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A Mother’s Touch, Inspire Horizons Academy: Safe Spaces for autistic children, their needs
- Details
- Tuesday, 29 July 2025
- Written by Dr. Shanessa Fenner
Dr. Brook Fletcher is a mother, educator, introvert and achiever whose innate belief is that if we try our best, we will accomplish whatever our heart is set out to do.
“A Mother’s Touch was born out of the fact that I have a special needs daughter,” said Brook Fletcher, owner and founder of A Mother’s Touch Early Education and Childcare Service, LLC and Inspire Horizons Academy. “She is 22 years old and is profoundly autistic.”
She added, “My daughter is probably one of the worst cases that I have seen and encountered in my entire career."
Fletcher had her daughter at the tender age of 19. Her intuition kicked in the moment she realized that her daughter’s behaviors were out of the norm. “Back in 2003, we could tell that something was wrong and a little different,” said Fletcher. “Autism was not as known then, and since she had been struggling since birth, they pretty much thought it was some type of genetic issue. They ruled out everything before they settled on the fact that it was autism.”
The signs that her daughter exhibited were being nonverbal, a screamer and banging her head.
“She looked as normal as could be, but her behavior did not match,” said Fletcher. “You would hear parents talk about milestones their child would make, but my child had no kind of progressions or milestones.”
Fletcher stated, “I had severe preeclampsia for a month and a half before her due date and she was 2 pounds when she was born. She was a screamer, had a voice on her, and the NICU staff called her little Whitney because of the way she would scream. That was the first sign that something was not right.”
“Dr. Sharon Cooper is the one who finally diagnosed her with autism,” said Fletcher. “She did all kinds of tests, and I remember her saying that she is a girl and it is not possible for her to be this profoundly disabled."
She added, “Then finally one day Dr. Cooper stated, ‘This is who your child is and just be prepared because this is who she is going to be the rest of her life.’”
One of the major challenges that Fletcher faced was finding stable childcare for her daughter.
“I couldn’t find childcare for her and she kept getting kicked out of everywhere,” said Fletcher. “Fort Bragg asked me if I was interested in doing childcare, and they would pay me to stay home with her, so that is how A Mother’s Touch was born.”
She added, “I could not find childcare that could meet her needs, and I wanted that mother’s touch in early education.”
Fletcher had a profound vision for A Mother’s Touch.
“I wanted it to be a safe space for every child no matter what their cognitive disabilities are,” said Fletcher. “I have worked in corporate daycare for many years, and one of the biggest things that I realized is that parents drop their kids off and they are done with their kid until they pick them up.”
Fletcher added, "It is very different from the elementary, middle or high school level where parents are more involved.”
Fletcher has worked on Fort Bragg as a family childcare provider. In 2017, she became assistant director of
The Sunshine House.
“During this time, I found out how much I truly loved doing this and I decided to go back to school,” said Fletcher. “In 2 ½ years, I obtained an associate and bachelor’s degree and then I decided to obtain my Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education.”
Then Fletcher decided that she wanted to be called “doctor.” She went back to college and obtained an Ed. S. degree.
“Inspire Horizons Academy was born out of the fact that there is no place for all of these children with cognitive disabilities to go,” said Fletcher. “A lot of these corporate daycares are hiring who they find on the streets, and this is a high turnover field.”
She added, “We have all these children with cognitive disabilities and there are not enough ABA clinics and there are not enough resources. The original plan was that we wanted to make it a daycare where children with cognitive disabilities could come, and each child would get a one-on-one. The Board would meet monthly to decide who gets in because we want the ones that I know regular daycares cannot handle,” said Fletcher. “These are the students with self-injurious behaviors, completely nonverbal and this is unfortunate.”
“The real work comes with the children like my daughter, who has such specialized needs that she needs to be with people who are kind, compassionate, and understand what the differences are between a neurotypical and neurodivergent child and be willing to work and help them.”
And that is where Inspire Horizons Academy came from.
“I want parents to know that when they come to A Mother’s Touch, we do a lot of give back programs in the community like bookbag drives and the Adopt A Grandparent Program where we visit the Senior Citizens Center and work with the older individuals who live there,” said Fletcher. “Coming to A Mother’s Touch and Inspire Horizons Academy is a holistic approach for the child, and at the end of the day, we are making a difference and taking the time to look out for one another.”
For more information, visit www.amotherstouchllc.net or call 910-339-3553.
