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Chloe's Story

"Without the help from Family Focus, I don't know where we would be today."

Two-year old Chloe liked to cling to her mother, all the time. She was scared of rooms, was losing her speech, and had emotional outbursts. "My friends' kids were not like Chloe," says her mom, Melissa Jones. Melissa was also taking care of her frail father who just had a heart attack and a grandmother who had fallen and broken her neck. She explains, "I didn't know where to start to find my way out."

"Sandy (from Family Focus' Parent Program) helped head me in the right direction, one step at a time," says Melissa. Her daughter Chloe was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder and started getting physical, occupational and speech therapy. The doctor discovered that Chloe was allergic to many foods and had another problem: arsenic.

The arsenic poisoning, it turned out, came from the granite that Melissa's husband Jason worked with as a mason. Their young child, who licked everything as part of her sensory disorder, was licking granite dust that came into the home. The family spent four months de-toxifying Chloe.

Sandy from Family Focus brought books and articles to Melissa and her husband. She listened, got them to think through each symptom, connected them to other services as needed, and helped them learn how best to help Chloe. "I love Sandy!" says Melissa.

Chloe is turning five this year. She has "graduated" from speech and physical therapy, attends a preschool three days a week and will enter kindergarten next fall with other children her age. "I have become a very proactive parent and have networked with many other parents" facing issues, says Melissa. "And Sandy and Family Focus were there to support us through it all. Thank you!"