What our families say

To whom it may concern,

I am Amanda, the blessed mother of George, aged 3 years. George has Trisomy 21. George has a significant speech delay, developmental/intellectual difficulties and requires help in fine/large motor skills, learning to communicate and engaging in play.

There is no intensive therapy provision in our area other than Little Stars. 

George has Perthes which is a hip condition of both his hips where the joints are significantly worn down, impacting his large motor skills. George has decreased grip and pinch strength due to having thick hands with low tone and finds difficulty in fine motor skills.

As George’s mum and advocate I feel it is absolutely vital for George’s wellbeing and future abilities to continue at Little Stars. These early years are so important to establish the foundations of play, communication, engagement along with motor skills. It is important that he learns as much as he can now while his brain is like a sponge, this is crucial in my eyes.

There is only so much we can do at home as I do not have the knowledge, resources, or abundance of time to teach George what he deserves to know and learn. George has 3 older brothers aged 11, 8 and 5. Continuing Little Stars would help set George’s body and mind up on the best possible path, so that he can live his best life. It would not only impact George but would impact our family as a whole because given George’s challenges and difficulties he faces, it affects our family unit as George needs a lot of time and a lot of help.

We just want the very best start for our beautiful George as his future is so bright and so exciting.

Thank you for your time,
Kind regards,
Amanda

I’m Ili. Mother of Inas, aged 2 and 7 months. Inas was diagnosed with Down Syndrome at birth. It has impacted Inas’s development in all areas such as mobility, play, social engagement, communication and self-care activities.

We do get some support from the hospital for physiotherapist sessions once a month, just a call follow-up once from a speech therapist, and seldom visit from a teacher aid to daycare. But apart from all that, I still do think it’s still not enough for Inas.

After getting some early intervention support from Little Stars as we go there once a week, I can see lots of improvement in Inas’s development and communication skills. She has learnt sign language and uses it in her daily life, making it easier for us to understand what she wants and does not want.

Inas now can understand instructions better as therapist in Little Stars teach us parents’ which word to focus on. She does a lot of walking, and we are very happy that now she is more confident and better on a swing after lots of motivation and multiple tries on it every week at the centre.

Thus, I think help and support from Little Stars is essential for us especially, Inas as we can see her improvement every single week.

Narelle, mum of Hugo aged 4 years.

Hugo has a genetic diagnosis of Sartos Syndrome. He has a mild developmental delay and severe to profound hearing loss. Hugo has extreme auditory processing difficulties which had never been picked up by the DHB therapists. He has significant developmental and intellectual difficulties and needs help to engage in play, communication, understanding and organisation.

There are no intense therapy provisions in our area other than Little Stars. Since he was born, he has seen a physio and OT from the DHB. The physio saw him 3three times (twice at kindy). They offered a week-long programme, however, due to family circumstances he was unable to attend. The OT had five home visits and then wrote a report with advice and guidance in preparation for school.

At Little Stars I feel there is a holistic view to Hugo’s learning approach. This includes physio, OT, Speech-Language, and they have picked up on his significant auditory processing delay. I feel Hugo is gaining a much better holistic approach to his learning. If he wasn’t at Little Stars there would be no therapy provided by the DHB. He only has 30 minutes of paid private speech therapy.

“The Little Stars team are providing an exceptionally supportive environment for Octavia’s activities and therapy, Heather and her team are knowledgeable and very patient with Octavia. They know just how much to “push” her to help her move and learn new things. In just a short time we are seeing clear improvements in Octavia’s strength, coordination and confidences because of Little Stars consistent and thoughtful approach with Octavia. Heather and the team listen to us and take note of our observations and experiences of Octavia and provide appropriate sessions for Octavia. We love the caring, supportive and collaborative approach Little Stars have towards Octavia and us. It has made a huge difference to Octavia’s immediate and long term goals. We as a family finally feel that we have support and people who understand “on our side”.

“I have been coming to Little Stars since February 2024 because I needed more hands-on support. I am not an expert and have only learnt by seeing what the therapist at Little Stars does, me trying it with her helping me, then practising at home. Also, because I come every week, I feel supported and motivated to keep trying to help our wee boy. Due to some specific funding, since October 2025 our little boy has been able to join group sessions 3 days a week as well as having individual times on the other 2 days. His progress is so amazing.

Elisabeth, Mum of Mia, age 3 year. Mia has significant cognitive and physical delays due to a genetic condition. Since finding Little Stars, Mia has been able to access both a Physiotherapist and an Occupational Therapist weekly. They are also aiding us with Speech Language Therapy that we have had no luck sourcing via the DHB. Due to Little Stars involvement, Mia has been able to master walking, however she still has a long way to go towards tackling stairs, uneven ground or running. Thanks to Little Stars, Mia has been able to take steps towards joining her peers for play, she has learnt to spin from watching the other children at daycare. I would credit this directly to the Little Stars team teaching her to watch, concentrate, and copy. Mia still has no communication via sign or verbal. We will be counting on Little Stars to help us navigate supporting this journey for Mia. Little Stars are the only place that we have found that saw Mia as a person and for her potential, not just a number on a case load.

To whom it may concern, My name is Wendy Gruber and my daughter is Charlize Gruber who has Rett Syndrome. This is a very debilitating syndrome. Charlize was seen by the DHB child development unit since she was a baby having fortnightly physical manipulative sessions to help her body. Once she turned five years old the service was no longer available and it was then passed onto the school. Charlize has significant developmental/disabilities and needs help to learn to engage in play and communicate!

There is NO intensive physical therapy provision in our area other than Little Stars. Thank goodness, with the help of the amazing facility ‘Little Stars’ we have seen ways that help my daughter move in lots of different ways using music, art, communication and creative play.

This is such a valuable place for my daughter to help with her well-being and movement needs.

Wendy Gruber

Rastem, dad of Leon, aged 2 years. Leon was born at 25 weeks and 4 days gestation. He had several medical conditions like Grade 4 brain bleed, pulmonary hypertension, liver lesions, and a high risk for cerebral palsy. There is NO intensive therapy provision in our area other than Little Stars. Since he was transferred here in Palmy, he saw a therapist from the DHB once a month. Little Stars have provided regular therapy for our son and has made a big difference with our son’s physical movement, speech and play engagement.