Chicago Special Parent Winter 2013

Spec覺al Parent CHICAGO WINTER 2013

243 resources

BUST burnout

FREE

AN EMPOWERMENT GUIDE FROM

Little boy

BIG

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www.specialrecreation.org

Adaptive Sports Aquatics Cultural Arts Field Trips Inclusion Paralympic Sports Social Clubs

Special Events Special Olympics Summer Camps Unified Sports Vacation Trips Weekly Programs

Providing programs that will enhance socialization skills, improve self-help skills, build self-esteem, and develop fine and gross motor skills.

Special Recreation - your child will explore whole new worlds!

The Special Recreation Network of Illinois (SRANI) provides information on the 28 cooperative agencies throughout Illinois called Special Recreation Associations (SRAs). These SRAs deliver a variety of community-based recreation services to children, teens and adults with disabilities through a cooperative agreement with their member park districts and recreation agencies. For a statewide listing of SRANI agencies, see our display ad in the Resource Directory or visit www.specialrecreation.org.

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When it comes to emergency care for your kids, the closer the better.

Emergencies happen. That’s why Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago at Cadence Health offers you and your children

Pediatric Emergency Department Hours:* Daily: Noon – Midnight

a team of board-certified pediatric emergency medicine specialists, with access to pediatric radiologists and experienced pediatric nurses. Last year, the dedicated Central DuPage Hospital pediatric emergency department treated more than 14,000 children. It’s compassionate emergency care that’s complete and close to home.

To learn more, visit cadencehealth.org/LurieChildrens.

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago at Cadence Health is a collaborative program between Cadence Health and Lurie Children’s. The physicians participating in this program are neither agents of nor employed by Cadence Health or any of its affiliates. *If your child needs emergency medical attention outside of the Pediatric Emergency Department hours listed above, you and your child can expect dedicated, compassionate care in the general CDH Emergency Department. © 2013 Cadence Health

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Inside

FEATURES 21

IN OUR SHOES

Little man Angelo Mom on a mission to help son with rare form of primordial dwarfism

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Diet offers hope to children with epilepsy

The kindness of a stranger makes mom rethink her actions

Discovering not disabilities, just special-abilities

12 My life: The guilt of time How can parents do it all?

Creative connections

13 A day of play

5 ways to deal with caregiver burnout

18 My life: Be like Nate

Fun ways to instill cooperation skills

Art therapy one tool to help children with special needs

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7 My life: Grocery store meltdown 11 My life: Laura in my life

Families, doctor report dramatic results in a short time

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A day when he’s not special

The pressure can be devastating if you are not careful

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Standin up, Standing speaking out speakin Group going after a dreams and teaching others othe to advocate for themselves

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15 News you can use

8 reaso reasons to get outside outs Out Outdoor play fuels fun and learning for kids with special needs

19 A community guardian Teen with autism blogs in real-time

RESOURCES

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GREAT KIDS

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Gallery of our readers’ submitted photos

INSPIRATIONS

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Maryy Kate Callahan is not afraid to make waves

ON THE COVER CO Cover Kid: Angelo Santana, Santa 2, of Aurora. He Syndrome, a very rare has Russell-Silver Sy dwarfism type of primodial dw Photographer: Katie Dris Driscoll of 5 boys + Photography, Palos Park 1 girl = 6 Photograp Design: Claire Innes Inne

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Joanne just called for lunch. I said, “I’ll be right there.”

“Paratransit is inconvenient for me, because you can’t plan in advance for everything in life. Thankfully, with the regular Pace bus service, you don’t have to. It drives me crazy when I miss out on things because I don’t have a ride. Pace gives me the freedom to meet my friends at a moment’s notice. Today I’m meeting Joanne for a bite to eat, but I have no idea what’s in store for tomorrow. The one thing I do know, is that whatever it is, there’s not a chance in the world I’ll miss it.”

If you’re ready to take control of your day, visit PaceBus.com.

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THANKS FOR

RIDING PACE

epsum it.

Dot evn ty get clse enug to re tis wared you Yo elpu hut yoor epsums - yor moer le her? epsom and yur purosy not liseng- dn't yu id blah bogy.

You wul't tre yur eyes thi wy if yu toop whala.

I bet not sit raal esolc to the tision

© 2013 Pace

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FROM THE EDITORS

Be your child’s best advocate and cheerleader

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kidney disease, kidney reflux. All ost of us who have became a part of my linguistic children with medical repertoire. problems and other Grace’s first two years were special needs can remember the filled with visits to specialists, exact moment we realized life ultrasounds, invasive tests, with this child wasn’t going to constant catheterizations, go quite as planned. For me, it hospital visits. I learned to talk was the 20-week ultrasound I the talk—questioning doctors, had with my third child, Grace. educating myself, advocating for We’d brought our 2- and 4-yearmy baby. Grace is now 14 and a old children to catch a first freshman in high school gifted glimpse of their new sibling.

LIZ DECARLO classes. She has one functioning We watched as the ultrasound Editor kidney and prosthetic ear bones technician typed out the words from the surgery that came after for each body part—spine, feet, they found a congenital tumor in her right kidney. ear that destroyed her hearing. An amazIt was the last one that stopped the teching doctor not only removed the tumor but nician in her tracks. She asked to have the also rebuilt her ear bones so that Grace kids leave and called for the doctor. Where regained most of her hearing. She has sufGrace’s right kidney should have been was fered numerous broken bones because she just a mass of cysts. There was something was also born with hyperextended ligaclearly wrong with her left kidney as well. ments—if she falls just right, it’s not just a And so began the round of prenatal specialsingle break but often numerous cracks in ists and talk of surgery after birth, kidney the bone. transplants, survivability. I became an When I first heard the doctor’s words expert on fetal hydronephrosis, polycystic

at that 20-week ultrasound, I imagined a life with a fragile child. What I got instead was a gift—a child who bounces back from whatever hits her, who jokes that she has the ‘dreaded right side disease’ (her nonfunctioning kidney, ear tumor and all her broken bones have involved the right side of her body), who has refused to let anything slow her down.

We’re all faced with a myriad of ways our children are “special” and the challenges, despair and amazement that come as our child conquers the hardships life has put in their way.

When Grace was younger, we stopped to visit with the pastor at our church, who asked her name. “Grace,” he said. “Did you know that name means gift from God?” “I’m a gift from God,” Grace exclaimed as we headed out to our car.

All I could think was, I knew that.

OUR ADVISORY BOARD

MARIAN CASEY is the executive director of A.S.K- Answers for Special Kids, a resource and advocacy organization that serves the needs of parents of children with special needs throughout northeastern Illinois. She is an attorney, active on a number of community boards, and the mother of a child with special needs.

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SHEEBA DANIELCROTTY, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist who focuses on child, adolescent and family psychotherapy and evaluation. She specializes in the assessment and treatment of neurobehavioral disorders, learning disabilities and social-emotional problems.

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CARA LONG, a registered nurse and a mom of three, including one born with Down syndrome, is a state-credentialed parent liaison at Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region. She has worked with families as a support parent and public awareness speaker for the National Association for Down Syndrome.

ELLEN METRICK is a consultant, researcher and evaluator for toy retailers and manufacturers regarding toy design and the impact of play on childhood development. She is director of Industry Relations & Partnerships at the National Lekotek Center, which focuses on accessible play for all.

LARRY REINER, Ed.D. CPRP, with a doctoral degree in counseling, adult and higher education, is highly regarded for leadership in creating recreation opportunities for kids and adults with special needs.

DR. ALAN ROSENBLATT is a specialist in neurodevelopmental pediatrics who has been involved in medical care, advocacy and education efforts on behalf of children with special needs and their families at the local, state and national levels.

| ChicagoParent.com

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STAFF

EASTER SEALS DuPAGE AND THE FOX VALLY REGION

EDITORS Liz DeCarlo, Tamara L. O’Shaughnessy ASSOCIATE EDITOR Elizabeth Diffin

REACHING BEYOND

WEB CONTENT EDITOR Alaina Buzas ART DIRECTOR Claire Innes EDITORIAL DESIGNERS Luke Baker, Mark Tatara CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jerry Davich, Dimitrios Kalantzis, Lucy Latourette, Gillian Marchenko CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Frank Pinc MANAGER OF INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY Graham Johnston DISPLAY AD SALES Walter Burden, Dawn Engelhardt, Lourdes Nicholls, Karen Skinner, Adrienne Smith CLASSIFIED AD SALES Walter Burden SALES AND MARKETING COORDINATOR Sandi Pederson ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Jessica Doerr AD PRODUCTION MANAGER Philip Soell AD DESIGN MANAGER Andrew Mead AD DESIGN Elisha-Rio Apilado, Debbie Becker CIRCULATION MANAGER Kathy Hansen DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR Alan Majeski CIRCULATION ASSOCIATE Mike Braam

On your desktop.

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COLLECTIONS Charlie Kelly

We’re with you.

PUBLISHER Dan Haley VP/OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Andrew Johnston COMPTROLLER Ed Panschar

CONTACT PHONE (708) 386-5555 FAX (708) 524-0447 EDITORIAL chiparent@chicagoparent.com DISPLAY ADS advertising@chicagoparent.com CLASSIFIED ADS classified@chicagoparent.com CIRCULATION circulation@wjinc.com WEB SITE ChicagoParent.com Our offices are at 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, Illinois 60302.

Office hours for all departments are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. © 2013 Wednesday Journal, Inc. All rights reserved.

Helping children with special needs throughout Chicagoland to reach beyond expectations through: • Physical Therapy

CREDIT MANAGER Debbie Zari BOOKKEEPER Diane Eggers

Photo by: Cara Pagels

Chicago Parent

99¢

Digital editions available at your favorite digital newsstand now!

• Occupational Therapy • Speech-Language Therapy • Aquatic Therapy • Nutrition Therapy • Assistive Technology • Autism Diagnostic Clinic • Community Based Therapy • Specialized Clinics • Audiology Services • Inclusive Child Care • Social Work • Parent Resources Villa Park: 630.620.4433 Naperville: 630.357.9699 Elgin: 847.742.3264

www.eastersealsdfvr.org ChicagoParent.com |

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Our most important customers are children.

Special Olympics • Adaptive and Paralympic Sports

Innovative Programs • Inclusive Recreation

DaySchool_Jan2013_SP_Layout 1 1/29/2013 4:58 PM Page 1

www.chicagoparkdistrict.com 312.742.PLAY (7529) 312.747.2001 (TTY)

City of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, Mayor Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners Chicago Park District, Michael P. Kelly, General Superintendent & CEO

Little City’s Therapeutic Day School Little City’s ChildBridge Center for Education

provides progressive services for students with

intellectual and developmental disabilities, as

well as, students with severe and profound

needs on the autism spectrum.

A typical day for each student will include a host of activities outside of the classroom offered throughout Little City’s 56‑acre, therapeutic campus, as well as a gamut of other leading‑edge services.

• OT, SLP, PT, art, music and play therapies

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• Community inclusion and integration

• And much more!

ENROLLMENT IS NOW OPEN. FOR REFERRALS, CONTACT ADMISSIONS AT 6

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school@littlecity.org OR (847) 221‑7859

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littlecity.org/school

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In Our Shoes

MY LIFE

Grocery store meltdown The kindness of a stranger makes mom rethink her actions JULIE PETERS PHOTOS BY FRANK PINC BY

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wish I could thank the man who helped me when my son melted down in the grocery store. The crisis erupted over a box of doughnuts, which my 13-year-old son, who has Fragile X Syndrome and autism, decided he wanted.

I said no, and in a flash, he attacked. He grabbed my hair and wrenched my neck. He bit my wrist, breaking the skin through my winter coat. He attacked again and again.

