Not Too Rare To Care ยท A campaign for Chatter Academy
Chatter Academy helps children with rare conditions communicate, connect, and be understood. Every gift helps fund the tools, teaching, and care that make those moments possible.
Chatter Academy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving children and families in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. All gifts are tax-deductible.
Life-changing moments
Help another child say what they feel.
Donate NowThe need
The worst part is not knowing. Is my child hungry? Tired? Hurting? Do they need to go to the bathroom? Are they scared? Do they want to be held, left alone, moved, helped, comforted?
When a child can't speak, parents and caregivers spend their days guessing. They learn every sound, every look, every movement. They become experts in tiny signals because they have to.
But inside that silence is a child with something to say.
A rare condition should never mean rare care.
These children have preferences, opinions, fears, needs, humor, intelligence, and love. Chatter Academy gives them the tools, teaching, and support to share who they are.
Student stories
Every child has a different story, a different way of communicating, and something important to say.
Meet James
A rare chromosome abnormality made communication harder. Now words like "go" and "more" are opening new doors for James.
"He has consistently used phrases like 'finished,' 'more water,' 'sleep,' and 'go.' Simple words, but to James and our family, this is a huge step."
Meet Nicholas
Born with TAR Syndrome and told to "wait and see." Nicholas is showing the world what was there all along.
"I will never forget the first time he used his AAC device to declare that he needed chicken nuggets. Within minutes, we were rushing to the car for an unplanned trip to Chick-fil-A."
Meet Perri
Rett syndrome took Perri's first words. Chatter helped her find new ones.
"She tells jokes now. She'll fire one off, then smirk at us, waiting for the laugh."
Meet Preston
KCNK9 Imprinting Syndrome made words hard to access. Now Preston's personality is coming through loud and clear.
"He started sharing observations that made us laugh and expressing preferences we'd only guessed at."
Meet Breslin
An extremely rare genetic condition. Her family calls her their unicorn.
"She never stops asking anyone she sees for money. All so she can go shopping with her mom or take her dad out to dinner."
Meet Tre
Down Syndrome and a long medical journey. Every milestone hard-won.
"I remember them saying he's perfect. And we thought, yes he is."
Help write the next story.
Donate NowGive today
Gifts support the full work of Chatter Academy. These examples show the kinds of tools, care, and access your donation helps make possible.
Can help provide classroom visuals and daily communication supports.
Can help fund therapy tools and adaptive classroom supplies.
Can help expand AAC access, equipment, and specialized learning materials.
Can help open a classroom seat for a child whose family needs support.
Helps sustain the staff, tools, and care children rely on every day.
Gifts are processed securely through Zeffy. You can make a one-time gift or become a monthly member. Chatter Academy is a 501(c)(3); your gift is tax-deductible.
Your donation provides:
Inside Chatter Academy
From the families
"Chatterbox did not just provide therapy. They believed in Nicholas."
Nicholas's family
"The personality we'd always known was there began peeking out in words."
Preston's family
"After two schools asked Perri to leave, we didn't think we'd find another one. Now we can't imagine her anywhere else."
Perri's family
Fundraising event
Spend the morning at Topgolf in The Colony to support Chatter Academy. Every ticket and sponsorship helps provide communication tools, classroom support, and care for Chatter Academy students.
Bring family, friends, and colleagues for a morning of golf and giving back.
Silent auction
Our silent auction runs June 6 through June 27 on 32auctions. Every bid goes directly to Chatter Academy, whether or not you can make it to the event in person.
About Chatter Academy
Chatter Academy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Dallas-Fort Worth, part of Chatterbox Therapy. We exist for children with rare conditions and complex communication needs, children whose needs most schools are not designed to meet. Our classrooms run on individualized care, integrated AAC support, low student-to-teacher ratios, and the belief that every child has something to say.
Augmentative and Alternative Communication support.
Support for feeding needs, picky eating, and dysphagia.
Learning support, Literacy for All concepts, and dyslexia support.
Practical tools that help communication continue beyond school.
Give today
A rare condition can make a child's needs harder to understand. It should never make them easier to overlook.
When you give to Not Too Rare To Care, you help Chatter Academy create more moments of connection for children who are finding new ways to share their voice. You help a child make a choice. You help a parent understand. You help a teacher reach them.
Help more kids like this.
Donate NowJames was diagnosed at six months of age with a rare chromosome abnormality that causes him to work extra hard at things that come so naturally to others. Despite the setbacks, James is such a happy boy who radiates joy and has a laugh that is sure to make you smile!
