8700 E. 29th Street North - Wichita, KS 67226
Phone: (316) 634-8700Toll Free: (800) 835-1043
Fax: (316) 634-0555
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Published Monday, February 25th, 2013
A miracle. Most people can only dream of witnessing a miracle, but for nearly two-year-old Colton Smith and his family, every day is a miracle. Colton has hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a congenital heart defect where the left side of the heart is underdeveloped. Read more »
Published Monday, February 25th, 2013
Two things will tell you when a certain vibrant 7-year-old is about to sprint full force toward the ball pit in Heartspring’s therapy gym. First, her eyes scream determination. Second, her smile beams with mischief. Read more »
Published Wednesday, March 7th, 2012
Some say the magnolia flower represents perseverance. For the staff at Heartspring, that same word could be applied to a very different Magnolia—the little girl Physical Therapist Cheryl Jabara describes as having a “wonderful, yet stubborn” personality. At only a year old, Magnolia is blooming—making inspiring strides in her development, and fighting the odds against her. Read more »
Published Tuesday, November 8th, 2011
At only two years of age, Malachi has achieved more goals than most of his peers. In just one year he has gone from limited sitting ability to crawling independently, walking with minor assistance with a walker and made huge strides in speech development. It was just a few months after his birth that his mom, Cami, says she noticed he was not hitting the milestones of a typically developing child. Read more »
Published Wednesday, October 5th, 2011
As told by his mother, Talissa Close your eyes and imagine yourself a 23-year-old young female finding out that you are pregnant for the first time. Imagine 9 months of that baby growing inside you, feeling every kick, every punch, every hiccup and every turn that baby makes. Now imagine laying your eyes on that baby for the first time. Read more »
Published Wednesday, August 31st, 2011
Hey mom, did you see what I just did? Read more »
Published Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
For Helen, life is not easy. For her parents, Jennifer and James, no day is ever the same. Read more »
Published Friday, July 1st, 2011
Addison’s mom Lindy called Heartspring in November 2010 for a speech and language evaluation following recommendations from her pediatrician and ear, nose and throat doctor. Addison’s language was so severely delayed that no one could understand her. Read more »
Published Monday, May 30th, 2011
Mimi French accidentally hit her knee on the table during a recent occupational therapy session with six-year-old Christian. Immediately he asked, “You ok, Mimi? Read more »
Published Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
Jaydan and Jordan are four-year-old identical twins that might look alike, but have two very unique personalities. Jaydan is quiet and loveable. Read more »
Published Monday, February 7th, 2011
It was supposed to be a fun family trip to a theme park in Kansas City. In fact, the park’s name is “Worlds of Fun”. Read more »
Published Wednesday, January 5th, 2011
Thomas can communicate, walk and even ride a bike - all things doctors told his parents, Denise and Jerry, he would never do. Thomas was born at 26 weeks gestation. Along with extreme prematurity, he has also been diagnosed with autism, Chronic Lung Disease, reflux, severe visual impairment, spastic diplegia, and oral aphasia. Read more »
Published Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010
When Emily started therapies at Heartspring Pediatric Services in February 2010, her vocabulary was very limited but she was willing to do whatever it took to learn and grow. Emily first came to Heartspring to receive evaluations from the Heartspring Pediatric Therapy team. Read more »
Published Wednesday, October 6th, 2010
Trey and Tatum are brothers. They love to play, talk and be near each other. Read more »
Published Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
Michelle and Ben are head over heels in love with their son Blake. They are quick to tell you about how wonderful he is, and how he easily steals the hearts of almost everyone he meets. Read more »
Published Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
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. Read more »
Published Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
Curran enters the doors to Heartspring Pediatric Services with a bright smile and a wide-open future. Curran is three years old and brightens the lobby with his vibrant smile twice a week. He has been receiving speech and occupational therapies for almost a year and his mom, Becca, says he is not the same child today as he was then. Read more »
Published Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
There are many ways to describe five-year-old Moira: curious, active and cheerful. But above all, according to her parents, Erica and Troy, she’s simply “full of sunshine”. She also happens to have autism. Read more »
