Determined kid catches peers
Alex is a senior this year at Andover Central High School. He’s involved in soccer, bowling and mountain bike riding. His goal after high school is to go on to college and is interested in Physical Therapy. He loves spending time with his family and friends but is looking forward to going off to school. […]
Unique and Wonderfully Made
“Our goal for Sophia is for her know how wonderfully made she is,” said Taylor, Sophia’s mother. Sophia has a very complex and unique medical diagnosis of unbalanced translocation of chromosomes. She has 100 extra Chromosome 7, and 6 deleted from Chromosome 9. She is the only one in medical history to have this mix […]
How do you know what a baby sees?
Tiffany Owens, early childhood special education teacher and early interventionist, provides services to children ages birth to 3 years old through Rainbows’ Infant/Toddler Services program in Butler County. Tiffany travels throughout Butler County to work with children and families in their homes. Here she answers three of the most common questions she is asked regarding […]
Letting Brayden Fail, With Love
Twenty-six-year-old Brayden is the biggest KU basketball fan you’ll ever meet. He is very sport-oriented, enjoys golfing with his dad and uncle and has played tournaments with them. This summer, Brayden and his mom, DeAnne attended Rainbows’ 50th Birthday celebration at the Wind Surge baseball game. Brayden has been part of the Rainbows’ family since […]
Laura and Leo tell their story
It was 1988 and after 2 weeks in the NICU, Laura was sent home with her parents, Jane and Randy who were completely unprepared on how to help their daughter. Laura was born with cerebral palsy and visual impairment. When Laura was 5 months old, a friend told them they needed to call Rainbows. The […]
A Solid Foundation to Grow
Do you remember this little curly-haired girl with the winning smile? Diagnosed with Chromosome 16P11-2 Micro-deletion Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder in May 2013, her parents were first told that she may not really talk and have a lot of difficulty expressing herself. “Now ten-years-old, she enjoys talking A LOT,” said Kim, Sophia’s mom. “Sophia […]
Future Golf Pro is Thriving
At 6-months-old Jack, who was born 8 weeks early due to preeclampsia complications, was developmentally behind. After a referral from his doctor, the family got connected to Rainbows. For the next 2 ½ years, Jack received home or tele therapy visits with Diane Porter, Occupational Therapy Assistant. Diane saw Jack onscreen with his mom, Christina […]
Megan’s Story 2002-2006
A successful Wichita State University student, Megan Bailey is 20 years old and pursuing a career in Speech Language Pathology. Megan knows a lot about speech and other developmental therapies because she’s experienced most of them. Born with poor hearing, astigmatism, Cerebral Palsy with diplegia, and low birth weight, Megan benefitted from therapies since she […]
We all hold that diagnosis.
The day before Thanksgiving 2018, 18-month-old Khamoi was diagnosed with Autism. Michael was there to support the family in learning about the diagnosis. “Michael Tatro, Speech Language Pathologist, literally saved our family,” said Rickeyia. “She helped us navigate the whole system and guide us through appointments, and then she helped explain the mind-blowing diagnosis.” “When […]
Seeing the world through goggles
Jessica knew her son, Jojo had autistic tendencies just after his first birthday. He lost eye-contact, his speech did not progress and he would not eat. He began repetitive behaviors and did not meet developmental milestones like his older siblings. He acted as if other people around him did not exist. “I tell family and […]
