Success Stories

Robyn

We are a military family, and the combination of frequent moves plus the pandemic significantly delayed our daughter, Robyn’s, speech development. We were able to understand Robyn, but only because, as her parents, we could interpret her unique words and sounds. Our family members and others struggled to understand her.

When we moved to Spokane in 2022, we knew we had to get Robyn help. We heard about Early Life Speech & Language and reached out to get an evaluation.  We met Ms. Kerri and found out Robyn speech sound skills were significantly delayed.  She had a lateral lisp, or air coming out the side of her mouth causing multiple speech sounds to sound “slushy”, she also substituted a /w/ for both /l/ and /r/ and had difficulty producing consonant clusters.

Robyn was also quite shy, when she spoke, she was often very quiet. All of these factors combined to made Robyn very hard to understand.

 Robyn was placed on the waiting list, and we were provided with a home program.  After five months Robyn started attending therapy with Ms. Kerri. One year after starting therapy, Robyn was able to correctly say “s, z, sh, ch, j”.  She was learning how to correctly articulate /r/ and /l/, and how to say clusters. 

 While the days were long and it felt like we worked on the /r/ sound for months, it was so incredibly rewarding to hear our family members exclaim at how much Robyn was progressing when they visited over the years.

Today, Robyn is a proud 2024 graduate of the Early Life Speech & Language program, and she is truly a different child after gaining the confidence Ms. Kerri instilled in her with the power of speech and language.  You can witness her transformation in the Beyond Words Breakfast video at https://www.earlylifespeech.org/.

We are truly grateful for Mrs. Kerri and Early Life Speech & Language. You have changed our lives and Robyn’s future for the best.

 Bryan & Alex

Tyler, age 6

Tyler looks forward to seeing Ms. Kerri in Spokane for speech therapy, says his mom, Ann. A very social child, he loves to talk and was frustrated when friends and classmates would ask him questions and he would have to repeat himself over and over again to be understood. Now, Tyler is much more sure of himself – his speech is clear and his articulation is much stronger. He has no trouble saying his favorite word: ANIMALS!

Vienna, age 4

Speech therapy at Early Life Speech & Language (formerly RiteCare of Washington) has made all the difference for Vienna, who now can easily express her needs and feelings. Angela, Vienna’s mother, notes that the family was ready to give up on therapy; thankfully, "RiteCare has helped our daughter learn to speak and has given me tools and ideas to continue therapy at home all week long," she says. When Vienna began therapy, she had trouble combining sounds. Now, she easily speaks complex words like “Delicious” and “Ketchup.” (For Vienna, these words go together often. Yum!)

Kate, age 7

Kate has made incredible progress since starting at Early Life Speech & Language (formerly RiteCare of Washington), says her mother, Kasey. "It is such a relief to see Kate's friends and classmates understand what she is saying to them...especially since she always has a lot to say!" Kate has no problem setting the record straight in conversations – she confidently uses her favorite word: “Actually…”

Bevvon, age 7

With the help of speech therapy, Bevvon has found his voice, says his mom, Amanda. Finally, thanks to the team at Early Life Speech & Language (formerly RiteCare of Washington), Bevvon’s family has answers to their questions about his speech issues and many tools to help him overcome his challenges. Like many 7-year-olds, Bevvon is a big fan of Transformers; now, he can share his thoughts on the ongoing battle between Autobots and Decepticons with ease. Go Optimus Prime!

 
Colt, age 6

At first, Colt's unintelligible banter seemed "cute," but it became clear that his inability to communicate frustrated him greatly, says Colt’s mother, Marcy. “Early Life Speech & Language (formerly RiteCare of Washington) made therapy fun and provided a safe learning environment where our son could thrive." Now, his cheers for the Gonzaga Bulldogs are loud and clear!

Caden, age 3

In one year, Caden’s spoken vocabulary ballooned from less than 10 words to a full array of verbal language. “Today, thanks to speech-language therapy,” says his mother, Janna, “we can have full conversations and understand each other. It’s amazing." Some of Caden’s favorite words are still the same, though…he loves TRACTORS, HOT DOGS and the color ORANGE, and he can say them all!

Emily, age 4

With speech-language therapy, Emily can express herself and she is so much happier, says her mother, Tara. "Emily is able to communicate her thoughts and needs in a way that we can understand. She has come a long way from tantrums and pulling on my clothes. She even tells jokes!” Emily loves CAKE, and she can ask for it clearly when she gets HUNGRY (another favorite word) – although her mom doesn’t always comply!

If you have questions regarding your child’s speech or language development, eligibility for our services, or general communication disorders, call us!