Gaining confidence in the power of her own voice.
When Jaye Wilson, a single mother of two, learned that her typically vibrant and bubbly daughter, Ava, who is now six years old, was having difficulty in school, she was concerned.
“It was hard for me to see Ava being very withdrawn and bashful,” recalls Jaye very somberly.
In preschool, Ava’s teacher noticed that she had difficulty recognizing letters and suggested that Ava get evaluated. Five year-old Ava tearfully confessed to her mother that she didn’t like going to school and that the other children didn’t know what she was saying, forcing her not to want to speak at all.
Her mother, Jaye, recalls, “During [Ava’s] first year of elementary school, she was afraid to speak because she could hear that she sounded different.”
Jaye, however, took quick action for her daughter. She brought Ava to Children’s Specialized Hospital for an evaluation where she was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and developmental delays in both speech and letter recognition.
Two weeks after her diagnosis, at just age 5, Ava came to Children’s Specialized every week for speech therapy. Once beginning therapy, her family was able to hear improvements in her speech “almost immediately”.
Within just nine months, Ava learned the power of her own voice as she began to vocalize her words confidently and without difficulty. Her mother recalls how the whole family was involved Ava’s therapy, including Ava’s older sister Nadia, who is like a best friend to her younger sister.
In September 2017, Ava switched schools where she now has an IEP and receives speech therapy. She is amazing at math and is more articulate with her letters.
Thankful for the constant support provided by Children’s Specialized Hospital, Ava’s mother, Jaye, decided to pay it forward. She founded her own team of moms to participate in the Hospital’s 12th Annual Walk N’ Roll, which aims to raise money and awareness for the over 34,000 children with special health care needs; much like her own daughter’s just one year ago.