In eastern Colorado, parents navigate a shortage of resources for children with disabilities

Lubberts said the state’s early intervention program that Ledger is in doesn’t have a speech pathologist in her area for Ledger’s age group.

“We have some pictures he can point to or he'll take our hand and lead us to the refrigerator and he'll show us that he wants a cheese stick,” she said. “I do feel like he's struggling with certain sounds. He used to be able to do them, but now he's not doing them as much.”  

Early and consistent support is key for children like Ledger. According to Deborah Fidler, the director of the developmental disabilities research laboratory at Colorado State University, all infants with Down syndrome should have access to physical therapy to monitor gross motor development, speech-language therapy to support early communication skills and occupational therapy to support activities of daily living. 

“When a child does not receive early intervention services, they miss out on the chance to build these early cognitive, communication, and motor foundations, making it more difficult to acquire later, more advanced skills during middle childhood and beyond,” Fiddler said. “For families, this might mean the need for more intensive support for their child as they grow.”

Lubberts, who is concerned about her son’s speech worsening, said she was referred to a program through Children’s Hospital in Denver, where the speech therapy sessions are available online. But the sessions are every Tuesday starting at 2 p.m. — right in the middle of Lubberts teaching her high school class. 

“I understand why a lot of people leave their jobs. There have been so many times where I am so torn because I need to be with my child, but at the same time we have to have financial stability for our four kids,” she said. Her husband is also an educator.  

The one resource Ledger does get in Yuma is occupational therapy through the state’s early intervention program. He sees his therapist, Michelle Kaiser, once or twice a month, at home or at daycare.

Kaiser has been Ledger’s occupational therapist since he was a few months old. She lives in Logan County and serves Colorado’s eastern region, including Lincoln, Yuma and Washington counties, often driving one to two hours to reach her patients. To meet the growing demand for occupational therapy, she adopted a hybrid model — seeing each patient twice a month, once in person and once virtually, she said. Altogether, she spends 15 to 20 hours on the road each month.

“There's just a few of us interventionists and providers that live out in this area,” Kaiser said. “It is a lot of extra commitment to try to learn about a variety of different needs, whereas in the city, there are providers who only work with children with Down syndrome.
Out in our area, we just have to be so specialized in all the areas, be willing to learn and gain additional training. We feel a lot of pressure to work more hours, longer days.”

Kaiser has observed real progress and growth in Ledger, who recently started walking, which has opened up new opportunities for him to socialize with his peers. Now that he can get to where they are, he's much more engaged. She also works closely with child care providers to help them feel comfortable supporting Ledger, since he’s on thickened liquids due to swallowing challenges and has a colostomy bag that requires special care. 

As Ledger grows, Lubberts is looking for resources like support groups they can join. She initially attended events with the Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Association to connect with the community, but the schedule was tough — the events were either too far away or held during school hours.

“It is so important for us to have him with other people like him. It's just becoming more and more difficult to find avenues to maybe link him with a community that would understand him better,” Lubberts said. 

Ledger will age out of the early intervention program on his third birthday, but he won’t start preschool until the next school year, meaning he’ll have a gap in services from April 2026 until preschool begins that fall, Lubberts said. 

“So we’re just trying to figure that out. We have a lot of people telling us, ‘Oh, but he’s doing so well’ and ‘he’s so smart,’ which is great. And I love that about him, and I think he is those things too,” Lubberts said. “But also, as the mom, I want to set him up for the best possible future.”