Katy Custer
Katy Custer has been married to her husband, Rob, since 2001 and is the proud mother of two children, Isabelle and Joel. At her core, Katy is a devoted mother with a deep love for family, a passion for youth, and a calling to help others find strength, support, and identity through their relationship with God.
She serves as a Youth Pastor at Awakening Church and is ordained through Christian International (CI), where she specializes in counseling and guiding parent–youth relationships, with a particular heart for those who feel misunderstood, overlooked, or unseen.
That passion is deeply personal—because Katy has lived it.
At just seven years old, her daughter Isabelle began experiencing severe and unexplainable mental, emotional, and physical challenges. What appeared to be anxiety and panic escalated into a complete breakdown across all areas of functioning. With no clear answers and many misinterpretations, Isabelle was often placed into categories that did not reflect what was truly happening in her body.
After persistent searching and advocating, Katy found a breakthrough: Isabelle was diagnosed with PANDAS—a condition in which the body, triggered by strep, attacks the brain.
“I thank God for the doctor who chose to look deeper—who allowed for testing and treatment that addressed the root cause instead of masking the symptoms. My daughter was misunderstood by medical professionals and placed in the ‘unexplained’ category.”
— Katy Custer
At the same time, Katy’s son Joel was navigating his own challenges—later understood as hidden apraxia alongside a diagnosis of PANS. Like his sister, he experienced being misunderstood and, at times, mislabeled due to symptoms that did not clearly fit traditional frameworks.
With two children facing different but overlapping neurological and motor-based challenges, Katy developed a deep, intuitive understanding of what it means to advocate for a child whose body does not consistently reflect their true capabilities. This perspective made it impossible to ignore the quiet reality many families face—and uniquely positioned her to recognize and respond to the needs of others.
So when a close friend, Melodie Reboira, shared the story of her nonspeaking son, Angelo, Katy immediately recognized a familiar pattern: individuals being misunderstood not because of a lack of intelligence, but because of a disconnect between the brain and the body.
This realization became the turning point.
Katy combined over 20 years of personal and professional experience with advanced education and training in motor-based communication. She became a certified practitioner in Spelling to Communicate (S2C), completing a rigorous two-year certification through the International Association for Spelling as Communication (I-ASC), along with hands-on internship training at Growing Kids Therapy Center in Herndon, Virginia. She has continued her education through advanced case studies and hands-on training focused on coaching motor regulation and supporting overstimulated bodies to achieve greater consistency and success.
Driven by a passion to create real solutions, Katy co-founded MoDev8—bringing the methodology she had implemented and seen results with for years to life: Tuned Motor Development, a sequencing-based system designed to strengthen the connection between intention and execution for individuals with motor and communication challenges. She is also the author of the Movement Speaks book series and the creator of Tuned Motor Development methodologies.
Her work focuses on unlocking communication, reducing injury, and accessing foundational muscle engagement to develop motor skills. Her specialties include helping individuals who are nonspeaking, minimally speaking, or unreliably speaking gain access to expression, education, and independence through the use of communication modalities. She is actively involved in individual session work, providing hands-on coaching, and mentoring families through the process.
Katy’s approach is rooted in faith, belief, and action. She has dedicated her life to advocating for those who are often underestimated—bringing together innovation, biomedical awareness, and motor-based methodologies to support each individual’s unique needs.
In addition to her clinical and coaching work, Katy is CPR and First Aid certified, serves as a registered provider with the State of Ohio, and holds credentials as a Director of Operations (DOO) and Independent Provider through the Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD).
She is also committed to expanding access and support for families through the Motor Development Foundation, where she serves as Executive Director. This nonprofit organization strives to reduce financial barriers and increase opportunities for those seeking communication and motor-based services.
Katy continues to share her message through speaking, community building, and creative outreach—serving as a voice for those who cannot yet reliably express their own.
“It is our goal to remove as many barriers as possible for nonspeakers and individuals with limited speech to receive support. We stand on faith as we pursue funds, friends, and freedom for these individuals.”
— Katy Custer