I tried to contain his fury by lying on top of him without applying too much pressure, quietly saying no, and doing what I could to calm him enough so I could get out of the store.

Then a man—a father, I imagine—asked “How can I help?”

“I’m OK,” I answered, which was absurd. Clearly I wasn’t, and he wasn’t buying it.

“Can I help you hold him?”

I told him no. I mumbled something about autism. I couldn’t figure out how to explain what was happening.

“I really don’t know what I need right now,” I replied. I decided that I wanted to re-establish some kind of order. “Could you take this basket of things and make sure they get back on the shelf?”

And then the man looked at me and said, “You are an amazing mother. You are an amazing mother!” He took the basket and was gone.

Amazing? I didn’t feel amazing. I felt powerless. Planless.

Embarrassed. Frightened.

After about five minutes, I managed to get Colin to a state where I could hand him a smaller box of doughnuts, check out and lead him away.

This kind of thing doesn’t happen every day. Most days my son is a sweet, dear child. But he has a genetic disorder that has rendered him unable to speak and often unable to cope with even the most basic social situations. His senses can become overwhelmed in an instant. He is missing a protein that helps regulate his anxiety, and his aggression has become increasingly intense with adolescence.

It was the second week of winter break. Breaks from school always are challenging because CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

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MELTDOWN

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there are so few things my son can or wants to do besides watch YouTube or videos. His world is very small, even compared to other children with Fragile X. And I also was out of bread and bananas.

It seemed like a simple enough idea: Go in the store, let him look at videos and books, get the food and leave. If he refused to get out of the car, we would go. I had learned not ever to push it when he made his feelings clear.

One of our long-term goals for Colin is to teach him how to handle places like grocery stores. Eventually we’d like him to be able to shop for familiar items, integrating academic skills like math and reading into simple, functional tasks.

Much to my surprise, Colin got out of the car. He was silly and a bit hyperactive. As I look back now, I can see the signs of hyper-arousal, a dead giveaway that the crisis was already brewing.

We hadn’t been to the grocery store for such a long time that I was beguiled by his glee. First we went to the books and movies. He skipped and flapped and shrieked happily as I guided him to the produce section.

“Let’s get bananas. Can you give mommy some bananas?” He complied again. We walked to the bread aisle. I put a loaf in the basket and then, suddenly, we were in trouble.

On a display table were boxes and boxes of doughnuts, another of Colin’s latest—for lack of a better word—interests.

He grabbed the biggest box, two dozen.

I constantly am searching for the line between doing what any normal parent has the right to do and what I can do with a special needs child. How much can I give in to his demands without letting him turn into a brat?

In the same instant I was about to negotiate for a smaller box he struck so suddenly that my rational thinking about parenting philosophy switched instantly to crisis mode.

My sweet, lovely child suddenly had become a wild animal. I pinned him to the ground. Then the man arrived, and somehow, I was able to buy a smaller box of doughnuts

and get us out of the store.

As we stumbled through the parking lot, Colin pulled my hair again and again, like a series of aftershocks. He cried and I cried, too. As we walked, Colin clutched the doughnuts so fiercely that one by one, the doughnuts began to fall. The last one dropped out and I saw it roll away.

I maneuvered Colin into the car and closed the door. I needed a moment to cry. I wept as I leaned against the car. I was freezing. I was in pain. I was angry.

Colin was crying, too.

The crumpled, empty doughnut box sat beside him.

His iPad has hundreds of words, but in these moments—especially in these moments—he cannot access abstract words or ask questions. He only can rage and cry, and I only can cry, feeling sorry for myself and ultimately, heartbroken for him.

Later that evening, though my body felt like I had been in a car accident, I made bread. It was an act of both defiance and healing. I replayed the episode in my head, searching for some kind of lesson.

The stranger’s words puzzled me. “You are an amazing mother.”

What could he have possibly meant by that?

I made so many mistakes that day, mistakes that years of dealing with my son’s disability have taught me not to make. I should have said yes to the bigger box of doughnuts right away, without giving a damn what anyone watching

HOW WE DO IT First, we do it because we have to, and anyone can do it. We are not superheroes, just people who have been given tasks that require us to find our inner super powers.

That being said, love your children.

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Celebrate their successes. Have a good cry with a friend who gets it.

Laugh a lot. Don’t compare your children or your life with anyone else’s.

Alissa Levy Chung, Evanston

Julie Peters and her son Colin share a moment might have thought of my parenting skills. I should have seen Colin’s hyper-arousal building. I should have known what to say when someone asked if he could help.

I need to learn crisis intervention strategies that will help me properly and safely handle Colin’s aggression. I need to bring a visual schedule and set clear expectations.

The stakes have clearly gotten too high to wing it anymore.

Amazing?

I was careless. I put us both in danger.

Colin inspires me, my husband, and his teachers to rail against the disability that threatens to lock him down in a very small world. But taking him out in public is going to take a lot of careful planning and a lot of work from now on.

Amazing? I’m not convinced.

I am, however, so grateful to the stranger who told me I was. He has forced me to rethink everything, so that next time I will be ready.

And if you happen to know the stranger who so graciously tried to help on Jan. 3 at the Meijer in Plainfield, please tell him thank you.

| ChicagoParent.com

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We invite children and families with disabilities to experience Chicago Children’s Museum’s playful, multisensory exhibits and activities—one one hour before the museum opens to the public.

THE SECOND SATURDAY OF EVERY MONTH AT 9 AM (March 9, April 13, May 11, June 8) FREE for the first 100 visitors to register!* REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED

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ChicagoParent.com |

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Corporate exchanged Advocating for son led mom to new career

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fter years of advocating for her own child, corporate attorney Micki Moran began representing children with special needs.

“I learned a lot from my son,” says Moran, 57. “He was my first teacher. I am sure people thought I was possessed… I didn’t want my son to be a statistic. I wanted him to be able to do whatever he could, the best that he could do it.”

Moran is convinced that had Patrick, 29, not received the help they had to fight for, he would not have gone to college or be holding down a job.

Moran thought she could help others. She

launched The Child & Family Law Center of the North Shore, a block away from her Highland Park home, to be near Patrick, who was in middle school at the time and has a learning disability. She started out with special education cases before expanding to juvenile court and divorces involving the parents of children with special needs.

“I try to be part coach, part lawyer, part advocate,” she says. “Most people I see are at the lowest point of their lives. It’s a very emotional practice. I have boxes of Kleenex all over my office.”

The job has her working more often with mental

Tips for parents Get a full evaluation of your child that identifies the problem correctly.

Educate yourself about your child’s disability.

Make sure your child gets the services he needs immediately.

Assemble a team of experts you can consult when you’re not sure what to do.

Find something your child is good at and foster that interest.

health professionals, tutors and therapists, making sure her clients get the services that they need, than with other lawyers.

Outside of work, she sits on the board of the Center for Independent Futures in Evanston and leads talks to empower parents to advocate for their children.

Oftentimes, the mental health cases she handles keep her up at night, worrying about the children she represents, she says.

But knowing she is doing her part to help better their lives makes it all worthwhile.

“I have a real passion for what I do,” she says.

Melanie Kalmar

Micki Moran

In mom’s words Best advice ever received: Trust your own instincts as a parent.

Best tip you’ve learned from raising a child with special needs that you want to share with other parents: The best tip for parents is not easily reduced to one word or a phrase. There are three things that I think are most important: 1 Become your own expert on your child.

2 Don’t give up.

3 Keep a sense of humor.

As featured on ABC 7, NBC 5, WGN-TV and WCIU-TV The Karate Can-Do! Foundation works hand-in-hand with North Shore Dojo, the area’s premier karate school, to provide personalized training to improve the lives of children who learn differently.

Sensei Jeff Kohn is the recipient of the 2011 United States Olympic Committee’s Paralympic Coach of the Year Award 847.729.0001 • www.NorthShoreDojo.net • 2081 John’s Court, Glenview Karate CAN-Do! is a registered 501(c)(3)

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| ChicagoParent.com

2/7/13 3:44 PM

MY LIFE

We take the fear out of dentistry for your child.

• Shots and drilling are no longer necessary • Computer x-rays reduce your child’s exposure to radiation • We use smaller chairs and instruments • We welcome patients with special needs • Pleasant, comfortable surroundings

Diplomate, American Board of Pediatric Dentistry

16345 S. Harlem • Tinley Park

708-633-8700 • www.kidsdds.net

“growing together in body and mind”

Laura as a little girl.

Laura today at the Shedd Aquarium.

Laura in my life

Pediatric Therapy Social Skills Groups Adult Wellness & Now offering Kyukido!

847-265-7300 | f. 847-265-7301 www.thetherapytree.org info@thetherapytree.org 89 Cedar Ave | Lake Villa, IL 60046

Discovering not disabilities, just special-abilities BY

LOUIS SCHUTZ

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orn three weeks late with a “failure to thrive,” Laura immediately was whisked away by nurses, an ominous beginning to what would become a life-long struggle.

Her birth has had a profound effect on my life and those around her.

Scorned by doctors, my wife and I knew something was wrong with our beautiful blonde daughter.

Physical, occupational and speech therapy became the daily routine for years as we pursued testing and treatments in the search for a diagnosis.

It would be five long years and thousands of dollars worth of multiple failed medical tests before we got an answer. Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare genetic disorder affecting one in 15,000. Think Down syndrome with weird twists. Left to her own devices, she will eat herself to death. Today, those diagnosed properly and watched daily are living longer with the chance of a more productive life.

With an IQ of around 60, Laura is brilliant in ways “normal” people are not.

A few years ago when discussing her disabilities she floored me by saying, “Dad, I do not have disabilities, I have special-abilities,” something I often have witnessed as she has grown.

I have lost count of the parents who have thanked me for the kind, open attention she has bestowed upon their child with special needs. A person in a

wheelchair is soon her new best buddy. Anyone “different” becomes an instant friend.

She remembers everything about each person she meets. She knows every dog in the neighborhood by name. She also is a simply brilliant fisherman.

But at 8, Laura was losing out in school. Her friends and quality of life were disappearing. Her behaviors were getting worse and we felt as if we were losing control of her life—and ours.

Knowing she needed a safety net should anything ever happen to us, we decided to place her in a home. Without a doubt, it was the most difficult and painful decision we had ever made.

Despite hundreds of calls and a year’s worth of government bureaucracy later, no one offered any hope or real help. Then we discovered a wonderful facility that specializes in Prader-Willi in Wisconsin.

She is happy.

Now living in a specialized group home for adults with P.W., Laura has a boyfriend, continuing education and a future with a sheltered workshop and friends.

Her own life with a future.

For more on Prader Willi syndrome, pwsausa.org Louis Schutz is a dad living in Skokie.

Learning Disabilities Association of Illinois

Has your child been diagnosed or do you suspect that your child has a learning disability?

For information contact:

LDA of Illinois 10101 S. Roberts Road, Suite 205 Palos Hills, IL 60465 phone: (708) 430-7532 e-mail: ldaofil@ameritech.net www.ldail.com

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MY LIFE

The guilt of time How can parents do it all?

BY

PATTY O’MACHEL

I

had yet another moment of maternal guilt at the parentteacher conference for my second-grader. It was more a feeling of subtle failure. My daughter, who has cerebral palsy, is doing well in a regular classroom.

I was anxious for the meeting and really wanted a true picture of how she is doing in comparison to the typical kids in her class. The news was good, not great, but definitely good. She is struggling a bit with reading and with math.

