Meet Bowie, our 2024 Ambassador
After a relatively typical pregnancy during the height of Covid, little Bowie Fuchs started off life with a bang, arriving via emergency C-section, extremely jaundiced and with low blood sugar. Mom and Dad, Callie and Patrick Fuchs of Ottawa, welcomed their little bundle and looked forward to settling in as a family.
At around a year old, when Bowie should have been showing some signs of early speech, he was not babbling the typical mama, dada, baba words one would expect. After and early intervention (EI) evaluation, at the age of 14 months, young Bowie began receiving services with Kelly Bault, Developmental Therapy, and Emma Schueller, Speech Therapist. Bowie also attended the toddler class offered at SRRC, which Bowie was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder last year.
Callie, as a special education teacher, has a unique outlook on their experience with EI and SRRC. When asked how Bowie has benefitted from early intervention she found it both easy to answer and difficult to put into words. "This question should be so easy, but it's so loaded because there are so many avenues of how I want to answer. It was the EI team who so professionally encouraged me to have Bowie evaluated. Even as a teacher, I was so close to the situation I was missing, or in denial, about Bowie's needs. It was their encouragement that put us on the path to a diagnosis; this is important because it opens up more doors for Bowie. I didn't even know developmental therapy was a thing. Without SRRC, I would have missed that critical piece of his developmental need. We probably would have had to travel far to get him services. Starved Rock even provided us with care after my daughter was born. Halynn had difficulties with eating. After talking with Kelly and Emma, I learned that SRRC provides feeding therapy to newborns. We got the feeding evaluation and therapy for our daughter through the support and knowledge of Bowie's therapists," says his mom.
Although Bowie has since graduated from the EI program, he will continue receiving speech therapy services from SRRC. He also attends Lincoln preschool and continues to receive occupational and speech therapy there. He is growing and thriving, thanks in part to Starved Rock Regional Center and its committed and knowledgeable therapists who helped give him the told to reach his maximum potential. His parents' goal for him is to show the world how amazing he is and to leave a positive impact wherever he goes. And he'll do that, we know it.
At around a year old, when Bowie should have been showing some signs of early speech, he was not babbling the typical mama, dada, baba words one would expect. After and early intervention (EI) evaluation, at the age of 14 months, young Bowie began receiving services with Kelly Bault, Developmental Therapy, and Emma Schueller, Speech Therapist. Bowie also attended the toddler class offered at SRRC, which Bowie was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder last year.
Callie, as a special education teacher, has a unique outlook on their experience with EI and SRRC. When asked how Bowie has benefitted from early intervention she found it both easy to answer and difficult to put into words. "This question should be so easy, but it's so loaded because there are so many avenues of how I want to answer. It was the EI team who so professionally encouraged me to have Bowie evaluated. Even as a teacher, I was so close to the situation I was missing, or in denial, about Bowie's needs. It was their encouragement that put us on the path to a diagnosis; this is important because it opens up more doors for Bowie. I didn't even know developmental therapy was a thing. Without SRRC, I would have missed that critical piece of his developmental need. We probably would have had to travel far to get him services. Starved Rock even provided us with care after my daughter was born. Halynn had difficulties with eating. After talking with Kelly and Emma, I learned that SRRC provides feeding therapy to newborns. We got the feeding evaluation and therapy for our daughter through the support and knowledge of Bowie's therapists," says his mom.
Although Bowie has since graduated from the EI program, he will continue receiving speech therapy services from SRRC. He also attends Lincoln preschool and continues to receive occupational and speech therapy there. He is growing and thriving, thanks in part to Starved Rock Regional Center and its committed and knowledgeable therapists who helped give him the told to reach his maximum potential. His parents' goal for him is to show the world how amazing he is and to leave a positive impact wherever he goes. And he'll do that, we know it.
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.
