Allison and Brian were introduced to Kindering when their pediatrician referred their son Dexter for developmental delays. From an initial assessment, he qualified for occupational, physical, and speech therapy. He was nonverbal, and at the time tested low on receptive language.

Dexter was diagnosed with Joubert syndrome, a rare disorder of brain development. Allison and Brian could not get in to see a hospital specialist for two months, and in the meantime tried to research the condition online. Given the rarity of the diagnosis, published research was relatively scarce. The few informational resources they could find painted a bleak picture, citing instances of blindness, liver disease, kidney failure, and some children not making it into their teenage years.

“We were pretty devastated,” says Allison, recalling the fear and dread that washed over them as they researched. Brian adds, “It was a dark time. Everyone loves their kids…but I don’t know that people realize exactly how much they love their kids.” In time they learned that Joubert has a wide spectrum, and that the studies they found online are not necessarily representative of the entire population.

A breakthrough came when Allison, Brian, and Dexter’s therapists noticed that his eyes would locate specific images in response to prompting. They realized that he understood more than they had initially thought, and subsequently teaching him how to point “opened up a whole new world.”

Dexter was introduced to an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device, allowing him to “verbally” communicate through a tablet interface by selecting prompts on the screen, and his communication flourished. He is already using the “adult” version of the AAC device, navigating 108 choices at a time, a feat the technology provider says that they have never witnessed in a child younger than five years old.

Allison and Brian remark over Dexter’s progress they have seen at Kindering, noting great gains in walking, independent feeding, and effective nonverbal communication. He is also making progress with speech therapy, increasingly opening and closing his mouth and making different sounds. At two years old, he was retested and ranked in the 96^th percentile for receptive language.

They praise the inclusive nature of Kindering’s programming, including the Stepping Stones mixed-ability preschool. “For him it’s everything he needs in one environment,” says Allison. “I can’t say enough about the progress we’ve seen made in the past year and him being part of that program.” In fact, they are now looking at enrolling their typically-developing daughter in Stepping Stones as well.

Allison and Brian describe life without Kindering as “unimaginable.” Brian says: “I would be lost… It’s hard to express how difficult it really is, and how stressful, to have a young child that you’re responsible for where things are just going to be a lot harder for him. To have Kindering as professionals who understand what needs to get done and the steps for your child to progress in life… we’ve seen the impact of that through our son’s progression.”

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