In a moving post written by her mother, Dayna, it's revealed how Freya - who was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome three years ago, has flourished since the addition of cats to the family home.
Welcoming a Norwegian Forest Cat, Tasha, into their lives helped Freya develop confidence, and embrace simple, everyday tasks that before would be a struggle.
'If you want Freya to be interested in something, slap a cat sticker on it, or make the subject about cats; this will overcome her distrust of the unfamiliar, and when she's comfortable, then she'll do an activity,' writes Dayna.
'We have cat stickers plastered on school books, writing implements and eating utensils, used as rewards, and on earmuffs and orthoic leg braces.'
Dayna describes that Tasha is a teaching tool, and is especially useful at bath time.
'The cat gets her coat brushed, Freya gets her hair brushed. The cat takes a bath, Freya has a bath each night.'
And amazingly, because cats lash out if something annoys them, Freya is able to understand and learn what not to do again - something she finds difficult to determine from human expressions.
Married mother of one Dayna, who is part of a family of self confessed 'cat-fanciers,' said her daughter's love of felines also helped her cope with the earthquake that hit their hometown of Wellington, New Zealand, in 2013.
We always knew there were benefits to being a cat person...