Ferris describes her six-year-old son Kilian as creative, funny, and determined. He loves Sesame Street, carries a stuffed Elmo wherever he goes, and has a remarkable talent for expressing himself through art.
Long before he could easily communicate his feelings with words, Kilian—who has autism—found another way to communicate: he sculpted little faces out of clay. “The first thing he started doing was sculpting little faces,” Ferris said. “That was his first way of trying to communicate. He would make little faces to let you know how he was feeling.”
Those small clay sculptures gave Ferris a glimpse into her son’s world, taught her something she would carry into every doctor’s appointment, specialist referral, and evaluation: understanding Kilian means meeting him where he is and finding healthcare providers who understood that too. For Ferris and Kilian, that place is Community of Hope.
Ferris’s connection to Community of Hope began before Kilian was born.
Pregnant and uninsurance for the first time in her life, Ferris researched her options carefully, reading reviews before deciding where to go. “What stood out to me was that it was people from all different backgrounds saying they felt taken care of and didn’t feel judged,” she said. That alone convinced her to make an appointment at one of our health centers.
Community of Hope helped Ferris obtain health insurance and supported her throughout her pregnancy. Ferris also joined our CenteringPregnancy® program, where expectant mothers could learn together, ask questions, and support one another as they prepared for parenthood.
Kilian was born just before the COVID-19 pandemic, when many evaluations and services were delayed but Community of Hope connected them with specialists and referrals.
“They were really good about getting us referrals and trying to get the evaluations done,” she said.
As Kilian’s autism diagnosis became clearer, Ferris learned alongside him. She discovered that he learns language differently, communicates in his own way, and sees the world through a unique lens.
Doctors’ offices, dentists, and emergency rooms were some of Kilian’s biggest triggers, often bringing anxiety and sensory overload.
What Ferris loved most was how staff responded. “I would apologize for his behavior, and everybody would say, ‘Mom, you don’t have to apologize. Everybody understands.'” Over the years, Kilian’s care team got to know him—not just as a patient, but as a person. “We went through five years of him fighting about going to the doctor, and now he’ll say, ‘I need to go to the doctor.'”
That’s a change Ferris doesn’t take for granted. It’s important that her son now feels comfortable enough to ask for help when he needs it. That trust is one reason she never considered leaving Community of Hope! Whether he’s building faces with clay, drawing what he sees from a window, or walking into a doctor’s office with more confidence than he once had, Kilian continues to do things his own way.
And after six years of care, encouragement, and patience, Ferris knows she doesn’t have to navigate that journey alone. Today, one of her proudest milestones is hearing her son advocate for himself in ways he once couldn’t.