Here comes the guilt part. It is understood that a parent needs to spend time each day working on reading and math, especially important for kids like my little girl. She never is going to bridge the already widening gap unless

she has the basic sight words and math facts down. I know she needs it, but somehow I cannot seem to work it into our schedule.

How do other parents do it? I often wonder. Our after-school hours are filled with therapy after therapy. I always have focused on the physical side, always making sure she did not miss a PT, OT or speech appointment. By the time we get home after four to five therapies a week and my other kids’ extracurricular activities, I am thoroughly exhausted.

The mere thought of going through sight words or online math makes me more tired. I know other parents have full schedules, but they seem to manage. How? Maybe, if I spent less of my

limited energy feeling guilty all the time, I would have enough to get the job done. That’s it, I solved it. Redistribute energy. No more guilt. Problem solved. But maybe it is not that easy. Is it?

HOW WE DO IT Before kindergarten started, Gina Gagliari wanted her son, who has autism and ADHD, to get a chance to be with other kids and in social situations he’d encounter in school. So she enrolled Alexander, now 10, in the Lily Cache Special Recreation Association’s summer camp. She suggests other parents with children with special needs consider the ratio to camper, staff training and how structured the camp is. She likes that staff at Alexander’s day camp listens to the parents’ suggestions regarding their child, while providing a highly structured, secure camp, with a small staffto-child ratio.

Patty O’Machel is a mom of three.

A FULL EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE For students with Learning and Developmental Disabilities and those on the Autism Spectrum NOW accepting new students ages 3-22!

Marklund Life Skills Academy The Life Skills Academy is a non-public state-certified school located in Bloomingdale, that provides a highly specialized educational experience.

• The latest in technology and therapies including: Smart boards, i-Pads, computer assisted devices, physical and occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, Snoezelen and music therapy, recreational therapy, aromatherapy, aquatic therapy, and more

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Skilled and trained staff in the application of various teaching methodologies such as ABA, TEACH, and PECS with staff-to-student ratio of 1:3 and 1:4

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Visit us...Contact Karen Gill, Director of Education at 630-307-1882, ext. 3248 or kgill@marklund.org

www.marklund.org Facebook.com/MarklundCharity 12

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2/7/13 3:41 PM

DAY OF PLAY

Fun ways to instill cooperation skills

BY ELLEN METRICK

I

n many ways, teaching a child cooperation skills is as important as teaching them cognitive or communication skills.

For kids with special needs, parents often focus on independence, but what about learning interdependence skills? These social skills need to be honed for children to learn to cooperate and collaborate within their family, among friends and in society. Play is a fun way to teach that.

PowerLink 4 Control Unit

Breakfast Meal preparation is an opportunity to explore collective efforts. Start by giving kids some control and allowing them to decide their contribution. Let your child choose his role in meal preparation such as planning the menu, making the smoothies or stirring the pancake batter.

Products that can help: Learning Tower

by Little Partners is a platform that brings a child up to the countertop level with safety and stability. PowerLink 4 Control Unit by AbleNet is a switch device that allows a child with limited dexterity to operate blenders and other electrical gadgets.

Easing into emotions Invite a friend over and have your child learn to share by easing into a group activity like watching a yoga tape and imitating the movements. Yoga calms children and stretches their muscles as well as their minds.

Another way is by using puppets, dolls or plush toys. Kimochis by Plushy Feely Corp makes an innovative kit of soft characters with “feelings pillows” promoting a playful way for kids to explore sharing feelings, expressing emotions and establishing healthy relationships.

Play time Music and pretend play are perfect ways for teaching collaboration.

Music can teach the beginning steps of harmony (on many levels) and participating in a mutual experience. Start by giving each child a music-maker as simple as a drum made from an oatmeal carton or a plastic flute—or move up to a quality musical instrument ideal for kids like the five-piece drum set or the six-string acoustic guitar by

Costumes from Aeromax

Schoenhut. Put on a CD to inspire young talent and let the good times rock ‘n’ roll.

Record the jam session for later laughs.

Pretend play is another way for children to partake in a cooperative effort.

Imaginative play can teach children to act out a story line with another child and share a vision of the world. Roles can be switched, giving kids a chance to change their perspective and participation. Have children create their own characters with fun hats and accessories or try some of the easy to wear and washable costumes from Aeromax.

Role & Play by Thinkfun introduces concepts like turn-taking and acting out emotions. This colorful cushiony cube and card set is a good first step towards cooperative play. Even rolling this cube or a ball back and forth provides a great starting point for shared play.

Dinner Dinner offers a lesson on the advantages of an assembly line. Have each person in the family contribute to making a family pizza. Whether you add ingredients to a

Kimochis

by Plushy Feely Corp

ready-made pizza or build your own, you can assign tasks like sauce spreading, adding toppings, chopping or grating.

Throughout the day and before bed, remember to reinforce the learning with hefty praise for all the cooperative efforts on this day of play.

For more play ideas and toys for children with special needs, go to able play.org. This website was created by the National Lekotek Center to encour age children to experience the benefits of play.

Ellen Metrick is a member of Special Parent’s advisory board and director of Industry Relations & Partnerships at the National Lekotek Center in Chicago.

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NEWS YOU CAN USE

Special child, special car seat S

ome of the children were born premature. Some suffer debilitating physical conditions like hydroencephalitis. Others require temporary casts.

In all cases, standard car seats are not a good fit. But specialty car seats are very expensive, some costing up to $3,000.

Enter La Rabida Children’s Hospital in Chicago. The South Side hospital has been loaning out specialty car seats to lowincome families.

“This is something that people really don’t know about until they need one,” says Craig Sjogerman, community

outreach coordinator at La Rabida and a certified installer of the specialty cars seats.

There are a variety of seats.

Some are more like “car beds” used for infants who must lie down due to premature birth, apnea and other oxygen issues.

Others are used for kids with hip casts.

Forward-facing medical seats are used for larger kids or children with cerebral palsy.

“There are many options for children with specials needs that parents don’t know about,” Sjogerman says. “The gold standard is that they are all crash-tested.”

When you need support Families looking for a little help with children experiencing social, emotional and learning difficulties are invited to attend a new Parent Support Series offered by Rush University Medical Center.

The free Wednesday night programs address everything from what parents can do about bullying in schools to questions and answers about ADHD medication.

The monthly meetings are taught by experts from the Rush NeuroBehavioral Center.

“We have a clinical psychologist, speech language, our education specialist and our developmental pediatrician presenting,” says Bernadette Evans-Smith, the center’s clinical director. “We have people with expertise in different areas and this lets the community know what we have here.”

It also serves as a resource for families who need help but might be struggling financially. “It’s nice to be able

Craig Sjogerman fits a special car seat to a child.

Parents will be taught how to safely install the seats and pay $20 for a two-month loan.

La Rabida loans between 100

and 150 seats each year.

For information, visit larabida.org.

Dimitrios Kalantzis

Doll company expands to special needs

to give something free to help families and children,” EvansSmith says.

For information, call (847) 933-9339 or email rnbc@rnbc.org. Although the program is free, RSVPs are encouraged. The Center is located at 4711 W. Golf Road, Suite 1100, Skokie. All sessions run 6:30-8 p.m.

Liz DeCarlo

Upcoming programs March 13: Understanding the Special Education Process April 10: Medication in ADHD: Hard Questions and Actionable Answers May 8: Promoting Social Competency in Children with ASD and ADHD

A

merican Girl is best known for its dolls that introduce girls to their historical counterparts or provide them with their own mini-me’s, courtesy of the My American Girl line.

But now the Wisconsin-based company is quietly expanding its reach with some new “special needs” items.

In 2012, American Girl introduced a service dog set, dollsized hearing aids, dolls without hair, and—most surprisingly—an allergyfree lunch. These offerings join mainstay products like a wheelchair and eyeglasses that have been part of the American Girl line since the 1990s.

“There’s a variety of different issues that girls are facing,” says company spokesperson Julie Parks.

“People have been really highly complimentary about the new products.”

Parks says the dolls

without hair have received the most media attention, especially since they are fully customizable with five different skin tones and multiple eye colors. And knowing that some hair-loss conditions are reversible or temporary, the company offers one free doll head replacement.

The hearing aids, which also have been well-received, are done the same way as an ear piercing and cost $14 for right ear, left ear, or both.

Although Parks says the company doesn’t have any definite plans for additional special needs items, American Girl constantly is exploring new options that reflect the lives of its young customers.

“By creating a doll without hair or with a hearing aid, we’re just providing more options for a girl to create a doll that’s as unique as she is.”

ChicagoParent.com |

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Elizabeth Diffin

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NEWS YOU CAN USE

Asperger’s syndrome?

Not after May

T

he American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual will undergo its first major rewrite in almost two decades, notably renaming the term “Asperger’s syndrome.”

Previously, Asperger’s was defined as a separate diagnosis from autism. With the change, Asperger’s now will be an “autism spectrum disorder.”

Autism spectrum disorder was not in the manual until this revision. The single category will include autistic disorder, Asperger’s syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive development disorder not otherwise specified.

“The new diagnostic criteria attempts to rate severity in core deficits: communication,

Going to bat for special lunch menu

social relations and repetitive movements/restricted interests,” says Jocelyn Carter, assistant professor of clinical psychology at DePaul University.

Individuals with Asperger’s will be diagnosed with “autism spectrum disorder, likely of a mild severity,” says Peter Thaxter, a doctoral student in clinical child psychology at DePaul University.

“A lot of individuals with Asperger’s still will use that to describe themselves,” says Mary Kay Betz, executive director at the Autism Society of Illinois. She worries the revision could affect those applying for programs, such as social skills training, previously covered by insurance.

Debra Lipson

W

anda Malone will tell you gluten-free isn’t just another fad diet.

Raising two boys with severe allergies, the Aurora mom says she wanted to find a better answer to “Mom, why can’t I have a chocolate chip cookie like the rest of the kids?”

So she began experimenting with a gluten-free and casein-free diet, eliminating the proteins typically found in bread and dairy. The results, Malone says, were remarkable and quick.

Particularly for DJ, 9, who was diagnosed with autism at 2.

She says they were told he would be nonverbal. But after years of research, a diet change, many therapies and sleepless nights, DJ is speaking in full sentences.

“It’s almost like the light was there for my son,” Malone says.

There is no definitive study showing the benefits of a

gluten-free, casein-free diet. And Malone concedes the benefits are not universal.

But it was important, she says, to give children and parents the option at school. So she lobbied for a special lunch menu in her local school district. First, four schools in District 204 tried out the new program. By 2011, it had expanded to all 34 schools in the suburban district.

It was the first Illinois school district to offer such a hot lunch program, she says.

To qualify for the menu items, students require a medical note.

Parents plan in advance on what days and which meals their children will eat. Malone estimates more than a dozen families take advantage of the special program.

“A lot of the parents are so grateful we are able to offer this as an alternative for our kids.”

Dimitrios Kalantzis

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NEWS YOU CAN USE

Legoland building a special community

L

egoland Discovery Center wants to make itself a fun place for all, but the staff knows it can sometimes get a little overwhelming, especially around the big event weekends.

Now, it is opening its doors monthly at a time exclusively for children with special needs.

Planned around its themed events, it will provide more staff to help the children build and discover, providing them with such things as more time to build with LEGOs, lights on during the 4-D movie and quiet rooms.

The next exclusive event, Merlin’s Magic Wand Days Super Heroes Event, is 6-8 p.m. Feb.

22. Children and adults will have a super hero costume contest, a scavenger hunt and building challenges.

Tickets are $10 per person, with $1 from each ticket donated to Merlin’s Magic Wand, an international charitable trust for children throughout the world with special needs and serious illnesses. For more information, visit merlinsmagicwand.org.