For the first several years of his life, James was missing out on social experiences because a traditional school or mother's day out program wasn't available to him. It was so important to us for him to be around peers that could model typical everyday experiences for him. We were thrilled to have found an inclusive program that welcomed both children with disabilities and typically developing children. James's needs proved to be more than what the program could support, so we went back to the drawing board to find an alternative for James. We toured every program that could potentially be a good fit for him. The door opened for James to attend Chatter Academy and we haven't looked back.
His time at Chatter Academy has changed the trajectory for him in regards to communication. Since he is non-verbal, communication has been an area that has been difficult for us as he was getting very frustrated because he could not effectively tell us what he was wanting or needing. At Chatter Academy, his teachers are modeling throughout the day how to communicate on his AAC device and he is really getting the hang of it! He has consistently and accurately used phrases like "finished", "more water", "need", "sleep" or "cozy", and "go". These are simple words and phrases, but to James and our family, this is a huge step in the right direction in his ability to communicate his needs and wants with those in the community around him. Not only is the Academy helping him learn how to navigate the AAC device, but they are helping James show everyone just how smart he is. He is constantly meeting the goals that they have set for him socially, in play, and in communication. He loves shapes, counting, and numbers and Chatter Academy has tailored their curriculum to reach children like James in a way that hasn't been done before.
We are comforted knowing he is in an environment where he is loved and valued. His teachers are meeting him where he is and encourage him to learn and grow in a way that is best suited for him. Chatter Academy has been life changing for James and our family and we are forever grateful for the opportunity to send him there.
I still remember the moment I heard the words: your son has no arms. In that instant, it felt like the floor disappeared beneath me. As a parent, nothing prepares you for news like that.
Nicholas was born with TAR Syndrome (Thrombocytopenia Absent Radius Syndrome), a rare condition that means he was born without the radial bone in his arms and with dangerously low platelets. What no one prepares you for is not just the diagnosis. It is the loneliness that can follow. We quickly realized that even many medical professionals did not fully understand how to help families like ours not just survive, but truly live. Disability became part of our daily life, but support often sounded like, "Just wait and see."
When Nicholas began showing delays in speech, we were told again and again to give it time. But as parents, we knew there was more inside him. There were more thoughts, more personality, and more words trying to find their way out. Chatterbox changed everything. For the first time, someone did not tell us to wait. They told us, "Let's act. Let's create opportunities. Let's help him communicate." His first AAC device changed everything. It gave Nicholas a voice. Suddenly, all the things trapped inside his mind had a way out. He could tell us what he wanted, what he needed, and what he was thinking on his terms.
I will never forget the first time he used it to declare that he needed chicken nuggets. Within minutes, we were rushing to the car for a completely unplanned trip to Chick-fil-A. It may sound like a small moment to others, but for us, it was everything. It was independence. It was personality. It was a connection. It was proof. Proof that he was in there all along, waiting for the world to meet him where he was.
Chatterbox did not just provide therapy. They believed in Nicholas. They poured time, patience, love, and relentless encouragement into him. They saw his potential before many others did. They validated who he was instead of focusing on what he lacked. Nicholas has gone from limited communication, to several-word AAC sentences and now to verbal speech. Today, he is still growing. His journey is not finished. He is working toward stronger conversational speech, greater independence, and even more opportunities.
This is why places like Chatterbox matter. Because every child deserves someone who sees possibility instead of limitation. Every family deserves someone who says, "We believe in your child." And every Nicholas deserves the chance to be heard.
Perri is four and a half years old. She loves going out to eat, big crowds, football games, Llama Llama, and sleepovers at Grandma and Grandpa's. She has been, since the day she was born, a kid full of opinions.
She also has Rett syndrome, a rare condition that affects her ability to walk, talk, use her hands, and sleep. What most people don't know about Rett is that it works backwards. Children develop typically at first, then regress. By the time Perri was two, she had lost the small handful of words she had learned, and we spent the next eighteen months watching a brilliant little girl get more and more frustrated because she had so much to say and no way to say it. She got asked to leave two daycares. The frustration looked like anger because that's all it had to look like.
Then came Chatter Academy. With her AAC device, Perri can tell us things again: "I need to lay down," "I'm hungry," "what are we doing next?" She tells jokes now. She'll fire one off, then smirk at us, waiting for the laugh she knows is coming. The personality we always knew was in there finally has a way out. Every day, she gets to be a little more of herself.
Preston has KCNK9 Imprinting Syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder. Though he is completely nonverbal, Preston has an incredible personality that radiates from him in everything he does. Anyone who spends time with Preston knows this; but helping the world see what we see has been our ongoing journey.
We've always known the depth of Preston's thoughts, his sense of humor, and the unique way he experiences the world. The challenge has never been about Preston lacking anything; it's been about finding ways to help others understand who he truly is. For years, we communicated through looks, gestures, and the countless small moments that parents learn to read. But we knew there was so much more Preston wanted to share.
