Bodhi’s Story

Three-year old Bodhi began receiving speech therapy right during the middle of the pandemic.

“We’ve only experienced therapy remotely through Zoom,” says his mother, Stephanie. “We really wanted to get him services as quickly as possible, and didn’t want to wait for in-person services to start again. Bo was only saying about 10 words and relying on sign language for everything else. My husband and I didn’t want him to fall even farther behind.”

Bo connected immediately with Tina, his speech therapist. “He would sit by the iPad waiting for his session to start,” recalls Stephanie. “He’d carry it around showing Tina the house and all his books.” Tina kept her sessions with Bo light and silly. “I wanted him to engage with me, so I followed his lead with activities. I can build language in to almost any activity. I’ve learned that if a child is engaged and having fun, then they really don’t realize we’re working on therapy.”

Bo loves music and using sign language to convey the words in songs. “Tina came up with a really clever way to get Bo to start saying a few words by asking him to pause during songs and say the word that he was signing. It worked!” says Stephanie. Before long, he began speaking in full sentences. As his confidence increased, he became even more verbal.

Tina says that it was easy to connect with her and Bo. “Stephanie was so present and involved during our remote sessions. She also kept working with Bo during the week so he could practice his new skills. That level of commitment on the part of the parent, along with a strong partnership with their therapist, is what makes therapy successful.”

Bo exited the Early Support program for children ages birth to three in March, but Stephanie says he is looking forward to visiting Tina once CTC’s centers reopen for in-person services. “We can’t wait to meet her in person,” she says. “We love her, and we love CTC!”