Ella’s Story: Finding Her Voice at Children’s Specialized Hospital
Before she even entered the world, Ella faced challenges that most infants don’t survive. In the womb, she had a rare condition that caused severely restricted blood flow. Despite the odds, Ella arrived five weeks early, tiny but seemingly healthy. Her parents, Elizabeth and (name of husband), were hopeful that their little miracle had made it through the worst.
As months went by, Elizabeth started noticing that Ella was not growing or gaining weight the way she should. By her first birthday, she still had not started talking. “I was comparing her to her brother, who was speaking in full sentences by that age,” Elizabeth recalls. “At a point where Ella should have been able to say several words, she said none.”
From 12 months to nearly two years old, Ella stopped hitting milestones altogether. Her pediatrician referred the family to specialist after specialist, 13 in total, each trying to uncover why Ella was not developing at the appropriate rate for her age. An ultrasound revealed one of her kidneys was shaped abnormally, leading to visiting a nephrologist, but there were still no clear answers for her developmental delays.
Finally, Elizabeth’s OB-GYN suggested the family seek out experts in child development. That’s when the Marcketta family turned to Children’s Specialized Hospital (CSH), a decision that changed everything.
At CSH, doctors determined that Ella’s body was still recovering from the fight to survive before birth. What she needed now was a team that could help her catch up developmentally. At two years old, Ella began early intervention and speech therapy at CSH.
Though she could understand everything said to her, Ella could not communicate verbally. “It was awful,” Elizabeth says. “I knew she was trying to tell me things.” Ella would point and clap to express herself, but her mouth simply would not cooperate. Her speech therapists at CSH discovered that only one side of her mouth was functioning properly. Their mission became to “wake up” the other side. Teaching her where to place her tongue, how to close her lips, and the motor planning that goes into forming each sound.
The CSH team did not just work with Ella, they empowered her parents to help at home. “We spent so many hours in front of a mirror, practicing what we learned in therapy,” Elizabeth remembers. “They taught us how to be part of her progress.”
By age four, Ella was finally talking and, as Elizabeth puts it, “Since then, she never stopped.”
Ella’s journey at CSH was not just about speech. It transformed her entire family’s life. During one of Ella’s appointments, her doctor, Dr. Matthews, asked questions about her older brother, Tommy, who had been struggling behaviorally for years. Elizabeth had raised concerns about autism before, but her concerns were dismissed until they came to CSH. “They were the only place that listened,” she says. With CSH’s help, Tommy was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at seven years old and confirmed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). For the first time, Elizabeth felt heard and supported as a mother.
At age five, Ella’s doctor ordered a bone scan to measure her developmental growth during a follow up visit. It came back showing she was at the level of a three-and-a-half-year-old. This insight helped guide her care and goals. Later, in third grade, Ella was diagnosed with ADHD as well. CSH continued to be there every step of the way, now through occupational therapy to help Ella improve her fine motor skills, emotional regulation, and problem-solving abilities.
Ella’s therapists created obstacle courses that built her confidence and skills without her even realizing she was working. “They helped her understand what her body needs to feel good,” Elizabeth explains. “They made learning fun.”
Therapy at CSH did not just give Ella skills, it gave her self-assurance. Because she spent so long unable to communicate, Ella can still be shy at times, a lingering trauma response. Her therapists noticed this and gently encouraged her to speak up, even in small ways, like asking volunteers for materials during her sessions. Slowly, they helped her find her voice again, both literally and emotionally.
Today, Ella is a thriving middle schooler full of energy and ambition. She plays field hockey, performs in her school band on the trumpet, volunteers with the Special Olympics, and stays active as a Girl Scout. She loves heavy metal music and dreams of becoming a paleontologist, astronaut, or even an occupational therapist so she can help kids the way CSH helped her.
“We’re a happier family because my kids came here,” says Elizabeth. “They’re both able to fully be who they were meant to be.”