“Giulia’s mom is the perfect example of how Early Steps moms should be,” shares Riane Santa Cruz, one of the Center’s forty Early Steps Care Coordinators.

The Early Steps program provides therapy in the home when possible because we see better results when a child’s caregivers are involved and in their natural environment. Giulia’s mom, Raquel, embraced this philosophy whole-heartedly and the two-year-old has made great strides because of this.

Giulia was one week shy of her first birthday when she came to Early Steps at CDTC. She barely babbled and didn’t clap or point and was falling behind on many milestones. Her pediatrician recommended Early Steps to the concerned mother.

Like so many others, Raquel had never heard of the program. But, once she learned what it was, she was excited by what it would provide for her and Giulia.

“I’m very happy with our team,” shares Raquel. A great team came together including Riane, Infant Toddler Development Specialist Livia, Occupational Therapists from Therapeds and Speech Therapists from Step by Step.

The eager mom was dedicated to incorporating Giulia’s therapy into their every day routine. So, she drilled each of their therapists during every session – asking questions to make sure she could implement everything correctly. Eventually, at one point services for Giulia were reduced, a rare occurrence, because mom was doing so much and the little girl doing so well.

The team is so impressed with Raquel’s hard work and abilities, they tease that she should become a therapist once Giulia goes to school.

According to mom, Giulia is a new child today thanks to the Early Steps program. She loves to talk and is quite active. While she has autism, Raquel shares Giulia doesn’t show many delays.

“(Meeting) our goals is going good,” shares Raquel. “We just keep working.” While Giulia’s time with Early Steps is coming to an end this year, she’s made great strides and Raquel feels “very lucky” to have received the support the family needed.