Brookelyn

Brookelyn is a smart, vivacious four year old with an outgoing personality. She keeps us on our toes with her questions and makes us laugh with her answers to ours.

Tammy, Brookelyn’s mother, became concerned when Brookelyn was not developing language appropriately for her age. She then brought her in to Heartspring for an evaluation. When Brookelyn began speech therapy at Heartspring in June 2009, she had difficulty understanding language and communicating with others. Brookelyn was also having difficulty expanding her food choices. Tammy has worked hard to make sure Brookelyn is exposed to as many opportunities to grow her language and feeding skills as possible. Brookelyn has been receiving speech and occupational therapies and is enrolled in preschool programs to assist with her development.

Thanks to the determination of her mom and her own strong will, Brookelyn is making significant gains in her communication skills. In speech, Brookelyn works on receptive language skills like processing information presented auditorially to follow complex directions and answer questions. She also works on putting words together to formulate grammatically correct sentences to comment, make requests and ask questions. In addition to language skills, Brookelyn has worked on decreasing her oral hypersensitivity and increasing her tolerance of new foods and textures in her mouth.

“Brookelyn always comes to therapy excited and eager to work,” said Molly Murphy, speech-language pathologist. “Her enthusiasm is contagious and definitely contributes to the progress she has made in therapy. What a fun girl!”

Additionally Brookelyn has started receiving independent individual support from Heartspring’s new Early Childhood Classroom. Brookelyn works hard on communication and conversation skills through a discrete trial training approach. Brookelyn is also improving her ability to work independently as well as in social situations. Her strong academic skills and drive to do her best make her an ideal student to work with. “Brookelyn makes my day,” said Janelle Arnold, Brookelyn’s teacher. “Brookelyn always works hard and makes me laugh. We have a great time learning and exploring together.”

Therapy sessions provided at Heartspring are based on the individual skills of the child and recommendations from the therapists. Brookelyn receives therapy two to three times a week plus independent individual support for four hours each week. “Intensive early intervention is extremely important to the development of appropriate skills in children with delays,” said Kimberly Becker, director of Pediatric Services. “Brookelyn is a perfect example of how this extensive treatment and therapy can make extreme changes in a child’s development.”