Legoland is located at 601 N. Martingale Road, in Schaumburg. Check legolanddiscoverycenter.com/chicago about upcoming events or find it on Facebook.

Support organization turns 1 The Apraxia Connection has spent the past year focusing on bringing parents together in the silent world of childhood apraxia of speech and its president, Holly Olmsted Hickey, has big plans for 2013.

Everyone At Play A free Museum morning exclusively for families with young children with special needs

Sunday, April 14, 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Visit www.kohlchildrensmuseum.org/eap for details.

To celebrate the birthday, organizers are throwing a party 6 11 p.m. March 1 in Merrionette Park. Tickets are $25 per person in advance.

Among Olmsted Hickey’s plans are continuing the monthly par ent meetings, a meeting with renowned apraxia expert Nancy Kaufman April 18 in Schaumburg and the annual fundraising and awareness walk in October. She also wants to start a free lending library and to establish a community resources directory.

Currently, about 550 families are involved in the network.

Everyone at Play has been partially underwritten by

2100 Patriot Blvd. | Glenview, IL 60026 | 847.832.6600 www.kohlchildrensmuseum.org ChicagoParent.com |

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MY LIFE

Be like Nate

A day when he’s not special, just a boy on a basketball team BY

HOLLY SIMON

PHOTOS BY BETSY TRAYNOR

T

18

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he Oak Lawn Special Olympics Basketball Day has to be one of my favorite days of the year. Not only because my youngest son, Nathaniel, gets to play basketball with his friends, but because I have the chance to watch an amazing team of young athletes grow and learn together.

My son, 10, started with the Junior Jordans when he was 8.

Not only could Nate barely hold the ball, but dribbling down the court was an impossible feat. Now one of my greatest joys is watching him dribble the ball all the way down the court with a smile on his face that reaches from ear to ear.

I am the proud mom of five kids. I have been to countless games. From basketball to rugby and a decade of volleyball. But on this day, everything you may have thought about winning or losing goes right out the door.

This day is about happiness.

It’s full of pure radiance from a child who can barely walk but gets the ball in his hands and guards it with all his might. It’s about the child that was lifted over his head by a coach just to make a basket. It’s about teamwork where an opposite teammate shields a smaller child from getting blocked. It’s Nate Simon brings his own fan club to his basketball games. about acceptance, awareness, love, excitement and pure, raw pride.

No one looks at the scoreboard. No one cares, especially the players. They are just proud of their effort. On this day, my son is not different or special. On this day, he is a superstar. Nathaniel is an athlete who is happy just to be a part of the team.

On this day, no matter who scores, the crowd goes wild.

My smile takes weeks to come off. Can you imagine how thrilled my son was to autograph programs for all his fans? I often have thought that all athletes should attend one of our games to learn the true meaning of sportsmanship. To see with their own eyes that it doesn’t matter who wins or loses, but how you play the game.

Every year we pack the stands with family and friends wearing colorful T-shirts. I believe Nate’s fan club leaves with way more than they came with.

Specıal Parent CHICAGO

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2/8/13 12:25 PM

A community guardian

HOW WE DO IT

Teen with autism blogs in real-time about neighborhood crime KIRSTIN FAWCETT

something, too,” Granzow says.

police scanner is the soundtrack to Timmy Granzow’s existence.

Its crackling hiss has dictated the past four years of his life.

Muttered police codes startle him from slumber. Shootings and break-ins send him dashing to his computer, where he records police activity in real-time on his own personal neighborhood crime blog.

Why does Granzow, a Chicago teen with autism, spend his days deciphering a litany of life’s sorrows from an endless stream of static? You might say he feels like it’s his civic duty.

“We have to be the eyes and ears,” Granzow says.

A lifelong disability

BY

A

Doing his part Granzow grew up in the Avondale neighborhood on Chicago’s northwest side where he lives with his mother, Lisa Walker, and his sister, Melissa.

He is the founder of the Avondale and Logan Square Crime Blotter, a website that documents the police activity he hears on his scanner.

His blogging schedule is rigorous. He wakes up around 8 or 9 a.m., then blogs nonstop until 7 p.m. After a quick dinner break, he returns to his scanner and updates the site until midnight.

Granzow has his own blogging style, combining personal anecdotes and musings into

time-marked notes detailing shootings, assaults, break-ins and gang activity.

“I’ve been pretty scared at times... But you know, I live in the area. I can’t let gangbangers stop me from living my life,” Granzow says.

Granzow’s blog has gained him many supporters throughout his community. But not all of the feedback is positive. His mixture of first-person commentary, in which he often shares tales of family hardships and his struggle in school, rubs some the wrong way.

“I’ve also gotten a lot of hate comments... ‘Leave it up to the police to fix the crime issue.’

And I’m like no, because we’re residents here. We have to do

Granzow was diagnosed with autism when he was 2. Asked if that plays a role in his extreme focus on the police scanner, he answers, “Probably.”

His mother and sister say his symptoms have improved with time and are characterized by social and communication deficits, along with occasional temper flare-ups. He has trouble adapting to change. He subsisted on baby food until he was 8 or 9 because he found chewing difficult.

Granzow also suffered hearing loss in his left ear, and one foot is shorter than the other—a physical trait that hinders his ability to stand for long times.

“Basically, it’s been a challenge.

But I’ve found my way past it,” he says. “It’s a learning process for me. I’m learning each and every day how to live like a normal person. It’s always going to be hard for me, but I think I have support and a lot of people who do care about me.”

The past year has been eventful for Granzow.

Last summer he sponsored a widely publicized anti-violence rally in his neighborhood in response to three shootings that occurred a block or two north of his home.

He also successfully completed high school and last fall began attending college at Wilbur Wright

Stop caring what others think of you (and your kids). As a single mom with three autistic sons, I knew I had to swim upstream just to get us through. So when my college friend sent me a bumper sticker that said, “My autistic kid can lick your honor student,” I slapped that sucker on my car instantly.

Because that’s my life, and I just don’t care if it makes others flinch. It makes me smile.

Jennifer Wheeler Wood

College. He also celebrated the blog’s fourth anniversary Nov. 23.

After he completes his associate’s degree, Granzow hopes to work for Chicago’s criminal justice system as a police dispatcher or community organizer.

Granzow’s family expects his blog to play a large part in his life’s purpose.

“He’s just so into it. It’s obviously his passion,” says his sister, Melissa. His sustained effort stems from concern over the crime in the neighborhood, she says, and with his blog, “He has some power to help it.”

HOW WE DO IT My severely autistic, nonverbal son is the second born in my brood of five. Chris, 17, has a wonderful personality, does not have strict daily routines, is very happy, easy to care for, mild and

well-behaved—basically everything one would ask for in an autistic teenaged boy. I think the reason he has such a wonderful go-withthe-flow disposition is that he has grown up involved in our extremely

busy family’s everyday life. Being used to change on a daily basis has helped Chris grow into a happy, flexible, easygoing person.

Jennifer Monnier Shanahan

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Little man

Angelo

Mom on a mission to help son with rare form of primordial dwarfism

BY JERRY PHOTOS BY

DAVICH KATIE DRISCOLL

A

ngelo Santana scampers across the living room floor like any other 2-year-old, except for one noticeable difference. He scoots on his butt, not on his hands and knees, let alone on his own two feet.

This is just one of many intriguing yet endearing peculiarities of Angelo, who was born with RussellSilver Syndrome, a very rare and severe type of primordial dwarfism.

Angelo emerged into this world at 34 weeks, weighing just 2 pounds, 3 ounces, via emergency C-section at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

“Essentially, he was just a head, along with some skin and bones,” explains his 23-year-old mother, Rita Santana, while Angelo squeals in delight playing with his toys at their Aurora home. He spent his first three months in the hospital.

Angelo struggles with developmental problems, a cleft palate, severe constipation, poor hearing, dangerously high calcium, and body asymmetry (his right side is shorter than his left). He must be fed a concentrated high-calorie formula with a feeding tube through a port in his chest, possibly for years to come.

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ANGELO

from page 21

“I want to teach him to accept himself for who he is, not what the world thinks he is.”

2-year-old Angelo is the size of an infant.

“The first year of his life was such an emotional time for us all,” Santana says. “We had never heard of this condition, and his doctors were also new to this rare syndrome.”

Today, at a relatively whopping 12 pounds, Angelo still wears clothes of a 3-month-old baby.

He cannot speak except for sounds and hand signs that only his mother can decipher, although he is set to have surgery to repair his cleft palate.

Yet Angelo has big bright eyes, bigger ears, and the biggest smile you could imagine for such a tiny human being. In public, strangers turn into gapers, people ask a lot of questions, and Angelo is a natural-born ham in front of any camera.

“Everywhere we go he makes people turn,” Santana says. “I know it’s his little baby doll appearance, but he is always happy to make new friends.”

Angelo also has an infectious laugh, a contagious smile, and enough energy to

electrify a skyscraper.

“If he’s not like this, we know something is wrong with him, so we enjoy these moments,” Santana says. “He is a typical toddler with tantrums and all. Even worse, because he gets so frustrated he cannot communicate or walk like others his age.”

More hope than ever When Santana and her husband, Dionisio, first learned of Angelo’s diagnosis, they went in two different emotional directions, a common reaction for new parents of children with special needs. Dionisio was confused and somewhat in denial. Rita, who is in school to obtain a nursing degree, was curious on how to best deal with Russell-Silver Syndrome (RSS) and its many complications.

She bought textbooks, learning more about this rare syndrome. She found the world’s largest organization dedicated to growth abnormalities—the Oak Park-based MAGIC Foundation. And she attended a convention in the Chicago area, where she met the nationally renowned RSS specialist, Dr. Madeleine Harbison.

Harbison, a New York-based

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ANGELO

from page 22

endocrinologist, confirmed with Santana that her son has the “11p15 type” of RSS. Santana wondered just how rare this type of RSS is, which occurs roughly in one out of every 100,000 live births.

“A general pediatrician could practice for his whole life and not see one child with RSS,” Harbison says.

RSS is named in honor of two physicians in the 1950s who independently described groups of small-for-gestational-age children.

Is the life expectancy of children with RSS much lower than for other kids? Not if they get the care they need, Harbison says. Yet, certainly, their daily activities can be affected because they are so small, weak and frail.

“Generally, these children grow well on growth hormones,” she adds. “It remains to be seen how Angelo will grow because he is so much smaller than the typical RSS child.”

On a broader scale, RSS is being more appropriately diagnosed these days at younger ages, thanks largely to the MAGIC Foundation and the tireless work of its co-founder and chief executive officer, Mary Andrews.

“We have only about 2,000 such cases nationwide of RSS in our database,” says Andrews, whose now-41-year-old son was

WHAT IS RUSSELL-SILVER SYNDROME? ■

Russell-Silver Syndrome, or RSS, is a very rare and severe type of primordial dwarfism. It occurs roughly in one out of every 100,000 live births.

MAKE A CONNECTION ■

To learn more or to connect with other RSS parents, visit the Facebook group “A Day and a Life,” or contact the MAGIC Foundation at magicfoundation.org or (800) 3-MAGIC-3.

born with a form of dwarfism.

“Back then, pediatricians didn’t know anything about this issue,” she says. “Today, my son is married with two kids.”

More to the point, now he is 5-foot-7, she quickly notes.

Many RSS parents ask the same question as other new parents of children with special needs: What are the chances for a normal life?

Experts insist the prospect for a normal life with a normal adult height is closer than ever before.

Bobbi McGrath knows full well how Santana and other “RSS mothers” feel with their youngsters. Fifteen years ago, the Chicago area mother gave birth to her daughter, Kelly, a preemie who weighed less than three pounds.

