 Jillian had just entered high school when she learned that she was going to be a mother. At 14, she was overwhelmed at the idea of being a single parent.
She told herself, “I’m going to stay in school. I’m going to get this done.” She attended classes for a few months, but a complicated pregnancy and unstable living situation made it nearly impossible to focus on her studies. Like so many teen parents, she had to drop out to care for herself and her child. Her son, Kaiden, was born prematurely. The doctors warned Jillian that he may not survive. He had a feeding tube and required a lot of attention, making it even more difficult for Jillian to plan for their future. One month after Kaiden’s birth, his health had stabilized and Jillian returned to school. It was hard for her to focus while away from her baby, and she would often leave in the middle of the day to be with him. It was during her sophomore year that Jillian, now 15 and mother of a three-month-old, found out she was pregnant again. Nine months and another difficult pregnancy later, she gave birth to her second son, Khail. They all moved in with Khail’s father and Jillian once again attempted a return to school. She endured emotional abuse and battled depression and anxiety, both at home and in the classroom. Now with two children under the age of two and another father who wasn’t fulfilling his responsibilities, she was again forced to drop out in what would have been her junior year. “With two of them so close in age, not having much help, and not having anyone to watch them, I didn’t have time for school,” said Jillian. Soon after, a 16-year-old Jillian packed up her boys and moved back in with her parents. For the next two years, Jillian bounced from job to job. She wanted to provide for her children and didn’t want any help from the boys’ fathers, but the demands of working and parenting were difficult. Without a driver’s license, transportation was always an obstacle. Her parents helped when they could, but were adamant that Jillian return to school and earn her GED. Determined to find a solution, Jillian filed for daycare assistance through the Minnesota Family Investment Program; a service helping low-income families with children meet basic needs, while helping parents move to financial stability. She was referred to the Minnesota Visiting Nurses Association (a partner of A Chance To Grow) where she learned about the 4-star Parent Aware rated Turnquist Child Enrichment Center. After touring the center and learning about ACTG’s Teen Parent and Transportation program, Jillian, now 19, was excited for the opportunity to return to school. She would finally be able to focus on her education with the peace of mind that her children would be cared for in a safe and accredited childcare center. “I started at Minneapolis Community Technical College last September and my boys started at Turnquist the same day! It’s made my life easier,” she said, “I’m improving myself and making sure I can build a good future for them.” Her boys love the program, too. Prior to Turnquist, Khail had difficulty socializing with other children and had attachment issues. Now, nearly a year later, he has lots of friends and looks forward to going to school, in part to the S.M.A.R.T. approach (Stimulating Maturity through Accelerated Readiness Training) practiced at the center. “Turnquist’s staff genuinely love the kids and the children love their teachers,” she said. “They also have helpful resources to us younger parents. Other schools don’t care to help out the family as a unit like Turnquist.” With her children being cared for and her home life stabilizing, Jillian was able to focus on her education and on April 17, 2018, she earned her GED. Shortly thereafter, she participated in an internship program at Hennepin County Medical Center and is now exploring courses to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Medical Management, where she hopes to begin a career as a nursing assistant and cosmetologist. “This program has helped me improve my life by allowing me to go back to school, graduate, get a good internship opportunity, and help me do what I need to while knowing my children are safe and being taken care of,” she said. “Turnquist and ACTG’s Teen Parent Program provides comfort to my kids and to me. It’s their second home where they know they’re safe and loved.”
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I like to call it a brain-based therapeutic summer camp! Kids and adolescents would participate in a three-week daily program that included cutting-edge brain-based treatments and therapies. The best part was that everything was rolled up into a fun social experience so the kids were having a blast and happy, even though they were working hard five days a week.
