I cannot adequately express my gratitude in words but, we are incredibly thankful to have found Family First/Kid Connect! I sincerely hope that this review will be helpful to those who, like our family, find themselves trying to navigate the confusing world of sensory challenges and/or ASD. Our journey to help my precious four year old grandson was circuitous and confusing. Although we consulted with highly credentialed and well respected professionals, the various diagnoses we received just did not seem to "fit". We were informed nonchalantly but, with certainty that our child was on the autism spectrum, possibly with ODD and that we were doing all we could do. We are not hung up about labels per se but, it was the insinuation that all we could do for our child was to "train" him to behave that disturbed us. There did not seem to be any interest in the "why" but rather the focus was on "how" to control his behavior. My grandson is a smart, loving, exuberant little boy so this was emotionally devastating. We sought further answers. Our goal was to get an accurate diagnosis for the sole purpose of finding the most appropriate interventions and the best chance of a positive outcome. To make a long, painful story short, through a series of evaluations and recommendations, we finally arrived at Family First and Kid Connect. Their skilled therapists carefully evaluated my grandson and recognized that he has a sensory disorder. Family First/Kid Connect was concerned about WHY our child behaved as he did. Their focus was to understand him, identify the inner challenges he was grappling with and to help him learn to regulate himself. They recommended speech pathology and occupational therapy. I was privileged to attend the first sessions at Family First/Kid Connect with my grandson. I was surprised that a child with such an incredible vocabulary and bi-lingual, would need speech pathology. However, it was explained to us that his language is not entirely functional and then things really started to "click". I was impressed as I watched Vanessa relate to my grandson with the perfect balance of warmth and focus on the work. Vanessa demonstrated the need to react with animation, how to engage my grandson and to hold his attention. I appreciated sitting in on OT sessions with Michelle! It seemed like great fun but the focus was clear. Michelle used her skills to help my grandson but in a kind and nurturing manner. Just watching it all was a learning experience. The setting at Family First/Kid Connect is warm and inviting! It is a far cry from the ominous clinical settings we had unwittingly exposed my grandson to previously. He loves to go to Family First/Kid Connect and genuinely looks forward to his therapy! Family First nurtures the child and the family! It is a positive, happy place and we finally felt confident that my grandson was in right place! We have implemented the suggested interventions at home, we watched videos and completed workbooks. The tools they provided, including ILS are priceless. As a family, we are so grateful to Family First/Kid Connect! Their understanding and innovation has made an incredible difference in my grandsons' life and by extension in our lives as well! His progress is remarkable and noted by all! He is socializing well, regulating his behavior, pedaling his bike, engaging at pre-school and he is HAPPY! This after less than three months at Family First/Kid Connect. This could have gone very badly had we unquestionably accepted the initial diagnosis. It breaks my heart to even imaging what kind of challenges my grandson might have faced without the skilled interventions at Family First/Kid Connect. Thankfully, we can now put that concern aside. Many of the things we learned at Family First/Connect are applicable to every child and parent. I would have been a much better mom had I known some of these techniques when I was raising my eight children. We are so grateful to the clinicians at Family First and Kid Connect! read more

We had the privilege of working with Family First for an intensive 7-week program for our 4-year old son combining Speech Language Pathology and Occupational Therapy (with their partners at Kids Connect). Prior to being referred here, the road we were on was not easy. Around age 3, our sweet and happy boy started becoming angry and aggressive, exhibiting some pretty "strong willed" and often times "defiant" behavior. By age 4, his behavior worsened and started causing problems in school and with friends. We sought help which, before finding Family First, came in the form of mainstream behavioral intervention which focuses primarily on teaching parents how to respond to and correct "problem" behaviors in children. While these "tools" worked to elicit a specific behavior from our son, the approach felt very robotic and at times "soldier-like". We couldn't shake the feeling that we were essentially applying a "bandaid" to his symptoms without figuring out and tending to the "why" behind them. Our son's anger and aggression were still there; we had just effectively gotten him to hold it all in. This just didn't seem right. We had to know why our happy, sweet, affectionate, and loving toddler had become an increasingly angry and aggressive preschooler with his head down anxiously absorbed in his own world. This led us to advocate on his behalf, research all the options and eventually find real, life-changing help at Family First. At Family First, our experience has been nothing short of amazing. We feel extraordinarily fortunate to have found practitioners of the kind of work they do. It is honestly like a whole new world has been opened up for us and for our son. We believe (and hope) it is just a matter of time before the work they do becomes the way everyone works with children. Everything we've learned makes sense and feels right. We immediately saw positive results that really helped our son, instead of just putting a bandaid on things. Vanessa and her team focused on the foundation, the root causes of our son's behaviors, the "why", and began treating our son's needs on that very basic level. The results have been astounding. Now, instead of focusing on how to respond to our son's problem behaviors, we are finding that we rarely have any problem behaviors to respond to at all! After only 3 weeks, our son went from needing correction and time-outs several times per day at home and at school...to... now receiving glowing reports daily at school and only 2 time-outs in over 3 weeks.  We know we are on a lifelong journey of development but we are so grateful for what this program is doing for our precious son. He is once again the happy little boy he was when he came into this world! The DIR Floor-time model that Family First and Kids Connect employ should be standard parent education for everyone with children, not just families with specific needs. But for those of us who's children need additional help, this type of therapy has the potential to dramatically change the trajectory of a child's life. We are forever grateful to Vanessa, Cris, Michelle, Leslie and the entire team at Family First and Kids Connect. read more