Published Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
Between the age of four and six months, Peter's family became concerned with his development. He was not moving his arms or kicking his legs, and was unable to control his head. Having two other children, Peter’s parents, Susan and Christopher, knew they should take him to their pediatrician to find out more. Read more »
Published Monday, March 15th, 2010
Within minutes of meeting her, you will be enamored by Kyndal’s adorable smile and blue eyes. However, there is more to her than just a beautiful face. It will quickly become apparent that she is fiercely independent and will do what it takes to accomplish tasks on her own. Read more »
Published Monday, February 1st, 2010
It was when he was about the age of two that Gavin’s mom Tonie became increasingly worried about him. Gavin had not yet begun to use language appropriately and had his own sounds for the words that he did try to say; such as please, and thank you. She also felt that he had lost words he used to say. Read more »
Published Friday, January 1st, 2010
Four-year-old Chance has defied all the odds, and that has been no small feat. Born at 28 weeks, doctors told his mom, Lainie, that he had a 50/50 chance to make it through the night. “They told me not to expect anything and that even if he survived he would have a very poor quality of life,” said Lainie. Read more »
Published Sunday, November 1st, 2009
Anna was just three days old when a well baby checkup changed her life forever. A louder than normal heart murmur prompted her pediatrician to suggest that her parents, Wade and Sharon, check her into the hospital for some more tests. Results of an MRI showed a rare brain disorder called Vein of Galen Malformation (VOGM), which also caused an enlarged heart. Read more »
Published Thursday, October 1st, 2009
Erica and Thane went to the hospital knowing they were about to welcome a baby boy into their lives. What they did not know is that their baby boy, Kaden, was going to be born with Down syndrome. Erica had the triple screen blood test done and two sonograms during her pregnancy – none of which indicated that her first-born was going to have the most common chromosomal condition among live births. Read more »
Published Tuesday, September 1st, 2009
Darian and Jordan are like most two-year-old twins. They play together, fight over toys and vie for their parents’ attention. At night, they’ll arrange themselves in their beds so they can hold hands. Read more »
Published Saturday, August 1st, 2009
Three-year-old Rebecca is starting preschool in the fall. This transition can be stressful for any child, but for a child with special needs who will require additional assistance, it is a monumental milestone. Going to school means riding a bus, eating at school, playing on a playground, and many other novel experiences. Read more »
Published Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
Heartspring believes in giving back to the community through activities and services that families are often desperate to find. Many of our outreach services for the community are available free of cost to families from Heartspring therapists and audiologists. These services include hearing screenings, literacy and speech screenings, KidCheck developmental screenings, music and movement groups, and an interactive story time at Barnes and Noble at Bradley Fair. Read more »
Published Friday, May 1st, 2009
Sierra and Mark were thrilled to be first time parents. Sierra followed all the rules during her pregnancy, reading every book and doing everything right. Things were going as planned until her water unexpectedly broke at 29 weeks. Read more »
Published Friday, May 1st, 2009
When LaTasha gave birth to Tevis on August 27, 2001, she knew there was a chance he could be deaf or hard of hearing because her older son, Tyreeke was born two years earlier with a sensorineural hearing loss in both ears. Tests were completed immediately following Tevis’ birth and confirmed that he also had sensorineural hearing loss in both ears. He also found gad strabismus, torticollis, and mild seizures at birth. Read more »
Published Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
Camren’s first words were “mama” and “dada”. He was developing typically until he was about 18 months old when he stopped saying anything. Camren’s parents, Lucas and Davina, thought it was because he had been concentrating on learning to walk. Read more »
Published Sunday, March 1st, 2009
Tara arrived at the hospital at five o’clock in the morning. Three minutes later Makenna was born. Immediately her baby girl was rushed out of the delivery room, the doctors citing breathing difficulty as the only reason. Read more »
Published Sunday, February 1st, 2009
