Judika and Jarell Kindred described on the Easterseals Joliet telethon how their 8-year-old son, Justice Kindred, has progressed after receiving feeding therapy and speech therapy from Easterseals Joliet.

"He's 8 years old," Judika Kindred said on air, describing the services Justice receives. "With his feeding, Rachel does a great job of kinda introducing food, not in a, like, a parental way... letting him touch it and get a little play feel for it or even just bringing it up to his mouth. He's working on letting it be that close to his face."

Jarell Kindred said the therapy has helped Justice move beyond only touching foods: "Before he started the speech therapy, he would just touch foods, not even given a chance to eat. But after, speech therapy, he's at least grabbing the foods. He'll put his tongue on it. He'll try it a little bit, even if he don't like it."

Judika Kindred also highlighted speech gains: "...him using his talking device to just tell people his emotions. So like, he'll just say, 'I love you' or 'I'm so happy.'" The parents said those moments — trying new textures and expressing emotions independently — were among the most memorable outcomes from the program.

On the telethon, the parents encouraged listeners to support Easterseals. "All of the donations really help, like, families get services," Judika said. "...go from your heart, and look at your own children... and just see how you can make a difference in other kids' lives." Jarell Kindred added, "Donate because it's special... everything helps."