“After a few days in the NICU, when we unwrapped her, my husband started comparing her feet and noticed a big difference in size,” McGrath recalls. “The nurses gathered around and we all realized Kelly’s body was asymmetric. Her left side was significantly smaller than her right side.” (Roughly 50 percent of RSS children have asymmetry.)

The hospital’s on-staff geneticist told the couple that Kelly would be small in size and she would grow slowly, and would be difficult to feed.

“We spent the next 10 months trying to feed her as often as possible, even waking her up every night,” McGrath says.

It worked. So did growth hormone therapy and, later, reflux surgery.

Through her adolescence, Kelly suffered several broken bones due to low bone density.

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from page 23

And she had to have limb-lengthening surgery in eighth grade, a painful process that took several months to complete.

“She still is recovering from the process and trying to regain her strength to walk more normally,” her mother says. “She spends a lot of time at physical therapy.”

She also takes several daily medicines to counter her symptoms, including a prescription for high blood pressure.

Otherwise, Kelly pretty much can eat whatever she wants, and she has developed as normally as other kids her age, both socially and academically.

“She is accepted by her peers at school, too,” McGrath says.

Kelly is looking forward to obtaining her driver’s license, enjoys different school clubs and likes to play volleyball, among other competitive sports.

More noticeably, she stands 5-foot-4, head and shoulders above the average untreated RSS girl, her mother proudly points out.

“We are very thankful for all the intervention that has helped Kelly over the years,” she adds.

“Through the MAGIC Foundation, she has made many RSS friends all over the country. She looks forward to seeing them at the convention every summer.”

This news will surely brighten the attitude of Santana, who now will be a regular attendee of the convention. Her goal as a parent is to instill hope in Angelo.

“He’s different but he, too, can be accepted,” she says. “I want to teach him to accept himself for who he is, not what the world thinks he is.”

Santana then picks up Angelo and bounces him on her knee.

He shrieks in delight, his wide eyes darting to hers.

“Despite his size, he is capable of pretty much anything any human can accomplish. He’s my little man.”

Jerry Davich is a Chicago area dad, author and freelance writer.

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| ChicagoParent.com

2/7/13 3:37 PM

Diet offers hope to children with

epilepsy Families, doctor report dramatic results in a short time

Parents April and Christopher Runge use the Ketogenic Diet with daughter Nevin. Also pictured is son Aiden.

N

BY LIZ DECARLO evin Runge was 10 months old when she had her first seizure. At 2 1/2 she had such a severe seizure that she was transported by helicopter to a local children’s hospital. What followed was a cycle of drugs that often caused more harm than good, remembers her mom, April Runge, of Crystal Lake.

Nevin endured side effects that dulled her emotions or made her nerve endings scream with pain—so much so that she couldn’t even bear a hug from her parents.

“We tried another drug that gave her a rash, another gave her tremors and she couldn’t even hold a spoon to feed herself,” April says. “We were pouring 12 medications down her throat a day.”

When an EEG showed Nevin was having

“We want people to know there is a viable alternative to drugs and surgery that works for most people who try it.”

JIM ABRAHAMS SON ON KETOGENIC DIET up to 500 seizures a day, despite all the medication, her parents decided it was time to try the Ketogenic Diet, a high-fat diet for children with epilepsy created in the 1920s that had fallen out of favor as new epilepsy drugs hit the market. But with drugs failing to be the hoped for cure-all, some doctors have begun using the diet for children with epilepsy again, often with amazing results.

The Runges began working with a

ketogenic dietician to create a customized diet for Nevin, with 90 percent of Nevin’s food consisting of fat. Each morsel Nevin ate was carefully planned and measured to create the correct balance. The results were immediate.

“On the second day, I met my daughter for the first time in 10 months,” April says.

“She was so happy and so animated. So full of life.”

And doctors like Douglas Nordli, director of pediatric epilepsy at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, also have seen dramatic results in some of the children on the Ketogenic Diet.

“Each time a new medication comes up, people are hopeful that maybe this is the answer. It’s so much easier to take a pill,” Nordli says. “But we realize medications may help some people, but there are some that are poorly controlled. If you’ve tried a ChicagoParent.com |

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EPILEPSY from page 25 reasonable amount of medications, why not try something completely different that can be done without any pills and can control your seizures?”

Research has shown that about one-third of children on the Ketogenic Diet become seizure-free, Nordli says, and another one-third see a reduction in their seizures. Some children, after several years on the diet, are able to wean off both medication and the diet and go on to live a seizure-free life.

In the 1990s, Jim Abrahams spent years taking his son Charlie to doctor after doctor around the country to search for a cure for Charlie’s epilepsy. When every available medication, and even brain surgery, failed to quell the seizures, Jim decided they had nothing to lose by trying the Ketogenic Diet.

“There was only one hospital in the world back then, Johns Hopkins, who had this diet, so we took him there and put him on this diet,” Abrahams says.

“He went from having dozens of seizures a day to nothing within two days. It was a miracle.”

Charlie’s 20 now, in college and completely off both the diet and epilepsy drugs.

But Abrahams, who with his wife Nancy founded the Charlie Foundation to Help Cure Epilepsy in 1994, says most people still don’t know about the diet and many doctors are woefully unaware of the diet’s possibilities.

“It’s underutilized. There is a world epilepsy population in excess of 50 million people and most started having seizures as children,” says Abrahams, whose foundation is dedicated to educating people about the Ketogenic Diet.

“Most kids and adults who try the diet see an improvement in their seizures, but only a small, tiny fraction—1 percent—even hear about the diet or get good information about it. We have a long way to go.”

Robyn Blackford, a ketogenic dietician at Lurie, admits many parents come to her skeptical about putting their child on a diet

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April Runge and her daughter Nevin got to meet Meryl Streep and Jeff Garlin. (Below) Nevin spoke at a recent symposium.

INTERVIEW Q&A with Dr. Douglas Nordli, director of pediatric epilepsy at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago Q Is there an age limit to start the diet?

A No, we’ve treated patients as early as six weeks.

Q How long does it take to see results?

A In some dramatic circumstances, it’s a light-switch. …

But typically it takes about two months.

Q Is this something to try when nothing else has worked?

A In the past, it was considered a treatment of last resort, but given how successful it can be in certain circumstances, people are asking, are there times you want to consider it right off the bat? With very specific types of epilepsy, this can be the first choice.

Q Why is the diet mainly used with children?

A Children have a better ability to use the ketones in their body and get them to the brain. But at a recent conference, people were talking

about its use in Parkinson’s, brain tumors and expanding to the adult population.

Q Is it harmful to children to be on a high-fat diet?

A We think epilepsy can harm the child, not just from the seizures, but when they’re suffering it seems to take a toll on development, cognition.

So when we look at that…this doesn’t lower the brain energy, it actually raises the brain energy.

Q Is it a difficult diet for

parents to maintain?

A There is measuring and mixing, but then it becomes second nature.

And there are nice computer programs that make it much more palatable and a lot more flexible.

Q Can parents put their child on the diet themselves?

A We recommend the diet is done under a ketogenic dietician. It can have side effects and you need vitamins and supplements.

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2/7/13 3:36 PM

EPILEPSY

from page 26 consisting of 90 percent fat, especially since no one can say exactly how or why the diet works.

“When I first saw the diet, it seemed to be against good, healthy child nutrition rules, but after I saw the first child become seizure-free, my mind was completely changed,” Blackford says. “I’ve seen so many children helped by this diet.”

Blackford says researchers believe the diet’s success has to do with the ketones, which result when body fat is broken down for energy. “When you burn fat for energy, instead of using glucose, your body has a buildup of ketones in the blood,” she says. “We think that is what’s anti-convulsant.”

The diet can be started with infants through a liquid formula, and the Charlie Foundation recently awarded a grant to Rush University Medical Center in Chicago to set up a Ketogenic Diet program that will serve children and adults.

“We want people to know there is a viable alternative to drugs and surgery that works for most people who try it and that has been scientifically proven in controlled studies,” Abrahams says. “And the larger message is, for all of us, that it’s important to become involved in our own medical destinies and that of our children. To think otherwise can be harmful.”

As for Nevin? After several years on the Ketogenic Diet, she was completely weaned from the diet on Aug. 3, 2012, and remains seizure-free, without any medication. She has been mainstreamed into a regular classroom at school and recently spoke at a fundraiser and international symposium for the Charlie Foundation.

“They don’t think she’ll ever have problems with seizures again,” April says. “It’s a gift.”

To learn more, visit charliefoundation.org.

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Join us for Chicago Parent’s FREE

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| ChicagoParent.com

2/8/13 1:48 PM

Creative connections Art therapy one tool to help children with special needs BY

LUCY LATOURETTE

C

onsider the power of a paintbrush: the soothing touch of textures, the creative outlet of color. More and more, that paintbrush is helping children cope with the emotional and behavior problems that come with their special needs, particularly those with autism, Asperger’s and ADHD. “With autism, it’s about making a connection,” Alyssa Kulak-Harris, executive director of Brickton Art Center, says about art therapy. With artwork based on each child’s abilities, the goal is to help children feel a sense of accomplishment with their art.

“Nothing is open-ended and art projects have a definite beginning, middle and end,” she says. Projects may include stringing beads on pipe cleaners and adding Styrofoam shapes to make free-form sculptures or putting glue on paper, sprinkling it with salt and allowing the child to manipulate the materials so watercolors dissolve into an explosion of color.

For those with Asperger’s, Kulak-Harris has had much success helping them create comic strips about their struggles.

Especially effective with bullying issues, she says these comics are used to start a conversation

and become powerful vehicles of self-expression.

Ember Burke of Park Ridge credits art therapy with helping her 6-year-old son, Brendan, who has a rare chromosome abnormality that causes severe cognitive delays, limited language and seizures. He has participated in art therapy through Brickton at Have Dreams in Park Ridge the past three years.

Through art therapy, Burke says she has seen Brendan connect better with others. He talks, socializes and takes part in pretend play more often now, she says.

Lesley Hawley, clinical director of Children’s Home + Aid Rice Child and Family Center in Evanston, says art therapy also offers benefits to those with ADHD, behavioral and mental health issues.

“Children who have ADHD have a lack of detail, get distracted and lose their interest,” Hawley says. “They get frustrated and are unable to follow through when things get difficult.” Hawley has seen structured art therapy calm them so they can finish their projects.

Hawley likes to use an “inventor” project to help children with ADHD. She gives them an object they must use to create their perfect invention.

Structured art therapy has long been used to help children who have experienced extreme trauma, abuse and neglect.

Lucy Latourette is a freelance writer and mother of two.

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5 ways to deal

with caregiver burnout

TAKE A BREAK Christian Fellowship Church in Roscoe Village is launching a Respite Care program for families affected by special needs. The program is free and no affiliation with the church is required.

The special needs childcare is provided from 5-8 p.m. Thursdays at the church, located at 3425 N. Damen Ave., Chicago. Children can be dropped off and picked up at any time during this period.

The church has wheelchair access, a quiet room, sensory wall, playroom, nursery, accessible restroom and changing table.

Volunteers are trained to care for children with autism, Down syndrome, behavioral disorders, cerebral palsy, speech and language impairments, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, and developmental/cognitive disabilities. Siblings are welcome. marathon, not a sprint.

2

Care for yourself. Keep doctor appointments. Exercise. Get enough sleep. Make time in your life for something you enjoy.

3

The Holzman family, Ray and Jennifer with their twins Jake and Katie.

BY

GILLIAN MARCHENKO

J

ennifer Holzman, a Chicago mom of 6-year-old twins Jake and Katie, is in a pickle. The family’s nanny of five-and-a-half years is leaving. “She said she has outgrown us.”