“Calvin is the smartest person I know,” said a boy in his class. “He’s even smarter then my grandpa.” For a four-year-old to be smarter than anyone’s grandpa must mean they are S-M-A-R-T, smart. Read more »
Published Thursday, January 1st, 2009
In 1977 Jason was two years old. Two years and two months to be exact, an age when most children are starting to talk. But Jason had not. Read more »
Published Wednesday, October 1st, 2008
Elizabeth came to Heartspring Pediatric Services in July 2007 when she was eight years old. She was walking with a walker at school and in the community, and used canes at home. Elizabeth has been deaf since birth, but with her mom, Janet, acting as interpreter using sign language, both expressed Elizabeth’s desire to walk by herself. Read more »
Published Wednesday, October 1st, 2008
October 15, 2008 was a day of growth and opportunity for service providers from China, India and Wichita, Kansas. Teachers from China and India observed outpatient therapies provided at Heartspring Pediatric Services. Lion, Lily, and Hope from Stars and Rain, along with their interpreter, Camilla, and Preeti and Jayati from Open Door School, spent the day watching occupational, physical, and speech therapists work with children of varying degrees of skill level and disabilities. Read more »
Published Monday, September 1st, 2008
Indiana Jones is his hero, something that until recently five-year-old Cooper would have never been able to tell you. Just as Indiana Jones faced multiple challenges during his quests to find treasure, Cooper has had to overcome obstacles as he searched for his treasure…his voice. At an early age Cooper’s parents, Natalie and Sean, knew that something wasn’t quite right. Read more »
Published Sunday, June 1st, 2008
A New Day: Rare disease tests strength of one little boy and his family Five year old Grant wants to be a firefighter… and a police officer… and a parent… and a teacher. Needless to say, this little boy has his work cut out for him when he grows up. While Grant’s aspirations are numerous, he has many obstacles to overcome in order to reach his goals. Read more »
Published Sunday, June 1st, 2008
The first thing you notice when you meet five year old Leah is her beautiful smile, which comes complete with dimples. Leah is writing her name, knows her letters and her numbers from 1-10, and she loves school. Between school, gymnastics, swimming, Kindermusik, hippotherapy and library story hour, Leah still finds time to come to see Cheryl, physical therapist at Heartspring Pediatric Services. Read more »
Published Thursday, May 1st, 2008
Quinn was born a beautiful, fun and faithful boy with Down syndrome and a congenital hearing loss. Challenges began early in Quinn’s life, but through the years he has grown in so many ways. Quinn’s mom, Stacy, began early intervention services as soon as she could, and has continued to keep him involved in therapy, swimming, and community based teaching services. Read more »
Published Tuesday, April 1st, 2008
Adam is the second son born to Scott and Amy. As a toddler he grew gorgeous curly blonde locks of hair and an incredible vocabulary. Amy and Scott had Adam in a local day care facility when he was 2 years old. Read more »
Published Saturday, March 1st, 2008
It has been less than one year since Rylee’s parents, Rachelle and Christopher, spent the majority of their time trying tirelessly to decipher the grunts and gestures she was making, hoping to figure out just what it was she wanted or didn’t want. At two years old Rylee’s communication was limited to very few words and she relied almost entirely on her parents guessing game, only to enter into a tantrum when she was not understood or they guessed wrong. Born in Texas, Rylee’s developmental skills were on target, all except for speech. Read more »
Published Saturday, March 1st, 2008
When three year old Noah began speech and occupational therapy at Heartspring Pediatric Services in August 2007, he had no way to tell his parents what he wanted other than pointing and whining. He was unable to dress himself and lacked certain fine motor skills. Diagnosed with autism in 2007, Noah comes to Heartspring twice a week to work with speech-language pathologist Diane Gough and occupational therapist Mimi French. Read more »
Published Tuesday, January 1st, 2008
When Abbie was two months old she was referred to Heartspring for torticollis, a condition that causes the head to tip to one side, while the chin is turned to the other. According to her mom, Emily, Abbie did not move the last two months of her pregnancy, with her head down in her pelvis. Emily was very concerned that, since birth, Abbie would not turn her head to the left. Read more »
Published Monday, October 1st, 2007
With an abundance of family support, Wyatt can't help but succeed at therapy. Wyatt’s parents Susan and David found out that he had Down syndrome during her pregnancy in 2002. After hearing the news, Susan immediately met with families who have children with Down syndrome and attended therapies with them to gain information and resources. Read more »
