Whitney is a dear friend of mine, I still remember the moment she told me that Lawson would be born with Spina Bifida. She was halfway through her pregnancy when they were given the shocking news. After a whirlwind trip to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and Johns Hopkins to meet with the teams of surgeons, they learned that they would not qualify for advanced fetal surgery and were sent home worrying that his condition would become much more severe as the pregnancy continued. 

Lawson Duke Lugo was born on December 30, 2019 and underwent spinal closure surgery the next day.  After a NICU stay and weekly visits to his neurosurgeon, they then learned that he needed immediate intervention to relieve hydrocephalus (pressure on his brain).  At a month old, Lawson then underwent ETV/CPC surgery on January 31, 2020.  Since that time, Lawson has continued to amaze everyone with everything he has accomplished, despite all the challenges he has faced.  The Bell Center has been a wonderful blessing to Lawson and his successful development.  They help focus Lawson and his family on goals that will impact him the rest of his life.  They bring positivity and potential to each therapy session. Lawson’s family feels so blessed to have such a place here in Birmingham and are forever grateful to his entire therapy team that is giving him a solid developmental foundation.

The Bell Center is dedicated to maximizing the potential of children from birth to three years of age who are at risk for developmental delay.The staff of The Bell Center begins the work of maximizing a child's potential as soon as the child is evaluated. This evaluation assesses a child's strengths and weaknesses across five developmental domains: gross motor, fine motor, expressive and receptive language, cognition and emotional/social. From this assessment, each member of the child's transdisciplinary team develops goals in each area specific to that child.The Bell Center follows a transdisciplinary approach to providing early intervention services. This allows all areas of the child's development to be targeted every time they are at The Bell Center. Through this frequent targeting of developmental goals comes success as goals are achieved. As one goal is mastered, the next appropriate goal is is targeted, ensuring that the child is always striving to maximize their potential.