Discount store employs people with special needs

Nice to see this is happening even with the downturn in the economy.

From Newsnet5.com:

PARMA, Ohio -- Cost-conscious shopping caused by the recession has allowed a new discount store to provide jobs for people with disabilities. Many of Just-A-Buck's 16 special-needs employees had recently been laid off from mainstream workplaces.

The only nonprofit Just-A-Buck franchise nationwide, the store in the Cleveland suburb Parma supports the training and placement of the disabled in workshops or workplaces. Some shoppers said they like bargains and also like supporting store workers with special needs.

The store opened in April is operated by Solutions at Work Inc., an arm of the Cuyahoga County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. Many of the store's workers had lost jobs from previous SAW placements.

Seattle therapy network

This seems like happy news for Special Families in the South Seattle Area. Wanted to pass it on to you. OX

Welcome to Seattle Therapy Network, a pediatric therapy center created by Sherryl DeVries and Carey Goldenberg. We provide a family-centered and collaborative therapeutic community to address the holistic needs of your family. Our pediatric occupational and physical therapy services are offered in a unique, urban community space designed to elicit child-directed activity and family-centered practice. We are conveniently located in the heart of the Georgetown neighborhood, just a few miles south of downtown Seattle, and are easily accessed from I-405/I-5 interchange, routes 99, and 509. (5021 Colorado Ave. S, Seattle, WA 98134) )

Seattle Therapy Network provides services in a newly designed 2200 square foot space. We offer one large therapy gym with specialized equipment to engage your child in all sensory-based movement. We have installed specialized ceiling hooks to utilize a variety of unique suspended equipment such as lycra hammocks, swings, and trapezes. Additionally, three small therapy spaces provide a quiet and private environment for your child to work and play. These small spaces are perfect for myofascial release, craniosacral work, fine motor and self-help work, or just a smaller environment for a child who needs a less stimulating space.

Seattle Therapy Network assures that your family is treated with respect as your child with special needs is engaged and motivated in fun, functional, and therapeutic activities. We also strive to connect you with community resources and coordinate our care with the other professionals in your child’s life.

We specialize in sensory integration, yoga for for children with special needs, myofascial release and cranialsacral technique, and interventions for children with autism. While focusing primarily on infants, children and adolescents with special needs, Seattle Therapy Network also offers services to adult caregivers to optimize their health and ability to nurture.

Constraint Induced Therapy (CIT) Helper Hands Camp starting July 13-31, 2009 and August 10-28, 2009

Helper Hands Camp is an evidenced-based constraint induced therapy program offering motor therapy for children with limited motor function of one side of their body (hemiplegia). Helper Hands Camp will provide 21 days of intensive training of the arm with limited motor function while the non-affected arm is constrained in a long arm cast. Each child will be evaluated by occupational and physical therapist prior to camp. We are dedicated to measuring outcomes and will reassess with follow-up visits. Helper Hands Camp offers one-on-one Occupational Therapy, one-on-one Physical Therapy and direct therapeutic group activities which include: art; cooking, music/movement; and community based activities. This camp is designed for 2-4 children per session and organized in age groups to include preschool, school-age, and teens.

Sherryl DeVries, MSPT Carey Goldenberg, OTR/L
Re.lax Ther.a.py Giant Steps Children’s Therapy
206.850.7508 206.393.8546

Congress hears accounts of abuse of special needs students

I had no idea this was getting so prevalent. What the hell is happening out there?

What is it about Special Education? Not enough training? Not enough money? Not enough oversight? What!!???

This sort of thing is just gut churning but at least our congress-critters are shining a light under this rock.

From CNN:

A Texas woman tearfully recounted the death of her foster child at the hands of a schoolteacher during a congressional hearing Tuesday looking into the use of seclusion and restraints in U.S. schools.

The House Committee on Education and Labor heard testimony Tuesday on a report looking at school abuse.

The hearing came on the heels of a report issued by the investigating arm of Congress that documents widespread abuse of techniques use to restrain or discipline special-education students.

The Government Accountability Office report was prepared for the House Committee on Education and Labor, which heard testimony from parents, investigators and experts who described traumatizing punishment of special-needs children.

The violent acts -- from hours of isolation in locked rooms or closets to the use of handcuffs and pinning children on the floor -- often led to serious injuries and even death, witnesses said.

Committee Chairman Rep. George Miller, D-California, called the testimony "startling."

Characteristics

The last time we went to Shea's OT appointment, she mentioned that he had done something that no other kid have ever done in the many, many years that she had been working.

She had climbed up onto the platform swing to secure a trapeze bar and Shea said, "Here let me help you with that."

He held the platform swing for her so that it wouldn't move while she was standing on it.

What is that a sign of?

Empathy? Helpfulness? Conscientiousness? Give & take in friendships?

She thought it was pretty wild that he just said and did what he did without even thinking about it.

Interesting.

Good bye, dude!

Childhood friendships are a very fickle thing. Especially if you're special.

Shea told me this morning that a certain kid who he had been friends with told him that he didn't want to play with him anymore.

Hard to know what to say to that.

I guess the good news is that Shea is talking about it. But, ouch.

Then he said another friend, who was a best buddy just weeks ago, didn't want to play with him either.