Published Monday, October 1st, 2007
For most toddlers, walking develops naturally. For many of the children receiving Heartspring’s outpatient pediatric services, walking can be a tremendous challenge. Damage to the brain during the early stages of development can delay walking skills for months or even years. Read more »
Published Saturday, September 1st, 2007
Thanks to Heartspring’s outreach program, the Target Early Literacy Project, four year old Zoe is getting the speech help she needs to better communicate with the world. A generous grant from Target allows Heartspring therapists and clinicians to enter the Wichita community and conduct free hearing and speech screenings at area preschools and daycare centers. Heartspring’s Target Early Literacy Project was designed to identify pre-kindergarten children at risk of language learning problems and give parents information on what resources are available to help them. Read more »
Published Saturday, September 1st, 2007
A social little girl with a lively personality, Preslie is the youngest of six children. When Preslie was three, her parents Mike and Lisa became concerned. “I thought she wasn’t where she needed to be,” Lisa said. Read more »
Published Friday, June 1st, 2007
Zane couldn’t tell his parents, Zach and Jennifer, what hurt when he was sick. If he wanted something special for a snack, he didn’t have the verbal skills to let them know. They had never heard him say the words “I love you. Read more »
Published Friday, June 1st, 2007
Danya was born full term and her mother did not have any complications during pregnancy. As a baby, her parents noticed that she was not meeting the usual milestones - she did not sit up, pull to stand or crawl when others her age were. She was diagnosed with low muscle tone by her family doctor and began services through Rainbows United, another early childhood program in Wichita. Read more »
Published Thursday, March 1st, 2007
Life for 10 year old Ayana isn’t really all that different from any other little girl. She loves to jump rope, roller-skate, ride her bike and dance. What makes her special is the extra time and effort it takes for her to do the same activities as her friends. Read more »
Published Friday, December 1st, 2006
“My goal is to be independent. I’m going to grow up to be independent and have a car and a job and my own house. I will do all of the activities I want to do, just like a person without a disability. Read more »
Published Saturday, September 30th, 2006
Born premature and taken to Bobek Baby House shortly thereafter, Megan spent the majority of her first year of life in the orphanage in Kazakhstan.Sherrill and Lonnie had wanted children of their own, but when faced with the reality that was not a possibility, they decided on adoption. In November 2001, Sherrill and Lonnie traveled to Kazakhstan to bring home their two babies: Nathan, 26 months and Megan, 11 months. Read more »
Published Friday, September 1st, 2006
“I learn something new every time we come to therapy. This facility has given us the confidence, skills and support we need as parents working with Julie.”-Dana, Julie’s mom Three days after coming home from the hospital, Dana learned that Julie, born 3 ½ weeks early had Down syndrome. Read more »
Published Wednesday, March 1st, 2006
Austin is six years old and like many children his age, he is preparing for first grade. However, before his first day there is a great deal of planning for him, his family and the school. In 2002 Austin came to Heartspring with many developmental concerns and in the summer of 2004 was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder. Read more »
Published Thursday, December 1st, 2005
“Now I look at the world a little different. I accept it and realize what a blessing it is (having a child with special needs). You just start redefining what success is. Read more »
Published Thursday, September 1st, 2005
“She came in to Heartspring what I thought was a wreck – came in with so much baggage. There was a lot of denial. I wasn’t going to give up on her. Read more »
Published Wednesday, June 1st, 2005
“I don’t know how to put into words (what Heartspring means to her) – it’s made the difference to who Jack is now. Before he was locked into his own brain, and now he’s blossomed into this cool little boy.”- Shauna, Jack’s mom Jack is an adorable little boy who receives outpatient psychological services, speech-language therapy and occupational therapy at Heartspring's Pediatric Services. Read more »
Published Monday, March 1st, 2004
First time parents Stephanie and Mike were excited for Nathaniel’s arrival. A normal pregnancy brought hope for a healthy baby. No one prepared for the events of Nathaniel’s birth. Read more »
Heartspring, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
8700 E. 29th Street North
Wichita, KS 67226
Phone: (316) 634-8700
Toll Free: (800) 835-1043
Fax: (316) 634-0555
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