We made tremendous progress each summer and reentered the next school year “notched up”; not only physically, but also in reading comprehension and processing speed. The bonus was that we also met other amazing families who we are still friends with today! From Boost Up Plus we transitioned into ongoing beneficial brain-based therapies such as Neurofeedback, Neurological Reorganization, vision therapy, and auditory integration therapy. As my son is becoming a young adult, the services and staff have grown with him; from improving speech deficits, processing disorders, and delayed motor skills early on to decreasing severe anxiety and sensory sensitivities as a teenager. At ACTG, we always find a solution. I would also like to mention how special the leadership team and professionals are at ACTG. Many of them have been here for years, which says a lot. They are passionate about their work and really care about our kids and families. They also are eager to learn and expand services as research surfaces. This is critical with complex disorders that involve the brain and neurological systems. So I guess it’s not a surprise to say that I enthusiastically joined the board several years ago and will be honored to continue serving as we move forward with our journey as a family and organization. A chance to grow; it describes our experience perfectly. I’m excited about the future; with my family, my special child and this amazing unique organization. - Julie, mother  When Colette Friest traveled to Minnesota from Iowa to take her seven year old daughter, Lainey, to visit a learning center in Edina, she did not want Lainey to miss out on the occupational therapy and speech services she receives weekly while at home. A friend recommended she see our specialists at A Chance To Grow in place of her own while in Minnesota. Little did she know that our occupational therapy program would provide results that would change her daughter’s life forever.
When Colette first arrived at ACTG to take Lainey to see Occupational Therapist (OT) Angela Rosales, she expected Angela would use the same traditional approach that she has seen OTs use with Lainey in the past. Instead, Angela used our own unique approach, which differs from approaches at other therapy centers because it uses brain-friendly methods such as Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration (MNRI)* to lay the foundation for motor function and everyday life skills. Colette says that being introduced to reflex integration therapy was one of Lainey’s most important and life-changing experiences. Before her time at ACTG, Lainey was nonverbal, had fine and gross motor issues, lacked focus and had difficulty with fine motor planning. Other challenges included reading and talking. OTs at ACTG have taken courses in MNRI and use the method often. Julie Neumann, ACTG OT, said that focusing on the integration of Lainey’s reflex patterns allowed Angela to lay the foundation necessary for Lainey to develop higher-level motor and everyday life skills. As a result, Lainey’s life has been drastically changed. “We have seen huge differences in our daughter in just the two months that we have been doing reflex integration, and the fact that ACTG has OTs who can do these reflexes with kids can make a big difference in children’s lives. Many parents are like us and don’t have time to go to conferences and learn things like reflex integration, so this is huge. If it wasn’t for Angela introducing me to reflex integration at ACTG, we wouldn’t know about it and we’d still be stuck,” Colette said. When asked to reflect on her time working with the Friests, Angela said, “They are such a solid family. Colette has a fearless approach when helping her daughter succeed. Her initiative and ambition are very impressive.” For eleven weeks, Colette and Lainey stayed at a hotel Monday through Friday, traveling back home to Iowa on most weekends. During her time at ACTG, Lainey also saw Bridget Russ for Speech Therapy and Becky Aish for Audio Visual Entrainment and EEG Biofeedback. Colette said these additional interventions further strengthened Lainey’s ability to focus, talk and overall, act more mature. Now, over five months later, Lainey’s verbal skills continue to improve. Finally, Colette is able to read stories to her daughter from beginning to end, and Lainey actually follows along! “We had a great experience at ACTG. I want other families to hear about it. Lainey has been in therapy since age two, and we have seen more improvements