CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Kandice Broadnax opened Ascend Bungee Fitness in Chesapeake in 2022. While the studio is a big part of her life, she said her son, Bryson, is her whole world. Bryson was diagnosed with autism when he was 3.
"Originally, he was speaking up until age, about two and a half. And then he started to regress with all of his words," Broadnax said.
Broadnax tried several different speech therapy options, but nothing helped him communicate until she found Helio's Rising.
Helio's Rising is a nonprofit that teaches spelled communication, a method where students point to individual letters on a board to make words. Executive Director Maria Galifianakis founded the organization a little over a year ago after seeing the method's impact on her 19-year-old non-speaking daughter, Evoni.
"We realized that there’s so many kids in our community that are just like her, that are unintentionally hidden away. Many of them can not attend school, they don’t have control of their bodies," Galifianakis said.
Galifianakis said traditional therapies did not work for her daughter. With spelled communication, providers read age-appropriate, highly cognitive material to the students and then ask questions.
"We present them with a letter-board and then we coach them, or prompt them, to move their eyes, and their hand to reach that appropriate letter," Galifianakis said.
The method helps transition communication from fine motor skills, like speech, to gross motor skills, like arm pointing, giving students better control of their bodies.
Helio's Rising financially supports families by paying for introductory sessions and helping providers get certified in the spelled communication method.
To support the nonprofit's mission, Ascend Bungee Fitness is hosting the second-ever Ascend Bungee Fitness 5K and fundraiser on Saturday, April 25 starting at 8:00am. Participants can run, walk, or "fly" in bungee cords for the 5k. Broadnax said the partnership was a no-brainer.
"Being able to collaborate with this amazing nonprofit that has essentially changed our family’s lives, now that we’re able to communicate with our son. I would have never imagined this–esentially two worlds coming together," Broadnax said.
The experience also inspired Broadnax to start offering sensory-friendly classes at her studio for others like Bryson.
Galifianakis hopes the partnership will continue to build a network that empowers non-speaking people and encourages parents to believe in their children's abilities.
"You must presume competence in your child and realize that they're completely aware of themselves, their environment, and everything that's going on around it," Galifianakis said.
For more information or to find out how to donate to Helio's Rising, click here.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
