From speech therapy and neurodivergent caregiver support to helping families navigate community resources and available services, Macomb's newest business, Supporting Smiles, offers practical support and resources for children and the families who care for them.
Under the direction of Kara Wright, a licensed speech-language pathologist, Supporting Smiles opened in May, at 221 S. Randolph St. in Macomb; however, even before opening her brick-and-mortar office and therapy space, Wright was offering in-home and daycare-based services, traveling to meet the needs of parents and children. Services offered through Supporting Smiles, which currently accepts Blue Cross-Blue Shield, Aetna and private pay (other credentialing is in process), include evaluation and treatment for speech and language, parent and child play groups focusing on early communication and social interaction, and parent and caregiver education and family support services. She also offers a free parent support group for parents of neurodivergent children (Autism, ADHD, learning and developmental delays, etc.) on the second Tuesday of each month, from 6-8 p.m. at the Supporting Smiles office. Free childcare is also provided.
'Supporting Smiles has evolved quite a bit since it began, and my current focus is on providing speech-language therapy services, early intervention support, parent education and the Neurodivergent Caregiver Support Group,' she shared. 'These are the areas where I am actively investing my time and energy, and they represent the direction of the organization moving forward.'
Wright earned her master's degree in speech-language pathology from Western Illinois University, and worked for nine years, primarily in an early childhood setting before venturing out on her own following the birth of her second child. She became certified as an early intervention provider, and decided it was time to take her skills and knowledge to parents, when and where they need them.
'When I was working for the school district, I met a lot of parents who needed services for their children, but oftentimes they couldn't get to them, providers weren’t available, or they might not have qualified, and it broke my heart that children and their families went without services,' she explained. 'When I started Supporting Smiles, I offered my services at times and locations that worked for families, even if that meant going to their house to observe them at breakfast to see where behaviors might break down, or going to the daycares to provide the services parents needed without requiring them to fit another appointment into their already busy schedules.'
