Yearly SRRC chooses a child as an ambassador to showcase the wonderful benefits of the Early Intervention services and childcare services that we provide. The child chosen has gone through our Early Intervention program and received the therapy services provided by our center and may have also been apart of our childcare center. We love to share their story to show how crucial our services are and how we strive to give every child the highest quality of care that we can to help them grow and be successful in their future.
Meet Charlie, our 2025 Ambassador
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Charlie started out in this world being loved and closely monitored, after mom, Amy, developed preeclampsia at 38 weeks with big sister Allison, and suffered a devastating miscarriage in December 2020. Amy closely monitored her blood pressure which helped her discover an elevation at 32 weeks. This led to Amy visiting the OBGYN twice a week and being admitted to Morris Hospital for monitoring several times. At 35 weeks, Amy was admitted overnight to closely monitor her blood pressure and try to get it under control. However, at 6:00 AM on October 20th the medical team advised that to have the best outcome for both Amy and Charlie to go forward with a cesarean section delivery.
Just a few hours later at 9:33 AM, at 6-pounds 2-ounces and, 19.5 inches long, Charlie was earthside. However, the joy was quickly followed by concern about Charlie’s breathing. After a few hours of observation, Charlie was transported to Loyola University Hospital’s NICU. At this time, Amy was still recovering from surgery and had yet to even hold her son. Tom, Amy’s Husband, made the trip to Loyola to be with his son Charlie and coordinate his care. Amy was released from Morris Hospital a few days later and immediately made the trip to Loyola to finally be able to hold her son for the first time. After about 17 days at Loyola in the NICU, Charlie was healthy and able to go home! Charlie was a happy and healthy little man, yet 18 months of age, mom and dad started noticing that he was not making many letter sounds or saying words with meaning attached. After consulting with Charlie’s pediatrician Dr. Melissa Hill, she referred him to her commonly suggested center, Starved Rock Regional Center for Early Intervention services. It was convenient as Charlie was already in childcare at the center. The Boyles family stated, “We didn’t really give a second thought to using SRRC.” In November of 2023, Charlie started receiving Developmental Therapy with Kelly Bault and Speech Therapy with Sarah Baker. Parents stated that “Charlie responded well to EI services. His speech started to improve notable within the first couple months.” Their experience with Kelly and Sarah was nothing short of wonderful as they said “Kelly and Sarah were amazing. There was always an open line of communication. They kept us updated on Charlie’s progress and provided strategies to try at home to get him to continue to build his confidence and fluency.” Charlie turned 3 in October of 2024 in which he transitioned to attending preschool at Lincoln in Ottawa. The family stated that “Sarah and Kelly did a great job laying the groundwork for Charlie to be successful and continue to grow outside of therapy!” With help from crucial Early Intervention services and amazing therapists such as Kelly and Sarah, Charlie has gone from pointing to communicate his needs, to being vocal to express his wants and needs. “Having Charlie be able to tell us what he wants and needs has made things a lot easier.” Charlie’s parents are so thankful to the ability to have local access to Early Intervention services as without SRRC being a local provider “we would have looked into speech services somewhere, possibly in the suburbs.” Charlie continues to thrive in SRRC’s childcare center and Lincoln Preschool. Mom and dad said, “Seeing his personality shine through more and more as his ability grows has been awesome.” |
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Meet Our Past Ambassadors
Meet the many faces of Starved Rock Regional Center. Each child is chosen to represent the center for the year and showcase their unique needs and ways that SRRC has helped them reach their maximum potential.
