Collins is 12 years old and a black belt in karate, 7th grade cheerleader, and on a competitive cheer team. Collins was 2.3 years old when she was diagnosed with a Submucosal Cleft Palate. At 2.5 years old she had her cleft repair surgery. She started speech therapy at 18 months old and after the surgery her speech was not progressing. We continued searching for answers through four Cleft and Craniofacial Teams in three states. Finally, we were asked if our daughter had been tested for 22q. We were never seen by genetics with the first two Cleft and Craniofacial Teams and did not know to request.

At 4.9 years old she was diagnosed with 22q.11 Deletion Syndrome by a blood test. Collins has been diagnosed with multiple medical conditions but is resilient and strong. She is a patient at the 22q Center at the ACPA Approved Team at Nationwide Children’s Hospital which has helped her thrive! She has been in speech therapy since she was 18 months old, and her speech continues to improve. We are so thankful for our team of doctors for helping our daughter. ACPA’s educational resources and reading other’s stories have been helpful as well.

-Shannon