I’m Thankful For You: The Co-Founder of Agapi

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(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Morgan Ayala and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.)

This December I would like to honor and thank Nina, the co-founder of Agapi Behavioral Consultants. Agapi was established in 2015 and their primary clinic is located in Greenville, South Carolina. Their mission is to provide a fun and educational centered environment for children with developmental delays. While also providing an environment which motivates and rewards their team of therapists.

I have two boys, both with ASD. Dominic is five and Ryder is two. Nina and the Agapi team have made a huge difference in both of their lives.

Dominic  was diagnosed with ASD level 2 in 2014 after his 2nd birthday. He has improved immensely in areas of eating, appropriate play, and most negative behaviors including bolting since starting with Nina’s company in 2015. He’s had many other therapists too but because of her company, her team, her help and her guidance we’ve gotten this far with him. He enjoys playing with his friends at school and at the clinic, sometimes playing with his younger brother, Pokémon, going to some of his favorite spots for lunch, playing his kindle and hanging out with me or his dad.

Nina is responsible for overseeing the team that works with him and she’s also responsible for putting his (now, lead) ABA therapist with him, Hannah. Hannah has also been a big part of our lives. She’s Dominic’s favorite person ever. Dominic is a verbal and visual stimmer.

Ryder is two and was diagnosed with ASD in January 2017, before he was 18 Months. Ryder is a bit more of an enigma than his brother and in some ways more rigid and unpredictable. Food is his main motivator, haha. Ryder has a number of sensory issues, mostly tactile and behavioral issues but each day is very different from the next so it’s harder to figure things out with him than it was/is for Dominic. Ryder’s lead therapist is Meredith (also from the same company) and because of her and the rest of our team, Ryder has started speaking in nearly complete sentences.

Ryder’s favorite person is, lately, me. For the first 20-22 months of his life, I was his least favorite person. So yes, I’m soaking it up. Ryder REALLY loves trains (Thomas is a big hit in our house), Mickey and Wallykazam. Ryder is a visual stimmer.

Nina has been a huge part of our life since Dominic started attending Agapi shortly after his diagnosis. She has always provided an ear, an arm or a voice when needed for my boys, for myself and for our family. Nina has multiple clinics throughout the state of South Carolina and works tirelessly to teach and provide the best care and help possible to families with kids who are on the spectrum all while maintaining her own personal life and family. Her son was Dominic’s very first friend EVER and for that I will be forever thankful.

Nina attends all of Dominic’s IEP meetings and is sure to include my boys in almost everything. She makes sure everyone is happy and if they aren’t for whatever reason she always does her best to remedy whatever situation may be at hand. I know with her in my corner and in my boys’ corners, they will always be taken care of. Thank you, Nina.

My husband and Dominic are also both missing the same gene and it’s apparently associated with being diagnosed with Autism. I was diagnosed with ASD last fall and have since embraced it and it has actually helped me quite a bit with figuring things out in my life. I can often predict how something will affect my boys based off how it affects me.

We run on tight schedules in this house. Very tight. Timers, visual aids, repetition, rules, boundaries, etc. A lot of people think I’m crazy and that I don’t let them be kids. This just works better for us. There’s always chaos, just less of it. We battle daily. There are meltdowns weekly. It’s all hard. I also run a support group for families with kids who have special needs/disabilities. No one was there to help me when I needed it. That needs to change. We need to help each other.

Learn more about Agapi Behavioral Consultants, Inc.


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Kate Swenson

Kate Swenson lives in Minnesota with her husband Jamie, and four children, Cooper, Sawyer, Harbor and Wynnie. Kate launched Finding Cooper's Voice from her couch while her now 11-year-old son Cooper was being diagnosed with autism. Back then it was a place to write. Today it is a living, thriving community of people who want to not only advocate for autism, but also make the world a better place for individuals with disabilities and their families. Her first book, Forever Boy, will be released, April 5, 2022.

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