Ellie Grieb loves being a kindergartner at Kirkersville Elementary. 

When the school year began, she started in a special education unit with the goal of slowly transitioning into a kindergarten classroom in a few months.

But Ellie had other plans. By the third week of school, it was clear she was ready to be in a general education classroom, where she now spends most of her day.

When she gets home from school, she loves coloring, the music of “KPop Demon Hunters,” riding her bike and scooter and playing outside. 

Seeing their daughter thriving, her parents, Ashley and Charles are proud of all the hard work she’s put in over the past few years.

When Ellie was 18 months old, she still wasn’t using language to communicate. She began speech therapy at age 2 and by her third birthday was diagnosed with autism.

The Grieb’s oldest son Jack is also on the autism spectrum so they were familiar with some of the services offered by the Licking County Board of Developmental Disabilities (LCBDD). 

They made a referral and Ellie was able to receive Early Intervention services from LCBDD before she turned three. Her developmental specialist was able to create a sensory profile, which included many strategies that her parents could use to support her. They also were able to use Family Support Services (FSS) funds to buy sensory toys. 

Ellie transitioned into preschool at Southwest Licking’s Early Learning Center and began receiving support from LCBDD’s Early Childhood team. Service Coordinator Connie Bryant worked with Jack when he was younger, so it was great to have a familiar face for Ellie,  Ashley said.

“It’s so helpful to have people who can give you ideas about resources and steps to take,” she said. ”We are able to bounce ideas off Connie and she knows about little things that I wouldn’t always think about.”

Speech therapy has been very beneficial for Ellie and the Board has been instrumental in keeping that consistent, using FSS funds and other resources, Ashley said.

When an insurance change disrupted their ability to continue with Ellie’s longtime speech therapist, Connie was able to connect them with the Licking County Foundation’s Thomas M. Kier Memorial Fund, which helped cover the extra costs. 

They recently found out that — thanks to information that Connie provided — Ellie will also receive a scholarship from the Michael Dean Gibbs Foundation to pay for more speech sessions.

From suggestions about ways to introduce Ellie to new foods to ideas for classes and camps that Ellie might enjoy, Connie has been a great resource for their family. It’s given them more time to do things Ellie loves, like camping, visiting grandparents and cheering on the sidelines of her siblings’ sporting events.

 “It’s so helpful to have that support on your side,” Ashley said.