Imagine trying to communicate with your family and those around you, but nobody understands you. Imagine the frustration. This was Margot’s life at 2.5-years-old back in 2011.

Now imagine if Margot was your child. Watching her struggle, getting frustrated yourself with not knowing what she wants or needs. What would you do? Where would you turn?

Luckily for Margot, she has parents who chose to be her advocate when she couldn’t be an advocate for herself. They took her to specialists, contacted the Tennessee Early Intervention System, got her tested, and eventually were referred to services through Waves’ Early Learning Program.

When she began receiving services from Waves, Margot’s only means of communicating was through gestures, and some approximations (making sounds similar to those of actual words). Cognitively, she knew exactly what was going on; she just couldn’t verbalize.

After seven months of weekly one-on-one visits from a Waves Early Interventionist at both her home and eventually her preschool and hard work on the part of her parents, Margot was able to blossom into a bubbly, talkative little girl. By the end of her time with Waves, she was speaking in full sentences, something her parents could only dream of seven months earlier.

Today, Margot is a kindergartener who is reading, is good at math, and has a great vocabulary. She plays soccer and loves her big brother. But what would Margot’s trajectory have been if she wasn’t able to receive services through Waves? Would she have continued to fall behind? Luckily for her, we’ll never know.

Learn more about our Early Learning Program.