the Institute of Logopedics (now Heartspring) in 1991, they knew the Wichita nonprofit had everything Melissa needed.

Heartspring teachers developmental, physical and basic social skills to children with developmental disabilities, said marketing director Katie Grover.

"Our goal is to share with the world that children with special needs deserve all the attention, care and love as anyone does," Grover said.

Grover said the organization strives to make its students as independent as possible.

The Toths enrolled Melissa in an eight-week summer school program in 1992. Her father said she made more progress in eight weeks than she had in three years.

"We knew we needed to have her enrolled full-time," Cheryl Toth said.

At Heartspring, Melissa learned to feed, dress and clean up after herself — basic life skills many take for granted. She also learned to ride a specialized tricycle, one of her wishes.

The Toth family's experience, along with others, inspired the nonprofit organization to celebrate its 75th anniversary by requesting stories from anyone Heartspring has helped in the past.

The Toths said Heartspring challenged their daughter. When they thought she?d reached her max, she would reach farther.

Melissa stayed for 13 years. She aged out of the program when she turned 21 in November 2004, but the organization let her stay without funding until her family moved to Kansas in August 2005.

"(Heartspring) really puts the interest of the child before anything else," Cheryl Toth said, "even funding."

Now 25, Melissa lives at House of Hope, an adult group home in Wichita.

Heartspring helped Melissa reach her fullest potential, Cheryl Toth said.

"If anyone sends thief kids there," she said, "they'll be challenged and well-taken care of."