Dr. Melillo,
I am so grateful to you for developing this wonderful program. My daughter was a normally developing child until she had her 2 yr old shots. I have a photo of her several days before the shots and then several days afterward and she looked like two totally different children. She was “diagnosed” by our school system in August of 2007 because I had her evaluated due to concerns about her language delay going in kindergarten. The school system gave me this diagnosis during my first IEP meeting the second week of Kindergarten.
School for her was horrible – she cried everyday to the point that because she wasn’t talking, couldn’t articulate what was frustrating her, and then she would become inconsolable. We learned of your center in Suwanee, GA and I drove from our home in Knoxville TN to Atlanta for the seminar. I have spent the last 15 years in medicine, both on the clinical side and the administrative side, so I can tell you that the information just clicked and I knew that your program could help my little girl. I drove 440 miles round trip, three days a week for this therapy for 6+ months, and I would do it over again in a heartbeat. It was worth every penny, every mile and every hour.
When she started the program she had low muscle tone, very limited language, no sense of smell and poor eye contact. By the end of 6 months, she was reading out loud in class, skipping across the yard, climbing trees monkey bars and rock walls, writing her name, smelling everything, having conversations instead of repeating phrases over and over, making and keeping eye contact, and the list goes on and on. I am so grateful to her therapist, Tammy Leigh Norris. Because of her patience, devotion and caring nature, today my daughter is loving, happy and confident.
Thank you again for your devotion to all of our special children no matter what their challenge. If you ever decide to open a center in Knoxville, TN, call me. I will run it for you in exchange for treatment of a child of my choice. I have my masters degree in public health with emphasis on strategic planning and would be honored to bring your program to our region.
Sincerely,
Lea Ford, MPH
