At two years old, Braylen might be the youngest of six kids, but he has no trouble holding his own.
The mischief maker of the family, Braylen loves goofing around to make his siblings laugh and keep his parents on their toes.
He’s full of personality, yet a year ago, Braylen was struggling to talk and express himself verbally. Braylen’s parents, Alex and Katie, understood the importance of early intervention after their two older kids, Cannon and Ava, had received speech and occupational services at Joya. They immediately enrolled Braylen for speech therapy to ensure he’d make successful progress like his older siblings had.
Cannon was the first of the family to receive therapy at Joya when he was showing early signs of autism. Nonverbal and struggling with social and behavioral challenges, Cannon worked tirelessly with his therapist, Jen Wells, to learn PECS – a communication method that uses pictures to convey feelings and needs.
When she was six months old, sister Ava was also showing signs of developmental delays. After two years of therapy at Joya, Ava was on track and hitting all the major milestones for her age level, which her parents attribute to early intervention and the support they received from Joya.
“The compassionate care of Joya’s therapists, along with their commitment to teaching parents how to best continue the therapy services when not actually in therapy, have been immensely helpful for our family,” said Katie.
“Our entire family, even the older siblings, know how to practice words, build strength, and emulate play therapy with their younger siblings now! The relationships we have built with the therapists, especially Jen Wells, who has worked with all three of our kids, has been irreplaceable. We will forever be grateful for Joya’s role in our kids’ lives!”
*Story Originally published in March 2023