With support from Chatter Academy, Preston began using an AAC device to express himself. The personality we'd always known was there began peeking out in words. Preston started sharing observations that made us laugh, expressing preferences we'd only guessed at, and connecting with people in ways that felt completely, authentically him.
We're constantly amazed by what he says; not because we're surprised he has these thoughts, but because we finally get to hear them. It's added a new dimension to his personality that we always knew existed but that others have struggled to see and understand.
Preston has made real progress at school with his device, and we're so proud of how far he's come. Our next goal is to help him communicate outside of school; with family, friends, and in the community. We want the world to know Preston the way we do: funny, thoughtful, and full of things to say.
KCNK9 Imprinting Syndrome may be rare, but Preston's spirit isn't. Every day, he reminds us that communication comes in many forms, and that every person deserves to be truly heard.
Every parent wishes for a one-of-a-kind child, and while all children are unique, a truly one-of-a-kind child comes with challenges no parent could expect. Breslin is just that. Her genetic abnormality is extremely rare. She really is our unicorn. Breslin is non-verbal, non-ambulatory, uses cochlear implants to help with her hearing deficiency, feeds through a G-tube, and fights epilepsy throughout the day, among other obstacles.
Finding help for a unicorn is truly as tough as it sounds. Her first pre-school realized early on that they weren't able to give Breslin the level of care she needed. Her local school didn't feel their special education classes could meet her where she was. Her next school had her until her successful cochlear implant surgery at four, where she could finally hear, but couldn't physically move her arms to sign and participate in the school's program.
In the meantime, Chatterbox therapy was beginning to make inroads. The specialists connected with Breslin in ways that no one else did, and she began to show interest in learning and started to use her AAC device to communicate.
The opportunity to join Chatterbox Academy for full-time schooling was the best thing to happen to Breslin and the best decision we have ever made as her parents. Since joining, she has developed an incredible mastery of her device. She engages with her teachers throughout the day, whether to communicate critical words, solve math problems, or even write her own jokes. More than anything, through the work at Chatterbox, we have begun to see Breslin's beautiful, intelligent, and yes, sassy (she is, after all, an 11-year-old girl) personality emerge. She voices her opinions fearlessly, jokes with her classmates, and never stops asking anyone she sees to give her money, all so she can go shopping with her mom or take her dad to a restaurant. All of this happened because the Chatterbox teachers truly see Breslin and connect with her genuinely, earning her trust and her effort every day. To say Chatterbox Academy makes a difference is an understatement. They change lives.
The day Tre was born was the day we learned he had Down Syndrome. Soon after, we discovered he also had a hole in his heart that required surgery. At just 3 months old, Tre underwent his first surgery, and though we didn't know it then, it would be only the beginning of a long medical journey. Shortly after his first birthday, another surgery and a sleep study, we learned that Tre had severe sleep apnea, and because of the structure of his airway, he would need a tracheostomy. Making that decision at only 15 months old was heartbreaking. We knew it would change his life, but we could never have imagined just how much. After complications and a medically induced coma, Tre finally became strong enough to wake up, but he had to relearn everything. Every milestone had to be fought for all over again.
Because of Tre's Down Syndrome diagnosis and the medical trauma he has endured, he is extremely sensory sensitive. He processes the world differently and needs extraordinary patience, understanding, and individualized support. Before Chatterbox Academy, Tre attended another school, but they were unable to handle the complexities and uniqueness of a person like Tre. Finding Chatterbox Academy changed everything for our family. From the very beginning, they saw Tre not as a challenge, but as a child full of potential. I remember them saying he's perfect, and we thought, yes he is.
Chatterbox Academy has been life-changing for Tre. Their staff took the time to truly learn who he is and create an environment where he could feel safe, supported, and capable. They developed a learning experience that not only accommodates his unique medical and sensory needs, but also pushes him to grow, communicate, and thrive. Because of Chatterbox's patience, kindness, and unwavering belief in him, Tre has made incredible progress.
Most importantly, Chatterbox helped Tre find his voice. Tre now communicates through speech, basic ASL, and his AAC device because the staff believed he could. They gave him the confidence, support, and tools to express his wants, needs, and feelings, which have improved his ability to navigate frustration and sensory overload. They have also embraced his feeding challenges and welcomed the high level of medical care he requires, including allowing his nurse to accompany him throughout the school day.
There truly is no place like Chatterbox Academy. They have created a space where children like Tre are not only accepted but celebrated. Their compassion, expertise, and commitment have given our son opportunities, growth, and joy that we once feared might never be possible. We are endlessly grateful for the love, patience, and extraordinary care they have given Tre.