LONGMONT — When Tracy Sampson tried talking to her 3-year-old son, Wayne, he couldn’t look at her. When he spoke, his mother couldn’t understand what he was trying to say.
“We knew something was terribly wrong,” Sampson recalled.
Wayne, now 7, was diagnosed with sensory autistic spectrum disorder and spent four years receiving speech and other therapies from the Tiny Tim Center, a nonprofit therapeutic preschool that serves children from birth through age 12 with special needs. This year, Wayne entered first grade at a public school and is doing great.
“I owe that to Tiny Tim,” Sampson said.
The Tiny Tim Center was founded in 1956 after a group of Longmont parents whose children had cerebral palsy refused to send them to state institutions — the only facilities offering therapy at the time.
“These parents said, ‘No, not our kids.’ That’s how the center got its start,” said Teedee Keister, executive director of the Tiny Tim Center. The center has applied for funds through the Post-News Season to Share campaign.
When the preschool opened, it was called the Longmont Cerebral Palsy Play Center and had 10 students and an annual budget of $200.
Today, more than 498 children are served each year and receive speech, physical and occupational therapies four days a week. Six classrooms are outfitted with one-way mirrored windows so parents can watch children work one-on-one with therapists and volunteers. The educators help them build speech and motor skills so the children will be prepared for kindergarten and beyond.
Half of the Tiny Tim Center preschoolers have special needs, while the other half are considered at-risk.
“Our goal is to have each child reach their potential,” Keister said.
Becki Austin has two boys who attend the Tiny Tim Center. One of them was adopted through a foster care program. He had been exposed to methamphetamine in his young life, and that left him with a short attention span and anxiety, especially in front of large gatherings.
“He was never in the moment. He was so detached,” Austin said. “But he’s doing much better now because of the support and love he gets at Tiny Tim.”
Annette Espinoza: 303-954-1655 or aespinoza@denverpost.com
The Tiny Tim Center
Address: 611 Korte Parkway, Longmont
In operation since: 1956
Number served last year: 498 children
Staff: 35
Yearly budget: $1.3 million for this fiscal year
Percentage of funds going directly to clients/services: About 90 percent
