Shirley’s World

7/24/2025

Bluffton Regional Medical Center Highlights Local Girl’s Breakthrough From Silence to Celebration

“Hi Mom, how are you?” is a phrase Kristen McClure never thought she’d hear from her daughter Shirley’s mouth.

“I was making dinner when she walked in and said that, we just looked at each other, shocked,” said McClure.

For years, Shirley was non-verbal, born with a chromosomal abnormality along with a slew of other diagnoses, including speech delay, developmental delay and sensory integration disorder.

“When she was a baby, one of the things I noticed was that she rarely smiled. She didn’t interact with anyone very much,” added McClure

Her family, dedicated and determined, sought help from numerous avenues which led to Shirley starting speech therapy when she was very young, but progress was slow-moving.

“She would have made up words and nobody else could understand her outside of us, think about the speech level of a one-year-old, that’s where she was at five,” said Kristin McClure.

“There were times though I couldn’t understand her, and I would struggle and get frustrated, and then I’d feel guilty for feeling frustrated because I couldn’t tell at times what she wanted.”

Years later, the McClure’s landed a spot with the team at Bluffton Regional Medical Center. The speech, physical and occupational therapy staff developed a highly individualized plan that included physical therapy for motor planning and strengthening, occupational therapy for visual-motor integration and sensory/emotional regulation, and speech therapy for language comprehension, expression, and social awareness all while creating a supportive and encouraging environment. And with all that, Shirley’s world came alive.

"She has a lot of character to her, she is very vibrant,” said Catherine Dunn, speech therapist at Bluffton Regional Medical Center. “She loves her ‘pretend play’ and that's something we’ve been working a lot on by using her pretend play to elicit more functional communication skills.” These elements are what Dunn continues to work on with Shirley as she communicates to her peers and expresses her wants and needs."

“There’s only one Shirley and there’s only one Shirley world,” said Chris McClure, Shirley’s father. “You can walk into her room and she'll have three or four different things all going on at the same time. She’ll have a baby in one corner eating dinner and a giraffe in another wrestling a gorilla, all while she’s pretending to be a teacher.”

Through intensive speech and outpatient therapy at Bluffton Regional Medical Center, Shirley not only found her voice but is now breaking down her vocal barriers and captivating everyone she meets.

“They try to get their goals to match our goals and our family dynamic and how they can all work together,” Chris McClure stated. “It’s very family oriented, you get to learn a little bit about each person and what’s going on with their kids.”

Shirley’s story is a powerful reminder of the incredible potential in every child and the transformative impact of dedicated care.

“Watching her push herself to achieve these things gives us a sense of pride. Don’t take ‘no’ for an answer, get the help you need,” said Chris McClure.

Bluffton Regional Medical Center remains dedicated to supporting children like Shirley and their families with a wide range of pediatric rehabilitation services including physical, occupational and speech therapy for infants to teenagers. For more information on the service: https://www.blufftonregional.com/pediatric-rehabilitation.

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