My name is Rachel Joans, and I am the mother of four children here in Raleigh. My youngest, and my only girl, is Mariam. She is twelve years old and autistic. Mariam has always processed things slowly, and for much of her life, she spoke only a few words at a time, never full sentences. Her fine motor skills were weak, and she depended on me or her siblings to dress her. At school, her teachers used to call her “Princess,” half-joking that she let others do her work while she sat quietly, dazed out. I knew she wasn’t lazy, she was struggling, but nobody had the right tools to help her.
Eighteen months ago, we began in-home ABA therapy services with Kinfolk ABA Raleigh. At first, I didn’t know what to expect. Miriam was sweet, but she barely engaged, and I worried she would resist therapy altogether. What I quickly learned was that ABA therapy was not about forcing her to change who she was. It was about breaking big goals into small steps, celebrating each success, and building independence one piece at a time.
The progress since then has been steady and real. Mariam now uses short sentences when she wants something. She still doesn’t answer open-ended questions, but if you ask her directly, she can respond with “yes” or “no.” For a child who once stayed almost silent, those answers are powerful. Dressing herself was once impossible, buttons and zippers overwhelmed her. Now she dresses independently, zips her own jackets, and comes to me proudly to help with her buttons. For the first time, she takes ownership of her routines.
What made this possible was not just the in-home therapy, but the way Kinfolk coordinated with the other professionals in Miriam’s life. Her ABA team worked with Her speech, occupational and physical therapist, and together they created goals that made sense across settings. Improvements in her fine motor skills from OT carried over into ABA sessions, and the ABA strategies reinforced her speech goals. For the first time, I felt like everyone was working as one team, not separate silos.
Last summer, Mariam went to camp for three weeks. I was nervous about how she would handle such a big change, but Kinfolk arranged telehealth sessions to keep her connected to therapy. A few times a week, she logged on and worked with her therapist virtually. It wasn’t perfect. Her processing is slow, and sitting in front of a screen is not easy for her, but it kept her progress moving and gave her a sense of continuity. When she came home, she picked up right where she left off.
Mariam is still Mariam. She still processes the world at her own pace, still speaks minimally compared to her peers, and still needs extra support. But she is more independent now, more confident, and more connected. She looks me in the eye when she wants something. She uses her words more often. She dresses herself and beams with pride when she zips up her coat. These may seem like small milestones, but for us they are life-changing.
For so long, others saw my daughter as a princess who let the world move around her. Today, I see a young girl who is learning to take part in her own life. The progress hasn’t been fast, but it has been steady, and it has filled our family with hope.
If your family is in Raleigh and you are searching for support, I encourage you to reach out to Kinfolk ABA. Their team not only supports children directly but also collaborates with other therapists and adapts care when life changes, like camp or school transitions. That kind of commitment has made all the difference for us.
Names and identifying details have been changed to protect privacy.