Our daughter has been going to space therapy and working with Madison, a speech therapist, since February. She is an anxious child who would cry and run away from people who weren't family. She rarely spoke to anyone other than us. Madison has changed everything for our child! Through her extensive knowledge of the DIR model, she has helped my daughter gain confidence and comfort around peers and adults. She is a different kid now! She responds to others, doesn't mind playing in more crowded playspaces, talks to her preschool teachers...it is night and day from where we were. The facility always has other kids around and is perfectly designed to encourage engagement with others. We haven't exited yet, but we know there is a light at the end of this tunnel, and we have Madison to thank for that. Before space gym, I had no idea how much speech could help with kids who have anxiety. If you are on the fence about getting support for your child, I would highly recommend getting an evaluation done and finding out what they could do to help. It's the best time and money we have ever spent. It is life changing. read more

My son, John-Michael, has had to overcome so many challenges in the 3 years of his life including one year of in and out hospital stays. With all his medical challenges, speech wasn't... no, it couldn't be a priority. In the back of our minds we were certain he would struggle trying to catch up but that's not what's happening. First, he instantly connected with his speech therapist and I don't know how she does it but she's been able to increase his vocabulary so quickly that it has taken that worry that lingered in the back of our minds and replaced it with the most valuable thing a member of the medical profession can give a parent... hope. The staff here are truly amazing people who care deeply about the success of each and every child. Corina fought to arrange the schedule to help my family get the therapy they John-Michael needed on a schedule that worked for our family and I know she does that for every parent she can. All I can say, is I can't imagine taking John-Michael anywhere else but to Family First Speech Therapy to help him master speech! read more

I wanted to wait a bit before I wrote a review, to truly get a full experience and able to write an accurate review. We've been with SPACE a little over 6 months and I'm beyond amazed at the progress I've seen in my daughter in just the short time! She was basically nonverbal when we started and has just exploded with words here in the last couple of months and being able to communicate with her has been instrumental in her growth! I can't say enough good things about the staff, the on boarding process and making it a comfortable transition, the insurance knowledge and help along the way. To have all of her therapies in one place is a HUGE plus, this should be the prototype of how all ASD therapy should be, truly. To see our baby girl flourish the way she has, has been the most amazing gift to us as parents. So sooooo so glad we found SPACE and all the awesome staff and therapist! Thank you SPACE Therapy & Gym! Forever grateful read more

Since 2020, in the very nerve-racking beginning of the pandemic, SPACE welcomed us to Houston, gave my son a safe space to learn and grow, and our entire family hope. We've grown so much from the invaluable support from the entire SPACE family, including my son's OT, Ms. Gina, and his speech pathologist, Ms. DeeDee. I've seen a new kiddo these past couple of months. He's expressing himself so much more confidently, and he's always so happy. As a mother, that's everything to me. SPACE has continued to give me invaluable hope through some very challenging and trying times. You all have been there, providing generous support, kindness, warmth, and patience. I will always be indebted to you all. I mean that wholeheartedly. You have been THE best and brightest part of moving here to Houston, and I will never forget that. Thank you all, always. read more

LOVE Family First and their partner group Kids Connect!! My child has been receiving speech therapy and occupational therapy for the last few months here. She has made great progress here, and we attribute this largely to the excellent therapists and their use of the Floortime method. The therapists are knowledgeable, patient and creative in addressing my child's needs. They give thoughtful, useful feedback (and homework!) at the end of each session and I am invited to join them for as long and as frequently as I would like during the sessions. The owners of the groups, Vanessa and Michelle, are very hands-on as well and are actively involved my child's progress and sessions. Highly, highly recommend!! read more