in two months than we saw in five years. If parents really want to do something that can be life-changing for their child, I can’t stress highly enough how much of a difference A Chance To Grow’s programs can make.” Another thing Colette said she loves about ACTG is the fact that our Founder and Co- Director, Bob DeBoer, has been in her shoes. “He had a special needs child himself and understands where we’re coming from. That makes a huge difference. Not many therapy places start with a founder who had a special needs child and knows exactly what we’re going through,” Colette said. *The Masgutova Method (MNRI) focuses on the important role of children’s automatic motor reflexes and underlying neurosensorimotor mechanisms. Occupational Therapists trained in the Masgutova Method learn to understand the difference between automatic motor reflexes and learned motor reflexes.  “All therapists are there for the children’s best interest. It’s obvious to see. They have no other motives but that.” —Emma Milliken, Josh’s mom
In Fall of 2010, Emma Milliken experienced something that many parents do. Her son’s kindergarten teachers told her and her husband that their son, Josh, struggled to follow directions, write and pay attention. Josh’s teachers suggested they take him to the doctor to be evaluated and possibly put on ADHD medication. As motivated parents and natives of England, the Millikens felt skeptical about this route for their child. "American culture is to ‘go to the doctor and get drugs,' but that is not our way,” Emma said. While researching other options and talking with other parents, Emma became aware of Vision Therapy and its amazing results. Emma opted for this route; first taking Josh for a Vision Therapy evaluation at another site. She also decided to have Josh evaluated by A Chance To Grow’s Audiologist, Dr. Sara Cook. During Josh’s evaluation with Cook, Emma asked about the difference between A Chance To Grow’s Vision Therapy program and the other program where Josh had received an evaluation. “Vision Therapy at A Chance To Grow is very child-specific rather than a formal, ‘cookie cutter’ program that you will see at most other places,” Cook said. Recognizing this and the convenience of having all her son’s needs met under one roof, Emma had Josh assessed for Vision Therapy at A Chance To Grow. After the exam, The A Chance To Grow optometrists concluded that Josh had unintegrated primitive reflexes and suggested Occupational Therapy. While Vision Therapy was an option, it was likely the desired results would not occur without first working on Josh’s primitive reflexes. Impressed with the honesty of A Chance To Grow’s staff and motivated to do everything she could to help her son, Emma took Josh to see Julie Neumann, A Chance To Grow Occupational Therapist. Neumann informed her that Josh’s left and right brain were only integrated 20%. In January 2012, Josh began working with Neumann. “Watching my son work so hard and struggle with such basic things has been a humbling and challenging experience for me,” Emma said. Seeing the hurdles ahead, Emma and her husband chose to pull Josh from school to concentrate on getting him on track for the following year. After about eight months of vigorous OT work with Neumann, Auditory Therapy with Dr. Sara Cook and intense reflex work at home, Josh returned to school. “The teacher told me that Josh is a completely different child,” Emma said with tears in her eyes. Josh’s teacher even asks him questions like, “Remember when we did this same assignment last year?” And he’ll respond, “Yes, but that was when my eyes weren’t working.” Extremely happy with her family’s experience at A Chance To Grow, Emma has now placed Josh in EEG Biofeedback with Neurotechnology Director Becky Aish, and he is set to finish his OT work with Neumann in December! “He’s confident and happily on the same level as his peers,” Emma said. “My heart goes out to parents who don’t realize ACTG is here. All therapists work for the child’s best interest. It’s obvious to see. They have no other motives but that. This program here is amazing and more people should know about it. Josh can feel the difference A Chance To Grow has made within himself.” Thea entered first grade just after her seventh birthday. She was very excited about learning to read. Her parents had no reason to believe that she would have any trouble learning since she had flourished both academically and socially in kindergarten. Her accomplishments up to this point were astounding.
