My journey began when I had my son Nikolas on one of the best days of my life! He was perfect, and I was on cloud nine of being a new mom. My son developed normally for the first 18 months, until he regressed, and lost all of the development milestones he gained except walking. The doctor informed me that Nik would need an Autism diagnosis. From that moment, my life changed.

I went into “fix it” mode, searching for therapy clinics with a 30-mile radius, as I could not find any locally. I would race home from work,and drive 80 miles a week to various clinics, just to make sure he was getting the services he needed.

Nikolas has endured thousands of hours of Speech therapy, Occupational therapy, Neurofeedback therapy, Aqua therapy, and ABA, and he worked incredibly hard every time. I was so grateful for those clinicians helping Nik with all of his special needs, but I felt alone. The Clinics were just that, clinics. Parents coming and going with their kids, just barely keeping it together with everything parenthood throws at them. I never felt a sense of community, but I felt compelled to help the next parent going through a diagnosis without knowing where to start, I felt driven to refer others to different types of clinics so their children could get appropriate therapies.

I really started to see a need for a sense of community throughout those clinics, where so many people needed it. The clinics did provide much needed services to patients, but what about the caretakers?

Caring for a special needs loved one comes with so many unknowns. I knew I had a greater purpose with my life.

Well, I blinked, and my beautiful son is 18 and my hero. He has forever changed me, and I’m so grateful for  that because I finally found my purpose.

Introducing… Empowered Heroes Inclusive Therapy!!  Whether through therapies, or just another parent or caretaker to talk to. We want to offer a supportive space to talk with other parents and caretakers, because  we are a Community and our Special Needs loved ones deserve the best we can give them!