Meet Theo

When Theo was 6 weeks old, Kyrie enrolled her in her first daycare at the recommendation of a coworker. Theo did well at first but started to fall behind on her developmental milestones. When she failed to crawl at the typical age her daycare refused to move her up to the next age-appropriate childcare room.

Kyrie said that’s when issues began to arise. Theo would cry every day and when she’d pick her up at the end of the day, she seemed exhausted and terrified. Kyrie felt that when she dropped her off in the mornings, she needed an excuse as to why Theo wasn’t crawling or progressing like the other children. She said the staff were cold to her and treated Theo like she was a nuisance.

“As a mother, I was starting to become increasingly aware of her delays and began to worry. You can only tell yourself that kids learn at their own pace so many times before you have to admit that something is wrong,” she said.

Kyrie soon met with the director of the childcare center and was told Theo was “too much of a hassle and was a disruption to the other kids and the staff”. Understandably, Kyrie felt awful.

Finding a daycare is hard, let alone one that will accept your child and her needs. She soon learned about Hand in Hand from Theo’s physical therapist and called us right away and soon Theo joined our program.

Kyrie said she cried the first day when Theo started Hand in Hand. She was understandably nervous from her previous childcare experiences and didn’t want Theo to be treated differently or be treated unkindly. We reassured her things would be ok and set regular updates throughout her first day.

Theo has now been at Hand in Hand for over two years and is thriving.

Kyrie said, “I cannot express how important this place is for her and for me. Everyone treats us with so much warmth. You can tell they truly love her. She has recently been diagnosed with intelligence disability and epilepsy with more to come, and Hand in Hand has been such a support every step of the way. They accommodate everything she needs. They work with her therapists and care for her so that she can be the best she can be.”

“It has ALWAYS been Theo and mommy, mommy and Theo. But I can truly say I am so blessed to be welcomed into this family and to have Hand in Hand truly be there to raise her with me."

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Together, we can ensure that families like Kyrie and Theo’s always have a place where belonging comes first.