In a live interview with Great Day Houston, Parish School alumni parents Bailey and Simon Haidamous detail how receiving treatment at The Carruth Center and attending The Parish School impacted their son, Robert. They share how acting before their son’s autism diagnosis changed his life.
The segment, which originally aired August 19, 2025 on KHOU, showcased their wine company for giving back to families of children with learning and language disorders.
Watch their segment, or read on for quotes and key moments from the interview.
Bailey’s Early Exposure to Early Intervention
The interview begins with Bailey Haidamous discussing her career before becoming a mother. She described her time working at The Parish School in Houston.
Bailey: “[The Parish School is] a special needs school for children who have language and learning differences, and I was part of their development department. I helped fundraise and plan events. But while I was there, I got to work alongside these amazing professionals; speech pathologists, occupational therapists, reading specialists. I learned so much about language development, learning disabilities, and the importance of early intervention. I got to see firsthand these children’s lives transformed.”
The Cost of Care and Goal to Give Back
Bailey and Simon Haidamous started Row Bear Wine in 2020. The business was inspired by their son, Robert. Every bottle of their wine gives back to help children with learning and language differences access much-needed resources.
Bailey told the audience how access to care often depends on a family’s ability to afford specialized services.
Bailey: “It’s expensive because of all those specialists. We joke that it’s worth every penny, just hard to find the pennies.”
That challenge became part of the mission behind their brand. Drawing on his finance background, Robert’s father Simon Haidamous pivoted his career from oil and gas to CFO of a Sonoma winery, Aperture Cellars. Simon and Bailey decided to combine their passion for wine with a mission to fund early intervention programs for other families. Their project would be named after their son Robert’s phonetic nickname, “row bear.”
Bailey: “We want to be able to give back to the Houston community so they can have access to these Houston resources. We are so lucky to live here. There’s so many resources.”
Recognizing the Early Signs
When Robert began losing developmental skills at 17 months, Bailey’s experience at The Parish School helped her recognize the early signs of autism.
Bailey: “It was like a light switch. He had this huge regression of skills; he wasn’t waving goodbye, he wasn’t making eye contact, he wasn’t responding to his name. I would bang on pots and pans and he wouldn’t look at me. It was just very concerning and very quick.”
Her familiarity with autism and other learning differences drove her to act quickly.
Bailey: “I’m so grateful that I had that experience at The Parish School. Not everyone at Parish has an autism diagnosis; there’s lots of different types of students with dyslexia or different learning differences. However, I did get to know some of the students with autism and their families. I knew some of the warning signs, and I had heard some of the testimonies of the families. So, I knew immediately. I was like, ‘these are early signs of autism, and I need to get active.’”
Acting Before the Diagnosis
The Haidamous’ pursued support immediately, a critical decision given how long the formal diagnostic process can take. According to research published by the National Library of Medicine children and adolescents can wait an average of 525 days to get a diagnosis.
Bailey: “We immediately put him into therapy at The Carruth Center, which is the onsite clinic at The Parish School. He did occupational therapy and speech therapy. He started that at 18 months, but he was not diagnosed on the spectrum until after he was three. It took over a year to get him diagnosed, and it can take longer; it’s a long process and there’s wait lists, the doctor has to see them multiple times. I’m so grateful that we jumped into intervention because we would have wasted a year, especially at the age of two [when] he’s so primed for language acquisition.”
Getting the Diagnosis
Even with her professional background and early action, Bailey talks about the deep emotions of hearing about her child’s official diagnosis.
Bailey: “I knew it was coming. Still, when she said the words, it was just really hard. It was like a gut punch. You start to just question a lot of things. A lot of doubt creeps in and you wonder, ‘is he going to talk? Is it going to have friends? Is he going to be able to go to school and have a job one day?’ It’s overwhelming to say the least, and it can paralyze you.”
Great Day Houston host Deborah Duncan takes a moment to reflect on how autism presents differently in every individual. She emphasizes that a diagnosis does not define a person’s potential, noting accomplished figures like Elon Musk and Bill Gates. Duncan opens up about her own experience with her son’s ADHD diagnosis, offering the advice she was given.
Duncan: “I remember a parent saying to me once: deal with the child you have, not the one you thought you were going to get.”
The Outcome of Robert’s Early Intervention at The Parish School
Bailey describes her son, Robert, as the poster child for early intervention.
Bailey: “Right after the diagnosis, he was accepted to The Parish School in their three-year old class. I knew then, ‘oh, my gosh, we have a shot at this and this is going to be wonderful.’ And it was. He spent a long time at The Parish School, but now he goes to a typical school and he’s doing so well in all the things that we hoped and prayed for. So, we’re just so grateful.”
Today, Robert’s success fuels the Haidamous’ family’s mission to help others access similar life-changing resources. The Parish School is one of several non-profit organizations Row Bear Wine supports.
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The Parish School is a 501(c)(3) independent school. Each year, tax-deductable donations help the school offset the cost to families for high-quality, personalized, therapy-infused education. See everything families receive as part of their experience at The Parish School.