Jake, born with Down syndrome, is a sweet boy who loves to dance and look at books. He also is nonverbal and runs away if he isn’t watched closely. “I thought our kids were getting easier, but I guess not. The nanny is worn out,” Holzman says.

I parent two kids with special needs. I understand feeling worn out. But unlike nannies and babysitters and family and friends, we have no “outgrowing” our situation.

According the National Alliance on Caregiving, 16.8 million Americans care for children with special needs under 18 years old.

If we aren’t careful, the extra attention and energy it takes to raise our kids could burn us out.

Caregiver burnout encompasses emotional, mental and physical exhaustion.

It can show up without warning and can mirror other conditions such as depression

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or post-traumatic stress disorder. Symptoms include loss of interest in activities, changes in sleep patterns and eating, recurring illnesses, irritability, hopelessness, anger and fatigue.

“Many drive the road to weary without knowing they are headed there,” says Cindi Ferrini, co-author of Unexpected Journey: When Special Needs Change Our Course.

“Stressors like protecting the person cared for, medical and financial choices, guilt, perceptions, disagreements on treatments, sibling resentment and extended family squabbles all add up to pressure.”

Christie Taylor, mom to two boys with special needs, has caregiver burnout.

“Somewhere along the way, I lost the fiber of me. I became the boys’ mom. Therapies and driving rule my time, my days, my life.”

Does this sound like you or someone you know?

Here are five ideas that may help:

1

Recognize the distance. You aren’t going to be able to do everything perfectly for your child every day. Celebrate the victories, but cut the losses. Treat your parenting as a

Ask for help. We may assume friends and family see our struggles and will offer help. Not so. If you need help, ask.

Network with other parents. Google “respite” in your zip code. Let your best friend know how much you are struggling.

Take one day at a time. Mandy Rohrer, mom to two boys with special needs, says the future is overwhelming. “I think about bigger car seats, refrigerator locks, adult-sized pull-ups, transitioning to older siblings’ activities, and finding babysitters who can relate to my nonverbal boys.” Take one day at a time.

Or, if you need to, take one morning, afternoon or evening at a time. Thinking about the future steals precious energy allotted for today.

4

5

Love your child. Is there something you and your child enjoy doing together?

Skip a therapy session and do it, or stay home and watch a show together that you both like. Connect with your child as her mom or dad, not just as a caregiver.

If you struggle with caregiver burnout, that doesn’t mean you don’t love your child.

It does mean you need help. You and your children are worth you feeling better.

“Parenting kids with special needs is hard,” Rohrer says. “But never in a million years would I give one of them up.”

Gillian Marchenko is a Chicago mom of four and a freelance writer.

| ChicagoParent.com

2/7/13 4:18 PM

Moving day Ways to ease the transition for your child with special needs

BY KRYSTYANN KRYWKO

O

ne out of five families moves every year.

While transitioning to a new neighborhood or town can bring an assortment of stresses, this stress can be amplified when a family moves with a child with special needs. Routines, therapies and support networks can be disrupted and the entire family can feel on edge.

The following tips will steer you and your family on the path to a smoother transition.

Before the move Fill them in: Children easily can sense tension, so it’s important they remain connected with the significant changes that accompany a move. Lori Collins Burgan, author of Moving with Kids: 25 Ways to Ease Your Family’s Transition to a New Home, emphasizes how important it is to tell your child once the move is definite.

Keep them involved: As a parent you know what your child can handle emotionally. While taking a child house-hunting might work in some families, for others it makes sense to wait. “Our children are visual learners,” says Sharla Jordan, mom of six boys (four with special needs) “so once we had a contract to buy our new home, I drew out a sketch of the floor plan and explained where their bedrooms would be and where their toys would go. This really helped reduce anxiety.”

Get up to date: Paperwork easily is overlooked during a move, so now is a good time to begin collecting your child’s medical and school records.

Reach out to potential schools: Once you have a rough idea of what neighborhood you will be moving to, contact local schools and tell them about your child. Ask about what services the school is familiar with and also check to see if there are

some special needs families to meet.

During the move Recognize feelings of loss: Help your child recognize the many emotions she might have on moving day. While she might be excited to move to a bigger house so she can have her own bedroom, she might also be sad she will be so far away from her best friend.

Give you child choices: These don’t have to be big choices, and can be as simple as giving your child a backpack to fill with toys or books he wants to have for the ride to your new residence.

Make sure their room is set up first: Seeing their familiar possessions in a new space will help your child feel less anxious.

Set aside her possessions and furniture and try to have them put in the moving truck last; that way they will be the first off.

After the move Find some support: Moves are stressful on everyone and it’s important you take time to find support for yourself as well. “Organizations, such as The Arc (thearc.org) and Best Buddies (bestbuddies.org) were a great help to my family when we moved,” says Troy McClain, brother and guardian of a younger sister who is developmentally delayed and profoundly deaf.

Make a personal moving story Social stories often are used to help children on the autism spectrum prepare for new experiences, but Deborah Michael, a pediatric occupational therapist and founder of North Shore Pediatric Therapy in Chicago, says they are a great tool to help any child deal with the anxiety of moving.

Draw/take pictures/use magazine cut outs of what will hap pen prior to the move (packing boxes, etc.); what will happen the day of the move; what the new house/town will look like.

Provide a separate page for each step of the move. Write a few sentences below each picture that will help explain the story to your child.

It’s OK to point out potential problems, but it’s important to provide solutions. For example, “It will be sad to say goodbye to your friends, but you will meet new friends at your school.”

Introduce the booklet to your child as a bedtime story and keep it on their bookshelf, so it becomes part of their regular routine.

Connect with other families: Reach out to families that have a child with a similar diagnosis or families that live close by and have children with a similar age.

Having a friend to play with or to start school with can be a big help.

Krystyann Krywko is a writer and education researcher who specializes in hearing loss and the impact it has on children and families. She and her young son were diagnosed with hearing loss one year apart.

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Members of the Self Advocates at SouthStar Services in Chicago advocate for others like themselves.

Standing up, speaking out Group going after dreams and teaching others to advocate for themselves

BY LIZ DECARLO

R

aymond Jiggetts wants his own apartment. At 31, that should be a given, but because Jiggetts has an intellectual disability, the path to independence isn’t as straightforward.

But as a member of the Ray of Hope Self-Advocates at SouthStar Services in Chicago,

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one of the biggest things Jiggetts has learned is to speak up about his dreams.

“I say what I want to do in my life. I spoke up about moving to an apartment,” Jiggetts says.

“They put me first on the list.”

As Jiggetts waits for his apartment to be assigned, he is continuing his efforts to advocate for himself and others with

disabilities.

In recent years, the self-advocates have joined state committees in Springfield and spoken to local high school students about how to advocate for themselves.

“We try to promote personal, local, statewide and now national self-advocacy,” says Leanne Roth, director of employment and advocacy for

SouthStar. “It gives them the power to have some control over their lives, with support and to the best of their ability. ...Everyone involved has grown more independent and that’s because of what we do in self-advocacy.”

Part of SouthStar’s curriculum is Dare to Dream, which teaches people with disabilities

| ChicagoParent.com

2/7/13 4:18 PM

how to get a vision for their lives, the first step to advocating toward that dream.

“When I was a kid, I wanted to be a nurse, so I got a little nurse’s kit,” Roth says. “When a child with disabilities says ‘I want to be a nurse,’ they have the whole IEP team sitting around talking about why they can’t.

In Dare to Dream, we try to help them figure out what they want out of life and then how to advocate to get that.”

Roth says the advocacy group has completely changed the organization.

“The self-advocates here are involved in decisions on every level,” Roth says.

“They’re on the safety committee, staff development ... anything we do, we get input.”

Self-advocate Melissa Regan travels around Illinois talking about advocacy and was chosen to be a quality analyst for the state of Illinois. She worked with two other advocates from the state to survey other people with disabilities and create a paper on the topic.

“I’ve become a lot stronger with this,” Regan says.

Another SouthStar advocate, Cindy Toll, found a lifelong wish realized once she learned to self-advocate.

“I have had one dream come true, to be in a movie.

I put it on my collage that we did in Dare to Dream and then started working towards it,” Toll says. A local director of the film “Tower Phi” was filming in Frankfort and cast Toll as an extra after hearing about her dream.

Brian Denton became a photographer after learning to tell others what he would like to do. He now works alongside a professional photographer taking pictures at SouthStar events. His goal is to encourage other people with disabilities to go after what they want as well.

“I speak up for myself to help other people do the same thing.”

Tips to teach self-advocacy Leanne Roth has spent the past few years at SouthStar in Chicago teaching people with a wide range of disabilities how to self advocate. She has a few tips for how parents can encourage their children to speak up for themselves.

Listen. “One of the best things to do is listen when they tell you they want to do something.

We have people say they want to go to a basketball game and staff or parents will auto matically think, ‘Bulls game, expensive,’ but they really may be just thinking high school basketball.”

Ask why. “We had a boy who wanted to get married. The case manager was smart enough to ask why,” Roth says.

“He said because he wanted to hold hands at the movies like his parents and he thought you had to be married for that.”

Give them responsibility. Ask, “How can I help you and what are you doing about this?” “We try to have conversations, not like I’m a genie and, poof, your dreams will come true. The way to teach it is to put it back and say, ‘what have you done, where are you stuck, and how can I help you?’”

Start small. “Let’s say some body wants to go to the movies with their friends without a chaperone. The first step is the parent sits somewhere else or goes to another theater and checks back.”

Be prepared for bumps. “Know it’s not always going to work, and be there. It’s like the old, you’ve gotta get back up on the horse,” Roth says. “You don’t want a failure that someone doesn’t get up from and they’re scared to do something.”

Parents interested in a free class at SouthStar about teach ing their child with disabilities to self advocate can contact Roth at lroth@southstarser vices.org or (708) 747 0627 ext 117.

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8 reasons

to get outside Outdoor play fuels fun and learning for kids with special needs

BY STACEY LOSCALZO

O

utside play, says author and clinical psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison, is a necessity.

While playing outside, children explore with all their senses, witness new life, create imaginary worlds and negotiate with each other to create a playful environment.

1

Outdoor play is a multisensory activity. While outdoors, children see, hear, smell and touch things unavailable to them when they play inside.

Photo by Jade Albert

Learn more at

autismspeaks.org/signs Some signs to look for:

No big smiles or other joyful expressions by 6 months

No babbling by 12 months

No words by 16 months

© 2012 Autism Speaks Inc. "Autism Speaks" and "It's time to listen" & design are trademarks owned by Autism Speaks Inc. All rights reserved. The person depicted is a model and is used for illustrative purposes only.

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2 3

Playing outdoors stimulates creativity. Rocks, stones and dirt present limitless opportunities for play.

Playing in nature reduces anxiety. Children bring an open mind and a more relaxed outlook back inside.

4

Outdoor play increases attention span. Time spent in unstructured play outdoors is a natural attention builder. University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign researchers found that children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder who regularly play in natural settings outside have milder symptoms than those who play indoors or outdoors in artificial environments.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 35

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OUTSIDE

from page 34

Time spent outdoors improves children’s immune systems.

Being in nature develops respect for other living things. Children gain empathy, the ability to consider other people’s feeling, by interacting with creatures in nature.

7

Playing outside improves listening and communication skills. As children negotiate the rules of an invented game, they must listen closely to one another, ask questions for clarification and attend to the details of explanations in ways they don’t have to when playing familiar inside games.

8

Outdoor play is fun.

Children are naturally happy when they are moving, playing and creating outside. This joy opens them up for experimenting, learning and growing.

