As a young infant Hugo babbled and smiled like a typically-developing child, but at four or five months old, these behaviors ceased. He stopped showing interest in grabbing and playing with toys, and his parents could tell that his development was lagging behind where his siblings were at his age. His parents raised concerns with their pediatrician, who noted Hugo’s low muscle tone and recommended that they seek services at Kindering.

Following Hugo’s initial evaluation at Kindering, he was enrolled in physical therapy and education services. Hugo also received speech therapy and participated in Kindering’s Spanish Stepping Stones inclusive preschool programming. His diagnosis has not yet been determined, but Kindering’s service providers worked with him to address cognitive, motor, and speech delays.

Kindering was not unfamiliar to the family. Their daughter was referred to Kindering roughly 12 years ago by her pediatrician for physical therapy. Having seen her gains, they brought Hugo’s brother to Kindering over concerns with his socialization with peers, where he made great strides through speech therapy and inclusive preschool programming.

The family recalls initially feeling sadness when they became aware of Hugo’s delays; they had hoped he would be quick to reach developmental milestones and acquire skills, with modeling from his older siblings. But they now celebrate the progress he has made: he went from not crawling, playing, or sitting on his own to doing all of these things, gradually building core muscle strength and even starting to cruise with the help of furniture.

In addition to their children’s gains, Hugo’s parents say one of the biggest differences Kindering has made for them is the support they have received as parents. His mom highlights that Kindering’s specialists really make her and her husband part of the team, and equip them with knowledge and ideas to best support Hugo in daily life.

They advocate strongly for the power and importance of reaching children as early as possible with early intervention services, having seen firsthand the difference it makes. They are amazed at Hugo’s progress with Kindering, and are very hopeful that he will begin walking on his own soon.

Read Hugo’s story in Spanish/Pueden leer la historia de Hugo en español: Historia de Hugo