Kim and Tim Ringenbach got married in their early twenties and were excited about starting their lives together. They both had great jobs and looked forward to starting a family. As their pursuit of happiness began, developmental challenges threatened to hinder their two children. Overwhelmed and not knowing who to turn to for help, they looked to relocate from their current town. Over 500 miles away, a United Way of Greater St. Louis (UWGSL) partner agency was ready and willing to welcome Kim, Tim, and their children with open arms.
Agony in the early stages
Kim gave birth to Sebastien in 2014, and while Kim and Tim were excited to welcome their first child, Sebastien’s pre-birth health marked the beginning of challenges to come. Complications during Kim’s delivery forced doctors to transport her to another nearby hospital where over the course of two days they monitored Sebastien’s health and attempted a medical labor induction.
After the induction failed, doctors performed an emergency cesarean where Sebastien was finally born – May 28th, 2014.
Shortly after welcoming Sebastien home, Kim and Tim began to notice some abnormalities in his development. He had trouble listening, communicating, maintaining attention, and hardly ever slept. As these abnormalities progressed, they knew it was time for Sebastien to be evaluated by a doctor.
“My husband has autistic siblings, so we always thought this could be a possibility, and when he started to miss milestones with speaking, pointing and clapping, those were pretty big red flags,” said Kim. “At the time, our pediatrician was like, ‘Let’s wait and see, it’s too early’, but I’m not the type of person to wait and see, I already kind of had an instinct.”
Kim’s instincts proved to be correct. Sebastien was subsequently diagnosed with autism. Sebastien’s diagnosis wasn’t surprising to Kim and Tim, the lack of support they felt was.
“We had a psychiatrist tell us that he’ll never talk, never be able to take care of himself, and he’ll never amount to anything basically,” said Kim. “She didn’t really offer us any suggestions on how to address those concerns, she kind of just sent us on our way. So, it was a really tough time, we spent a lot of time grieving.”
After numerous failed attempts to find local, effective early childhood intervention services, the Ringenbachs knew it was time for a change. Tim had family ties to the St. Louis region, and once settling here, they found help that would strengthen the stability of their family.
New start in a new city
The Ringenbachs moved to St. Louis in 2017 where a family member told them about Missouri First Steps. They provided Sebastien with at-home occupational and behavioral therapy services, helping him defy the odds of the prognosis given to him.
Considering their family’s history of autism, Missouri First Steps referred them to UWGSL partner agency, United Services for Children who could help them in the future. This referral proved to be valuable when their second son, Leo, was also diagnosed with autism.
This time, instead of panic and worry, they could have peace in knowing they had a place that could provide Leo with early childhood intervention services, a resource they were unable to find for Sebastien where they previously lived.
“Everything that I heard about them was fantastic, one of my friends has two sons and they both went to United Services and have had amazing progress,” said Kim. “We weren’t able to have access to it with Sebastien because he was too old at the time when we got here, but I knew we needed to try it with Leo to see how it would go.”
When Leo came to United Services at 2-years-old, he had very low muscle tone, struggled with eating, and missed key motor milestones.
He enrolled in their Building Blocks Intensive program where he worked with teachers and therapists to develop communication, motor, and social skills. He learned how to answer yes or no, express emotions, request food, and ask to talk to specific people.
Therapists also helped Leo build a tolerance for solid foods and strengthen his core through motor play activities.
Within a couple of months, Kim and Tim began to see noticeable progress in Leo’s development and his love for United Services.
“One day I said, ‘Leo, lets go to class’, and he looked at me, made eye contact, took my hand, and led me away to his classroom, and that was the first time that it was very clear that he knew what I was saying,” said Kim. “He just loves going there and doing all the fun stuff like putting together puzzles or using a marker to write or color something.”
Leo graduated from United Services in May and will enter public school pre-kindergarten. He will also continue speech therapy and socialization support.
“Moving here was one of the best things we’ve done,” said Kim. “Sebastien and Leo have much better futures because of the people who came together to support them.”
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