September 12, 2014

by: Emily Hastings

What has UCP of Greater Cleveland done for you? – Sofia Biondi

This week’s blog post was written by Michelle Biondi, the mother of Sofia, a child who has made significant progress receiving therapy services at UCP of Greater Cleveland.

Sofia started coming to UCP in October of 2008 when she was 3 years old after her original therapy facility shut down. She had been receiving physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy from infancy and we wanted to continue that for her.

We live in Lake County and there is very little as far as children’s therapy services and no organization that Sofia can have all of her therapy services done at one place like UCP. Not being able to find a place near where we live that can offer all therapy services was challenging and frustrating. I placed a call to UCP back in 2008 and was told Sofia could receive any type of therapy she needed and we could get in immediately!

Sofia has made such gains since starting therapy services at UCP. When she first started therapy she was not able to walk without continually falling down, she could not feed herself and do a lot of independent life skills on her own. Sofia’s speech has been the most affected by her disability and that has just blossomed over time. We have been very fortunate to have Rebecca as our Speech Language Pathologist for the six years that Sofia has been coming to UCP. How Rebecca has helped Sofia’s speech is amazing!

My husband and I know that we can talk to Sofia’s therapists if we have a concern and they help us to resolve the issue. The therapists give us carry over to do at home which helps to reinforce what they are working on with Sofia every week. The administrative staff has helped us out with navigating the wonderful world of health insurance! Intesar and Donna have been able to work miracles with giving us a weekly therapy schedule that works for our busy family life, which has helped out tremendously.

UCP has been a godsend in helping us deal with having a child with Cerebral Palsy. We have been fortunate to have amazing therapists over the years that really care about what is best for Sofia and how they can help us out as a family. These therapists show dedication and support that goes beyond what we could have ever expected form a therapy facility. We can never thank the UCP staff enough for what they have done for Sofia all these years!

For more information about UCP of Greater Cleveland’s Children’s Services Department, please call (216) 791-8362 ext. 1250 or email childrens@ucpcleveland.org. Or visit our website at https://www.ucpcleveland.org/services-for-children.

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