Therapy works

Emmitt's Story

Meet Emmitt. He is a playful, energetic child who happens to have Autism. His parents turned to the pediatric therapy program at Cookeville Regional to help their son overcome some of the challenges he faces. Emmitt struggles with verbal communication, staying focused, self-expression and processing sensory input. After only his first full week of therapy, significant changes began to take place. He said “Mommy” and “Daddy” more frequently, he began to focus and listen more often, and he started to eat dinner more easily. After a few weeks he began to speak in broken sentences and started to use the bathroom like he should. For Emmitt; speech therapy, joint compression therapy and brush therapy seem to work well. According to his mother Kenya, it is simple: “Therapy Works!”

The Pediatric Therapy Program helps dozens of children each year with a variety of conditions like autism, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, ADHD and functional language deficiency. Therapy works best when it can be overseen by a professional and reinforced at home by parents. Yet, for many of the children seeking assistance at Cookeville Regional, their family lacks the resources to provide children with necessary therapy equipment at home. Without this equipment, children are losing precious time and potential growth opportunities. You can help. With even a modest gift, you can provide simple, yet critical equipment for a child in need. Items like therapy brushes, weighted blankets, balance balls, ankle weights, textured items, noise makers and step stools are needed today. Your compassionate gift will offer hope and healing to a family in our community struggling to provide the tools their child needs to heal, learn, and grow to meet the challenges of life.