It's hard to know the context of all this. Or how real any of it is. I am trying not to make a big deal about it. But I did write a little note to the teacher asking her if she thought it was real.

"Oh well. There are other kids to play with, right? Maybe they will want to play another day." I say brightly, all the while cringing and worried.

That seemed to do the trick and he proceeded to tell me about running a race with yet another kid.

It is hard as a parent to watch this from the sidelines. Each cut gets me too.

Maybe I should be proactive with this new friend that he had the race with. We saw him and his mom at the grocery store.

"Hi Shea!" he said.

"Hi dude!" Shea waving excitedly.

"Hey dude!" he giggled back clearly in on the joke.

More giggles.

"Good bye dude!"

I looked at his mother with amusement. "Shall we try and get these two together for a playdate sometime?" I offered.

"I think we should." she said laughing.

I need to follow that up. But, I wonder how hard to push these things. I would never want to force a relationship for my special kid. It seems like a recipe to backfire.

I will wait for a sunny day and invite them to the beach. Something safe and neutral. I guess I owe it to Shea to keep trying.

As the years go on it is going to get harder. I know that. I've cut my teeth with the first kid but this feels different. This brings up the profound vulnerability again. The mommy bear protectiveness. The "what if it was different" pointless wishes.

Does it ever get easier? No. Probably not.

Connections

One of the reasons I started this blog is to connect with people in an easy, fun way. Sure, it is a great way for family and friends to stay in touch and I love that. But, I wanted to connect with people like me who may feel or have felt the profound isolation and vulnerability of being a special parent. Nothing is lonelier than that.

I am always mightily touched and gratified when a little piece of magical connection happens. And, don't think I exaggerate; I do think of it as magic.

Thank you to all the people who leave little comments or visit my blog. Maybe you know exactly what it is like, maybe you are just starting out or maybe you are just curiously peaking from the edge. Frankly, it doesn't matter because I just don't feel as alone anymore and for that, I sincerely thank you.

I remember when it began to dawn on me that Shea had real challenges that he was not going to just "grow out of". Those were black days indeed. I had to get my brain around what being "special" really was and how I was going to look at it. Denial and avoidance don't work for very long as a strategy and the only real comfort I could find was hearing other "special" parents stories. Those parents understood. I could see it in their eyes and hear it in their voices; they knew exactly what I was going through.

And, what I was able to see was that these parents love their kids as much or more because of the struggle. Just like other parents, they try to see the world objectively to predict the pitfalls and soften the stumbles but even more so. Specials parents possess an almost herculean energy, drive and focus fueled by these frustrations and sorrows. In fact, I doubt there is anything a special parent can not do once they set their mind to it, except of course make their child different than who they are. Many special parents throw themselves into activism, research, art, writing which perhaps is the healthier side of the equation. Many special parents buckle under the strain, both financial and emotional and it is common for marriages and partnerships to dissolve.

It is up to each of us to find and adopt the path that will guide us during these rocky years. After a while, a body of experience builds up in each of us. Whether we believe we have wisdom to impart or advise to give, we do. Because part of this struggle is to somehow, some way not feel so alone.

That is what I want to do with my blog. I am no writer but if I can touch one person and make them feel like they are part of a bigger community of parents who all know what it is like to weep, fight and struggle for their child with special needs then I have succeeded.

So, cheers to you, reader! Thank you for helping me help someone who is helping yet another. This is what it is all about.

Playground angst

And, so it begins... I know it's rough out there. I remember it myself. Kids just know instinctively how to press those buttons. And, making fun of your little brother would naturally be a hot spot for Molly.

Yesterday, one of her little friends or classmates called Shea a "retard". She was being baited. Who knows what the surrounding conversation and/or antics were like. Perhaps Molly was spinning pretty fast and needed to be taken down a notch or two. It probably doesn't matter that much. The fact is that she trembled with rage at the obvious cruelty. She struck out and hit the girl with her coat. Well, I expect they got the reaction that they were seeking; anger. Sometimes Molly seems unflappable and I expect they were just trying to get a rise. Well, they did.

We talked it all though last night, of course. Shea has a speech delay and is learning to talk. There is no evidence of retardation at this time. Molly knows this but it doesn't really matter. Perhaps they weren't factually correct but Shea is "special" and someone was making fun of him for something he or we have no control over.

Fierce loyalties will always create a chink in our armor. People instinctively know this, even children. But, would I have it any other way?

I remember when I was quite small, 1st grade or so, my father told me to always stick up for my little brother. I must've listened or maybe it's hardwired because one day I caught wind of him being picked on by bigger boys on the playground. I charged right out there to protect my little brother (a kindergartner) and got into a scuffle and popped the boy in the nose.

Blood, the principals office; the whole 9 yards. I remember it vividly, the principal asking why I hit the boy. "Because my dad told me to protect my little brother." I replied and can still see the bemused expression on the adult's face. I didn't really get in trouble that day. I knew I was justified.

This is a tough one and it will come up again. It did bring up a good conversation about exclusion and how the special kids are treated at school. She's a sensitive little thing and picked right up on the injustice, the discrimination.

The world can be an ugly place, baby. Let's take that bruise and turn it into a shield.