Space has been a life saver for us. We were new to the world of special needs when our kiddo was diagnosed mid-Covid pandemic. She had no socialization for half her life, and we didn't know what was isolation effect and what was special needs for us to navigate and help her figure out. Less than a year later and Space has graduated her to enter traditional education settings. They developed a bridge to school program around my kiddo and four others who were ready for that environment, with group setting, traditional pre-schooling activities, and new challenges to growing brains. They have in-house OT and ST for ease of scheduling and coordination among therapists. Thank you, Space Therapy. read more

We absolutely love SPACE Therapy & Gym! Our speech therapist, Monica, has been an integral part of our son's development and journey. She connected with him from Day 1 and has catered to him in every way possible while simultaneously working towards goals she has planned out for him. We appreciate her child led approach but also her integration of particular tasks and skills to work on in each session. It's evident he enjoys the sessions and has progressed so much in the 9 months together. We have been blessed with Monica and look forward to what's to come. She has also been a huge resource to us, as parents, with her wide range of knowledge. Everyone has been so wonderful at the clinic! read more

My Level 2 OTA Fieldwork experience at SPACE Therapy & Gym was an amazing learning opportunity. I gained invaluable, firsthand knowledge, and I was able to collaborate with intelligent and insightful staff. Gina Drummond, OTD, OTR is a patient and knowledgeable Fieldwork Instructor I was fortunate enough to learn from. She answered my many questions and took time to make sure I had a thorough understanding of the pediatric occupational therapy experience, beginning with the initial evaluation, and ending in discharge, as well as every step in between. The kids loved their therapy sessions and showed me how impactful and far-reaching occupational therapy's influence can have on their lives. read more

I'm deeply thankful for the Space team. Since our first contact to the last day, they were always welcoming, friendly and supportive, not only to my child but to my whole family. They were always trying to do their best possible to help my daughter progress. Love the fact they have ABA, ST and OT in the same place. Also, when we left, they made our transition to a different country much easier with training mom and lots of support even after our move. Thank you thank you thank you Can't recommend Space team enough! read more

I have nothing but amazing things to say about SPACE Therapy & Gym. I've been a volunteer at SPACE since August 2020 and have gained invaluable knowledge from the therapists, Michelle and Vanessa, and most importantly, the kids. I love how everyone works as a team to provide the best treatment. The facility is very clean and organized. Their staff takes extra precautions with COVID to keep their staff, volunteers, and kids safe. I highly recommended SPACE therapy to those looking for pediatrics services! read more

My son has been a patient of Ms. Madison Gilbert for half a year now and she is most definitely the most amazing speech therapist in the world! Not only is she very gentle with my sweet baby, she is gentle with me and takes the time to address all my parental concerns. My son said "bus" today, and I am so very grateful to Ms. Madison and the Space team for their wonderful job and always making our family feel valued. I've been waiting for this day for a very long time! I am so excited for my kid. read more

Space is great! We've been doing OT and speech for years at space. Monica is a fantastic speech pathologist! She is so knowledgeable about working with kiddos with different language processing styles. She's has gone above and beyond for my child! Jordan is a phenomenal occupational therapist! She has helped us implement lots of different strategies that we also use at home to help with my child's emotional regulation. She's also helped his fine and gross motor skills flourish. read more

They were kind enough to let me come during COVID and observe a few sessions as I'm thinking about working in the field of therapy. These employees were some of the nicest people I've ever met. They were so friendly and GREAT with all of the kids. The place was so clean, organized, and set up very appropriate based on each child's individual needs. It was such an awesome atmosphere to be in, I highly recommend coming here if you're thinking about it! read more

I must say that SPACE is the best place to take care of your child. All the therapists and staff are very friendly and professional. Here they not only care about the children but also about the families. Having an autistic child generates many questions, many doubts and also a lot of fear and in SPACE we found a safe place to be. Thanks for everything!! They are the best!! read more

Ms. Jordan and Ms. Kenya are amazing! My son has really opened up and progressed with them, and our family couldn't be more grateful! They have significantly impacted our sons life in such a positive way, and we will love them forever for all of their help! Thank you for sticking with our boy and being so dedicated and open to his needs. You guys are the best!! read more

Kenia is amazing!! My typically shy child warmed up to her within the first visit. She does a great job explaining everything to my 4 year old and helps me to explain the homework to my daughter. Even after only a few weeks, we are seeing a difference in my daughters speech! So glad we found Space Therapy and Ms Kenia! read more

We absolutely love SPACE therapy. My daughter goes to PT and OT at SPACE and has made incredible progress. She actually enjoys going to therapy now, which makes life so much easier!! The therapists are so knowledgeable, good with kids, are warm and caring, and give clear progress updates. read more