For ideas to help your child interact with nature, visit the National Wildlife Federation Be Out There effort, nwf.org/ Be-Out-There.aspx Stacey Loscalzo is a freelance writer and mother of two girls.

Nature museum creates program for special needs

Students Flourish at Cove

The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum knows very well the benefits that being in nature has for children.

Now, it is opening its doors early the third Sunday of every month to create a special time just for families with children with develop mental differences.

“Exploring nature and sci ence at the museum in this welcoming environment really helps support posi tive interaction with urban nature,” says Christine Chirchirillo, Notebaert’s early elementary science educator.

A social story has been created so parents can prepare for the experience.

Chirchirillo says lighting will be reduced in some areas and the loud speakers will be turned off, as will the waterfalls in the butterfly haven. Volunteers and staff will offer simple encounters throughout the museum.

“We want families to feel confident and comfort able entering any museum environment, but more specifically for the nature museum’s goals, we want them to also feel comfort able entering ecology and entering nature,” she says.

“We really think offering the museum to them in a safe environment can help bridge that.”

If you go

Breakfast with the Butterflies, 8-10 a.m. the third Sunday of the month.

Registration required. $20 pair, $15 member pair; $10 additional family member.

Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, 2430 N. Cannon Drive, Chicago. (773) 7555100, naturemuseum.org.

S

tudents at The Cove School benefit from our intensive individualized instruction and highly specialized team, while learning in an environment that is specifically designed for children with learning disabilities.

Cove students are fully integrated in their school environment, participating in arts, athletics, college counseling, job training and authentic leadership opportunities.

If you know of a student that could benefit from the exceptional and individualized K-12 program at Cove, contact Dr. Sally Sover, Executive Director, at 847.562.2100 or ssover@coveschool.org.

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Resources

Find more information online

T

he resources you will find here are just an excerpt of the hundreds of searchable resources you will find online at ChicagoParent.com.

If you are a resource provider and your services are not listed online, email Liz DeCarlo at ldecarlo@chicagoparent.com with your information or submit your information at www.chicagoparent.com/resources/ resource-submission-form.

ADAPTIVE SERVICES Extended Home Living Services 210 W. Campus Drive Suite B, Arlington Heights (847) 215-9490 ehls.com

Provides in-home elevators, wheelchair, stair- and ceilingmounted patient lifts, ramps and accessible bathroom remodeling.

Adaptive Services, Advocacy . . . . . . . . . . 36 Autism Spectrum Disorders . . . . . . . . . . 36 Blind or Visually Impaired, Camps . . . . 39 Deaf or Hearing Impaired, Diabetes . . . 40 Down Syndrome, Education . . . . . . . . . . 41 Epilepsy, Equine Therapy. . . . . . 43 General . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Kids Equipment Resource P.O. Box 121, Forest Park (630) 766-0505 ext. 8 tken.org

Helps provide new and refurbished equipment to children with special needs who can’t afford it.

MobilityWorks Plainfield (815) 254-2000 Skokie (847) 673-4300 Villa Park (630) 782-1900 mobilityworks.com

ADD/ADHD Lincolnshire Area CHADD (Children and Adults with ADHD) 940 Waveland Road Lake Forest (847) 295-5183 chadd.net/978

Support group for families with members who have ADHD. Meetings are held the third Monday of the month at The Claremont Rehab and Assisted Living Center, 150 Weiland Road, Buffalo Grove.

Northern Illinois Satellite of CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder) Volo (224) 636-3742 meetup.com/CHADDNorthern-Illinois

Free monthly meetings are for anyone living with ADHD and/or caregivers, spouses/partners, educators and professionals.

Locations vary.

A New Ray of Hope

Support . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Provides wheelchair vans and adaptive equipment, including sales, mechanical service, rental vans and mobile consulting.

Therapy . . . . . . . . . . . 48

RampNOW

Education and health advocate.

Health, Legal . . . . . . . . 46 Recreation . . . . . . . . . 46

2225 Tanglewood Drive Aurora (630) 892-7267 rampnow.com

Rents, sells and installs lifts and ramps that assist individuals with mobility issues.

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ADVOCACY 435 Pennsylvania Ave. #146, Glen Ellyn (630) 260-3780 anewrayofhope.com

Evanston Citizens for Appropriate Special Education 1609 Sherman Ave. Suite 203, Evanston (847) 556-8676 evanstoncase.org

Special education advocacy, education and support organization. Assists parents in understanding the IEP process and their rights under IDEA.

Paige K. KoosConsulting, Counseling and Advocacy 1288 Rickert Drive Suite 220, Naperville (630) 234-0466 yourkidsrights.com

Educational advocacy and counseling services for parents of students with special needs in DuPage, Will, Kendall, Grundy and Kane counties.

Pam Labellarte 231 Bingham Circle Mundelein (847) 401-5053 fromadvocacy2action.com

Provides advocacy services to families of children with disabilities during all stages of the educational/transition process.

Protected Tomorrows LifeCare Center 103 Schelter Road Lincolnshire (847) 522-8086 protectedtomorrows.com

Advocacy firm focused on life planning.

AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS Autism Home Support Services 85 Revere Drive, Suite AA

Northbrook (847) 564-0822 autismhomesupport.com

In-home care from respite to behavior modification for children with autism and related disorders.

Autism Society of Illinois 2200 S. Main St. Suite 205, Lombard (630) 691-1270 (888) 691-1270 (hotline) autismillinois.org

Information and referrals to help find family support groups, links to providers/services in Illinois, legislative voice and public awareness.

Offers IEP consults and advocacy.

Autism Speaks Chicagoland Chapter 2700 S. River Road Suite 304, Des Plaines (224) 567-8573 autismspeaks.org

Nonprofit organization dedicated to awareness, funding, science, research and advocacy for autism. Also provides free services for families.

Chicagoland Autism Connection 1803 West 95th St. #268, Chicago (773) 329-0375 chicagoautism.org

Meets the third Saturday of each month SeptemberJune. Meetings are 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Easter Seals School and Center for Autism at 1939 W. 13th St., Chicago. Free respite care offered during the meeting for children with autism.

Easter Seals Autism Diagnostic Clinic and Autism Services-DuPage and the Fox Valley Region 830 S. Addison Ave. Villa Park (630) 620-4433 eastersealsdfvr.org

Provides a comprehensive interdisciplinary team evaluation to

determine the presence of an autism spectrum disorder or other developmental disability. Also offers services that address the specific strengths and challenges of children with autism.

Easter Seals Autism ProgramsJoliet 212 Barney Drive, Joliet (815) 725-2194 joliet.easterseals.com

Offers a wide variety of programming for families that have children with autism spectrum disorders.

Easter Seals Therapeutic School and Center for Autism Research 1939 West 13th St. Suite 300, Chicago (312) 491-4110 eastersealschicago.org eastersealsandautism.com

Campus combines educational, therapeutic research, training, school-to-work transition and adult vocational services.

Custom-designed facility meets the special needs of students with autism, emotional/ behavior disability, cognitive or developmental delay. Serves clients 3-22.

Have Dreams 515 Busse Highway Suite 150, Park Ridge (847) 685-0250 2020 Dempster, Evanston (847) 905-0702 havedreams.org

Offers programs for children 3-young adult, including preschool, afterschool activities, sports, Special Olympics, therapy, support for families and social buddies.

Helping Hand Center 9649 W. 55th St. Countryside (708) 352-3580 hhcenter.org

Therapeutic Day School

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for children with autism, ages 3-21. Pediatric outpatient clinic for children birth-21.

Little City Foundation ChildBridge Services 700 N. Sacramento Blvd.

Suite 220, Chicago (773) 265-1671 1760 W. Algonquiin Road Palatine (847) 358-5510 littlecity.org/childbridge

Provides services for children 21 and under with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities, including in-home personal and family supports, residential services and special needs foster care and adoption. The ChildBridge Center for Education provides progressive services for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as students on the autism spectrum.

Little Friends Inc. 140 N. Wright St., Naperville (630) 355-6533 littlefriendsinc.org

Operates three schools, vocational training programs, communitybased residential services and the Little Friends Center for Autism. Serves more than 800 people throughout DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Will, McHenry and western Cook counties.

Little Leaves 939 W. North Ave, Suite 750 Chicago (312) 646-2113 littleleaves.org

ABA Therapy programs for children with autism spectrum disorders and their families.

PACTT Learning Center 7101 N. Greenview Ave. Chicago (773) 338-9102 pactt.org

Educational, residential, vocational and consul-

Listening to what families need

W

hen Karen Aguilar realized about 40 percent of the families calling for support for a child with hearing loss were Spanishspeaking, she realized there was a problem.

“If you have a Spanish-speaking family at home with hearing parents and a deaf child learning sign language, there’s no common language at home,” says Aguilar, coalition director at Choices for Parents, which h provides support for children en with hearing loss. “There’s ere’s no deep conversa-tion because they’re ’re learning American n Sign Language and nd parents don’t know w English, so families es were making up signs igns to talk to each other.” her.”

To help these families, Choices now offers American Sign

Language classes in Spanish. “What they’re doing is they’re speaking Spanish, but we’re teaching them American sign Language and they’re speaking Spanish on their lips,” Aguilar says. And while that may sound confusing to outsiders, it’s working, she says.

“We’re seeing an emotional impact and a self-esteem impact right away,” she says. “The parents are saying, ‘Oh my God, I can now talk to my kid.’” language classes are free The sign languag and are offered in ssix-week sessions at 3420 W. 63rd St., Chicago. For call Alicia Soto at information, ca 480-0592 or email info@ (773) 480-05 choicesforparents.org. choicesforpa addition to providing supIn addit information and resources port, inform families with a child for all fam who has a hearing loss, Choices also plans social Choic events for families. For even information, visit info choicesforparents.org. ch

Liz DeCarlo

Special Recreation Associations in Illinois provide a lifetime of recreation opportunities for children and adults with disabilities.

If your community is not listed, contact WSSRA at 847-455-2100 for assistance with finding an agency near you. Look for our ad in this magazine.