She was born prematurely and required oxygen and intravenous nutrition during her first three years of life. Early in her infancy, doctors said she was both blind and deaf. Later, she was properly diagnosed with dyspraxia and learned to communicate through sign language. She began speaking by her third year and each passing day she became closer and closer to being “on track” developmentally. When she entered school at the age of six, Thea seemed to be a perfectly normal kindergartner. Then came the first grade. At the first parent-teacher conference, Thea’s teacher informed her parents that there were signs of serious trouble. Thea was exhibiting learning, behavioral and attention problems. The problems were so significant her teacher did not know where one started and the other left off. Her parents were devastated. Even worse, Thea was very upset and became frustrated as she kept falling behind the other students. Her medical team and school began testing. The test results indicated that Thea also had dyslexia and her frustration was creating the behavior problems. She was eventually placed on an individual education plan while beginning special education and occupational therapy in school in school. At this time, Thea’s mother happened to attend a lecture by Carol Kranowitz, author of The Out of Sync Child. The free lecture was held at A Chance To Grow (ACTG). She had never heard of the organization and decided to take a tour after the lecture. “I was so impressed,” commented Paula. “The very next week I scheduled an appointment for Thea at ACTG’s vision department. Thea received a complete eye exam and then a developmental evaluation in order to identify visual integration problems. The results clearly indicated that Thea had difficulty processing visual material. Thea’s parents decided to enroll her in ACTG’s vision therapy program. She received individual vision therapy throughout the following summer and during the first several weeks of second grade. Paula recalls, “The staff that worked with Thea were incredible! They bonded with her and were able to bring out the best in her in a very nurturing way. She began to happily look forward to her vision therapy. Her gains were becoming more evident and each accomplishment of hers was celebrated along the way.” Despite Thea’s gains, her mother witnessed something even more amazing. Thea, who had struggled to print her name legibly, began writing short stories for everyone to enjoy! Here was a young girl who had struggled to read the simplest of primers, who began checking out chapter books from the library. As the new school year progressed, Thea was up to grade level work in all areas. “Her special education teacher told us that it was a special, but rare treat to release a young student from special education during the elementary years”, remarked Paula. “The teacher told us that it is incredibly rare to have such a young child make as much progress as Thea had done in such a short amount of time.” It was clear that the vision therapy played a major role in her success. Her mother concluded by saying, “We are all so proud of Thea and so thankful for the people at A Chance To Grow. They have helped her become the audaciously, securely intelligent child that she is!” Justin the Superstar! Before visiting A Chance To Grow, Justin would hesitate in the middle of words when trying to speak, which made it hard for anyone else to understand him. In first grade, he didn’t know all of his sounds and reading and writing frustrated him.
In October of his first grade year, Justin was falling behind and began to hate school. He felt he was stupid. It brought tears to his mother’s eyes. In November of that year, she attended the S.M.A.R.T. Workshop and met Cheryl Smythe, Assistant Director of the Minnesota Learning Resource Center (MLRC). Cheryl encouraged her to have his vision and auditory processing skills tested at A Chance To Grow. The testing told her he was below age level in much of his developmental vision, so she started doing boost up (S.M.A.R.T.) activities at home with him. He worked really hard on Creeping, Crawling, Spinning and Rolling, enabling him to move onto vision therapy activities. His mother also started him on the Hemispheric Specific Auditory Stimulation (HSAS) (now JIAS) program at A Chance To Grow to help with his auditory processing. Within three weeks of starting HSAS, Justin was able to sing all the words at his Christmas program on beat and with the other children-- something he hadn’t been able to do before. WOW! First grade was a struggle, but Justin had made it through. When second grade started, the school tested him at a pre-primer reading level. Him and his mother continued to work on his vision and auditory issues. He showed real strength in math and by the end of second grade he was at a 1.7 reading level. This was almost an improvement of two grades! By the end of his second grade school year, Justin was done with vision therapy and was put onto maintenance for the HSAS program. By this point, Justin’s articulation had improved so much that many people didn’t know he even had an articulation delay. In third grade, he was still struggling with writing and still behind in reading. He received Title 1 services and worked hard at home. Justin did score ‘proficient’ on the Wisconsin state reading test that March, but things still didn’t seem quite right. He was having a hard time following along and keeping up in the classroom. A Chance To Grow checked his ears again and found he had regressed on his auditory processing skills. After also having his reflexes checked by Dr. Moroz at A Chance To Grow Vision Services, it was found that he still had some primitive reflexes interfering with his ability to write and maintain the progress he had made in some of his prior therapy. Within weeks of starting the reflex therapy at home, he commented on how much “easier” writing was. Then, when given the choice to read, write or do math (his favorite), he chose writing. He wrote three stories that summer. This was great for a child who at one time had a hard time writing one word! Justin, you are a superstar! |
