When Alec first came to 321go Kids, his words could not keep up with him. While most children begin forming simple sentences by the age of two, Alec was three years old and struggled with his speech and completing sentences. He would often stutter when he got excited or couldn’t recall the words he wanted to say.

His mom, Kaylee, frequently observed this stutter and brought it up with his pediatrician. The pediatrician said Alec had a lisp and recommended speech therapy at 321go Kids. Cassidy Burns, the Speech-Language Pathology Assistant at 321go Kids, started working with Alec to tackle sounds, syllables, words, and eventually… sentences.

Kaylee was concerned that Alec’s hyperactivity and focus issues would impact his therapy. Instead, she found that the team at 321go Kids treated Alec with grace and patience.

“Seeing how gracious they were to him and how loving they were, giving him all the patience in the world, and helping him work through it and get back on track… It was incredible,” shared Kaylee.

Therapy has positively influenced the family’s daily routine, creating an opportunity to support Alec in reading and practicing letter sounds during his homeschooling. Alec’s siblings are happy to accompany him to therapy and engage with the 321go Kids team.

Cassidy remarked, “Alec’s mom comes to every session and joins us in the room – she brought up some things that she noticed at home and made us aware of that so we could target that in therapy.”

What started as therapy focused on basic sounds has blossomed into successful conversations, bringing Alec close to graduating from speech therapy. Now he can engage in conversations, read stories incorporating sounds, and pronounce those sounds correctly.

Cassidy reflected on one of her favorite moments with Alec. She had challenged him to work hard on sounds with the reward of free time in the gym. Alec needed reminders to slow down, and he worked harder than she had ever seen him work in therapy to get to the gym.

Today, Alec is six years old and can recognize when he speaks incorrectly and corrects his mistakes. “It’s so awesome because it gives him something to work on, but it also gives him a reason to see how he’s growing and be proud of himself, to see how we’re proud of him,” Kaylee expressed. “I love that.”

If you know a child who struggles with speech, help them discover hope and unleash potential through speech therapy. Start by completing our contact form at 321goKids.com.