May Reflections: Growth, Renewal, Community, and Grounding in Our Mission

May is a month that invites us to pause, reflect, and renew. It is a month filled with meaning: May Day, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Mental Health Awareness Month, appreciation for caregivers, and time set aside to remember and honor the service members who gave so much for our country. May also reminds us of growth, kindness, community, and new beginnings.

At TLC Behavioral Consulting and Support, May has felt like a month of reflection in many ways. As an organization, we have grown. We have expanded. We have made exciting changes. We have also experienced challenges that required humility, accountability, and a deeper commitment to making thoughtful decisions for the future.

Growth is beautiful, but it is not always easy.

Over the past year, we have experienced changes within our systems, staffing, operations, and services. Some decisions were made with the intention of supporting our company and improving how we serve our families and staff. However, I also recognize that not every decision had the outcome I had hoped for. One of those decisions was transitioning from one system to another during a time when our financial stability and operational foundation were not where they needed to be. That transition impacted our staff, our operations, and, in some ways, our families.

As a leader, that is hard to sit with. I have always wanted to make decisions that make things easier for everyone. I want to support our staff well. I want our families to feel cared for. I want our operations to run smoothly so that the focus can remain where it belongs: on the children and families we serve.

Through this experience, I have made a commitment to look more deeply at future transitions before implementing them. Growth requires vision, but it also requires pacing, planning, and making sure the foundation is strong enough to support the next step. That is a lesson I will carry forward with care.

Even with the challenges, there has also been so much to celebrate.

One of the most exciting areas of growth has been the expansion of our sensory gym. The children love this space. It gives them room for big play, heavy movement, exploration, regulation, and connection. It has become a place where they can move their bodies, engage with others, and learn through experiences that feel meaningful and natural to them.

We have also welcomed Heaven, our first BCBA in the role of Clinical Director. Heaven has already brought so much knowledge, structure, compassion, and organization to our team. I am excited to learn from her, grow with her, and watch the impact she continues to have on staff development, clinical systems, and trust within our organization. Her presence has been a meaningful part of our next chapter.

Another area of growth is our expanding partnership with schools as we work toward becoming a Nonpublic Agency. This step aligns deeply with our mission. We want to support students who may not fit within the traditional mold of a school setting. We want to offer hands-on, naturalistic learning opportunities that help students build meaningful skills in a way that feels grounded, supportive, and individualized.

In many ways, we are going back to our roots.

Our vision is not to create a traditional ABA center where children are assigned to one staff member, taken into a separate room, and asked to practice skills only at a table. Our center is built around naturalistic learning, play, relationship, movement, and real-life opportunities. Our staff work together. They support one another. They support each other’s learners. Our children know many of the staff in the center because collaboration is part of our model.

That is something I deeply love about our team.

We have experienced staff turnover, and I will be honest: that is hard. I do not like losing staff. I care about the people who join our organization, and I want to find individuals who truly resonate with our vision, our culture, and our commitment to compassionate care. At the same time, I am grateful for the strong foundation that continues to grow among the staff who are with us now. They show up, collaborate, learn, support one another, and continue building something meaningful.

I also know that growth can sometimes create frustration for families. When families are unhappy, I feel that deeply. I have always wanted to please everyone and make sure every family feels personally cared for. When we started in 2021, we were very small. I knew all of our families personally. I knew all of the children personally. I loved that closeness, and it was a very meaningful part of who I was as a provider and leader.

As TLC has grown, my role has had to grow too.

That has not always been easy. I have had to step back from a role that was very personal to me and move more fully into organizational leadership and community partnership. I have had to trust others to carry pieces of the work that I once held closely myself. I have had to find people who can help preserve the heart of TLC while also building the systems needed for sustainability.

Even though I may not be connected to each family and child in the same daily way I once was, their care, progress, and well-being still mean everything to me. That has not changed. It never will.

As we move through May, I am reflecting on what it means to grow with humility. To honor where we started. To take accountability when something does not go as planned. To celebrate the people who continue to show up. To care for mental health, not only for the children and families we serve, but also for our staff and ourselves. To give back to the community. To build something different, something meaningful, and something our children can truly be excited to learn from.

May reminds us that renewal is possible.

It reminds us that growth does not have to mean losing our roots. It can mean becoming more grounded in them.

At TLC, we are continuing to grow, learn, and evolve. We are not perfect, but we are committed. We are committed to our families. We are committed to our staff. We are committed to our community. Most importantly, we are committed to creating a place where children are supported with compassion, dignity, creativity, and care.

With gratitude, humility, and hope for what is ahead,

Cassandra Wally, M.S., BCBA, LBA

TLC Behavioral Consulting and Support