Stories

Haydee's experience with her son's feeding struggles is not uncommon. Many parents struggle to know how to help a child with a pediatric feeding disorder, and the ripple effect this can have on a family is all too difficult.

For neurodivergent children, the holiday season can be challenging. Here are four practical strategies from one of our therapists for navigating the holiday season with a kid who needs some extra support.

Working with speech therapist Maria Costa enhanced Brandon's self-awareness, which is what ultimately allowed him to understand others, be understood, and communicate effectively.

Atom began seeing Lauren Sekas, speech therapist at CCLLC, for regular sessions and made quick progress. He is now able to form sentences, engage with his family and friends, and express his needs.

Working as a team with speech therapists not only allowed Brian's mom to access more communication with her son, but also access more of who he was, such as his personality and interests, which in turn deepened their relationship.

"Before finding the Loud Crowd, very often I would not speak rather than have people see me struggling," said Suzie, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2017. "In this group, it's OK to struggle."

In less than a year, six-year-old Jase Le went from crying and running out of the speech therapy room to smiling and running into the speech therapy room on the way to his sessions.

Teaching and training the next generation of speech-language pathologists is something we're passionate about at CCLLC. Read about one grad student's journey from intern to owning her own private practice.

Rebecca Salimpour has had a successful floral design business in Orange County, Calif. for over two decades. Her work was even shown on Bravo TV and the popular show "Real Housewives of Orange County." But in February 2020, her career came to an abrupt halt after Rebecca suffered a major stroke. Read more of her story that she shares in her own words.

Despite the challenges that the pandemic has brought families in and around the Central Coast, the transition to telehealth has brought many surprising benefits. Read about Elizabeth's experience with virtual therapy at CCLLC for her son Isaak.

"It's hard to see your child have difficulty communicating their feelings and wants and needs," Jade explains. "I was very nervous to begin speech therapy with him, but also excited to see how it would help him."

Former professional boxer and Salinas local Jose Celaya uses his struggles, including a speech disorder diagnosis, to share a message of hope and perseverance with students and youth in his hometown.

When Mayte Ruiz's son Nick was diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and Auditory Processing Disorder, she felt like her world had turned upside down.

"I had almost no voice, it was very in and out,” Pat says. Her voice troubles date back nearly a decade, when she was playing a tennis match against her friend, who noticed the changes in her voice and urged Pat to see a doctor.

"He's not the person he was before, and we have video footage to prove it," Rachel D'Errico says with a smile on her face.

The LOUD Crowd technique is rooted in scientific research and originates from the Parkinson Voice Project. The hour-long sessions focus on voice training exercises that allow participants to feel more confident to try new things, engage with people, and live fully-functioning lives.

As a professional boxer, Jose Celaya took repetitive blows to the face during a 10-year career. In 2008, he suffered injuries that led to his current diagnosis of dysarthria.

As a 52-year-old mom of three, wife, business owner and avid horseback rider, Ann Marie Strand had little time for rest. Her commitments demanded the very best of her brainpower nearly 24/7. Until one day in May 2015, when it all came to a sudden halt.

As a former preschool teacher, Laura Clark is very familiar with how children act, behave and communicate, which is partly why she knew her daughter Audrey was "falling behind" with speech at two years old.

"People tell me on the phone ‘You sound different' or ‘You sound better,' and that's coming from practicing with Jenn." - Bruce Frank

Judy Caceras and her husband were at the Apple store about to make a financially difficult purchase when they found out they would receive a free iPad to help their son Jacob communicate. Hear Judy share their full story. Thank you to Omar's Dream Foundation for changing the lives of the families we care for and giving them the gift of communication!

"I know my little boy and I know that there's somebody in there that's dying to come out. This is going to be his chance to come out and talk to us."

"I saw people and recognized them, but I didn't know their names ... It was easy to come [to the clinic] and relax and go right into the therapy program. [Jenn] explained everything to me and told me that as long as I kept trying, I would see progress."

"He had fewer meltdowns from the frustration he was having not being able to communicate. We would take him to the park and after that breakthrough with language, we saw he was more comfortable making some friends."

"It takes a village to raise a child, and outside of our friends and family, Greyson's therapists are part of that village. We have seen significant improvement since we started with CCL&L. Courtney has been amazing with Greyson. She is so interactive and extremely knowledgeable. Greyson loves his sessions with her."