Champaign-Urbana Special Recreation (CUSR) 217-239-1152, www.cuspecialrecreation.com Champaign, Urbana Chicago Park District Special Recreation Unit Chicago 312-745-1298, geralyn.henaghan@chicagoparkdistrict.com Fox Valley Special Recreation Association (FVSRA) 630-907-1114, www.fvsra.org Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, Montgomery, North Aurora, Oswego, St. Charles, South Elgin, Sugar Grove Gateway Special Recreation Association (Gateway) 630-325-3857 x110, gatewayspecialrec.org, Burr Ridge, Elmhurst, Hinsdale, Oak Brook, Westchester, Willowbrook

Northeast DuPage Special Recreation Association (NEDSRA) 630-620-4500, www.nedsra.org, Addison, Bensenville, Butterfield, Glendale Heights, Itasca, Lombard, Medinah, Oak Brook Terrace, Schiller Park, Villa Park, Wood Dale

South West Special Recreation Association (SWSRA) 708-389-9423, www.swsra.com Alsip, Blue Island, Justice, Merrionette Park, Midlothian, Palos Heights, Posen, Summit, Worth

Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association (NISRA) 815-459-0737, www.nisra.org, Barrington, Cary, Crystal Lake, Dundee Township, Elgin, Hampshire, Harvard, Huntley, Lake in the Hills, Marengo, McHenry, Wauconda, Woodstock

Southwestern Illinois Special Recreation Association (SWILSRA) 618-346-7529, www.collinsvillerec.com Belleville, Collinsville, Godfrey, Granite City, Highland, O’Fallon

Northern Suburban Special Recreation Association (NSSRA) 847-509-9400, www.nssra.org, Deerfield, Glencoe, Glenview, Highland Park, Highwood, Kenilworth, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Northbrook, Northfield, Riverwoods, Wilmette, Winnetka

Special Recreation Association of Central Lake County (SRACLC) 847-816-4866, www.sraclc.org Grayslake, Hawthorn Woods, Lake Zurich, Libertyville, Lincolnshire, Mundelein, Vernon Hills

Northlands Association for Special Recreation (NASR) Belvidere 815-547-5711, www.belviderepark.org Freeport 815-235-6114, www.freeportparkdistrict.org Rockford 815-987-1606, www.rockfordparkdistrict.org

Special Recreation Services of Northern Lake County (SRSNLC) Lindenhurst, Round Lake Area, Waukegan, Zion Lindenhurst - 847-356-6011, www.lindenhurstparks.org Round Lake - 847-740-9828, www.rlapd.org Waukegan - 847-360-4760, www.waukeganparks.org Zion - 847-746-5500, www.zionparkdistrict.com

Heart of Illinois Special Recreation Association (HISRA) 309-691-1929, Chillicothe, Morton, Peoria, Washington www.peoriaparks.org/heart-of-illinois-special-recreation

Northwest Special Recreation Association (NWSRA) 847-392-2848, www.nwsra.org Arlington Heights, Bartlett, Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates, Inverness, Mt. Prospect, Palatine, Prospect Heights, River Trails, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, South Barrington, Streamwood, Wheeling

Illinois River Valley Special Recreation Association (IRVSRA) Creve Coeur, East Peoria, Groveland, Pekin East Peoria – 309-699-3923, www.fondulacpark.com Pekin – 309-347-7275, www.pekinparkdistrict.org

Oak Lawn Park District/Special Recreation Cooperative 708-857-2200, www.olparks.com, Bedford Park, Bridgeview, Burbank, Chicago Ridge, Crestwood, Evergreen Park, Hickory Hills, Hometown, Oak Lawn, Palos Hills, Stickney

Kishwaukee Special Recreation Association (KSRA) 815-758-6663 x122, DeKalb, Genoa, Sycamore

River Valley Special Recreation Association (RVSRA) 815-933-7336, www.rivervalleysra.com Bourbonnais, Bradley, Kankakee

Lily Cache Special Recreation Association (LCSRA) 630-739-1124, www.bolingbrookparks.org Bolingbrook, Plainfield Lincolnway Special Recreation Association (LWSRA) 815-462-2900, www.lwsra.org, Frankfort, Manhattan, Mokena Community, New Lenox Community, Peotone, Wilmington Maine-Niles Association of Special Recreation (M-NASR) 847-966-5522, www.mnasr.org, Des Plaines, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Park Ridge, Skokie

South East Association for Special Parks & Recreation (SEASPAR) 630-960-7600, www.seaspar.org, Brookfield, Clarendon Hills, Darien, Downers Grove, Indian Head Park, LaGrange, LaGrange Park, Lisle, Western Springs, Westmont, Woodridge South Suburban Special Recreation Association (SSSRA) 815-806-0384, www.sssra.org, Country Club Hills, Flossmoor, Frankfort Square, Hazel Crest, Homewood, Lansing, Matteson, Oak Forest, Olympia Fields, Park Forest, Richton Park, Tinley Park

Special Recreation of Joliet and Channahon (SRJC) 815-741-7275 x169, Channahon, Joliet Special Recreation Services (SRS) 708-841-1071 x233, www.specialrecservices.org Calumet City, Dolton, Riverdale, South Holland Tri County Special Recreation Association (Tri County) 815-407-1819, www.tricountysra.org Crest Hill, Lemont, Lockport Township, Romeoville Warren Special Recreation Association (WSRA) 847-244-6619, www.warrentownship.net/wsra Grayslake, Gurnee, Warren Township, Wildwood Western DuPage Special Recreation Association (WDSRA) 630-681-0962, www.wdsra.com Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Glen Ellyn, Naperville, Roselle, Warrenville, West Chicago, Wheaton, Winfield West Suburban Special Recreation Association (WSSRA) 847-455-2100, www.wssra.net Berwyn, Cicero, Elmwood Park, Forest Park, Franklin Park, Harwood Heights, Norridge, Oak Park, River Forest

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Local doc pens new book for parents

A

the autism spectrum, coverlan Rosenblatt knows ing everything from early parents are often the detection and diagnoses to first line of defense in education and employment early detection of autism. opportunities for children One in 88 children and young adults with and one in 54 boys has an autism. autism spectrum disorder, according to the most recent The 320-page soft cover book is divided into 15 chapestimates provided by the ters, beginning with a brief Centers for Disease Control history on autism and ending and Prevention.

Rosenblatt, a neurodeAlan Rosenblatt with a chapter on advocacy.

It also features local families. velopmental pediatrician in Throughout, the writing is Skokie who has been workbroken up by smaller, more accessible ing with patients affected by autism for information boxes and offers resource 25 years, says young children with avenues parents can seek to suppleautism spectrum disorder might ment the readings. exhibit unusual language developWhat it boils down to for Rosenblatt ment or social skill deficits. is awareness, which, he says, leads to Now, along with Paul Carbone, early detection. a physician in Utah specializing in Rosenblatt, who teaches pediatric autism, Rosenblatt has edited a very readable and concise guide: Autism residents at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Spectrum Disorder: What Every Parent Children’s Hospital of Chicago and is a Needs To Know. member of the Chicago Special Parent Advisory Board, hopes the book also Published by the American will help medical students.

Academy of Pediatrics, the guide is a LC_Jan2013_SP_Layout 1 1/29/2013 resource for parents of children along 4:50 PM Page 1 Dimitrios Kalantzis

Little City is a first‑class

service provider supporting and

empowering children and adults

with autism and other intellectual

and developmental disabilities.

PROG RAMS IN CLU D E:

• 24/7 Residential Services

• Therapeutic Day School

• Employment and Day Supports

• In‑Home Personal and Family Supports

• Foster Care and Adoption Services

• And much more!

CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION:

847.221.7859 | info@littlecity.org | www.littlecity.org 38

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| ChicagoParent.com

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AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS tant services for people with autism and their families. The therapeutic day school serves up to 30 students, ages 3-21.

It operates two children’s group homes, in Oak Park and Elmwood Park, and one group home for adults in Rogers Park.

The Transition Program serves ages 18-21.

Resource Center for Autism and Developmental Delays Garfield Community Center 10 S. Kedzie, Room 202 Chicago (312) 746-5447

Free resources, referrals and monthly training.

RRAF 613 S. Main St., Lombard (630) 495-7723 rraf.org

Day program and in-home support for adults with disabilities, specializing in autism spectrum and communication disorders.

Spectrum Support 1575 W. Lake Shore Drive Woodstock (815) 337-7570 spectrumsupportllc.com

Family-oriented autism support center. Speech therapy, occupational therapy, DAN biomedical, chiropractic therapy and tutoring. Support, education and social groups for kids and their families.

BLIND OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED The Chicago Lighthouse for People who are Blind or Visually Impaired 1850 W. Roosevelt Road Chicago (312) 666-1331 chicagolighthouse.org

Provides educational, clinical, vocational and rehabilitation services for children, youth and

adults who are blind or visually impaired. Offers a nationally acclaimed school for children with multi-disabilities and a Birth to 3 Early Intervention Program for infants.

Single-day and overnight programs and events for children with special needs and their families.

The Chicago Lighthouse North

Camp Easter Seals Program

222 Waukegan Road Glenview (847) 510-6200 chicagolighthouse.org/north

easterseals.com

Vision Rehabilitation Center for residents of the northern suburbs.

Houses a Birth to 3 Early Intervention Program, vision care clinic, a retail store and an array of enrichment programs.

The Hadley School for the Blind 700 Elm St., Winnetka (847) 446-8111 hadley.edu

The largest provider of tuition-free distance education for individuals over 14 who are blind or visually impaired.

The Illinois Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments P.O. Box 2947, Naperville (877) 411-IPVI (4784) ipvi.org

Provides support information services to parents of visually impaired children.

Voices of Vision Talking Book Center 127 S. First St., Geneva (800) 227-0625 vovtbc.org

Serves eligible readers in a 12-county area: Boone, Cook (except Chicago), DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, McHenry and Will counties.

CAMPS Camp Bradford Woods Indiana University’s Outdoor

Center 5040 S.R. 67 North Martinsville, Ind. (765) 342-2915 bradwoods.org

Celebrations

Easter Seals meets the need for accessible camping with 140 camping and recreation facilities across the country.

Day and residential camp sessions, as well as weekend and afterschool programs, are available.

Camp New Hope P.O. Box 764, Mattoon (217) 895-2341 cnhinc.org

Accommodates people with developmental disabilities ages 8 and up.

Camps begin the first week of June and run through the last week of July.

Camp Red Kite Agassiz Elementary School 2851 N. Seminary Ave. Chicago (773) 227-0180 theredkiteproject.org/campredkite.html

Provides an arts experience tailored specifically for children on the autism spectrum.

Applications can be found online at chicagochildrenstheatre.org/ camp-red-kite.html.

Scholarships available.

For information, call or email redkite@chicagochildrenstheatre.org.

Camp Red Leaf Jewish Council of Youth Services 26710 W. Nippersink Ingleside (847) 740-5010 jcys.org

Located on the grounds of Camp Henry Horner, Camp Red Leaf is designed to serve youth

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ChicagoParent.com |

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CAMPS and adults with developmental disabilities ages 9 and up.

Camp Wisconsin Badger P.O. Box 723 Platteville, Wis. (608) 988-4558 badgercamp.org

Hosts eight one-week sessions and one twoweek session for campers with developmental delays.

Elite Stars All Sport Camp Multiple locations (847) 804-3547 elitestars.org

Offers gymnastics, fitness, figure skating, cheerleading, dance and general sport training for individuals with special needs.

Five-day, four-night camp with housing provided at LaQuinta Inn in Hoffman Estates.

Training facilities include Gymkhana Gymnastics & Dance Studio in Hanover Park and the Hoffman Estates Ice Arena. $425 for full camp overnight option; $375 for day camp only; $220 for workout option only.

JCYS Camp STAR Highland Park (847) 814-STAR (7827) jcys.org/campstar

Collaboration between JCYS and the University of Illinois at Chicago to provide state-of-the-art treatment for children 6-12 with ADHD, highfunctioning autism and related disorders.

Shady Oaks Camp for People with Disabilities 16300 S. Parker Road Homer Glen (708) 301-0816 shadyoakscamp.org

Residential summer camp for people with disabilities ages 5 and up. Also offers a two-week day camp program for kids with disabilities ages 5-17.

Tourette Syndrome Camp Organization Chicago (773) 465-7536 tourettecamp.com

Residential camping program is designed for kids 8-16 with a primary diagnosis of Tourette Syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and to a lesser degree ADD/ADHD. For information, email info@tourettecamp. com.

YMCA Camp Independence Camp Independence at Camp Duncan 32405 N. Highway 12 Ingleside

At Southwest Dental we take special care of

(847) 546-8086 ymcacampindependence.org

A year-round camp serving children and adults with spina bifida.

DEAF OR HEARING IMPAIRED Alexander Graham Bell Montessori School 9300 Capitol Drive Wheeling (847) 850-5490 agbms.org

Oral education program for deaf and hard-ofhearing children using Cued Speech. Children are mainstreamed with the general population and receive additional services.

Center on Deafness 3444 Dundee Road Northbrook (847) 559-0110

centerondeafness.org

Project Reach: (800) 7711158 Philip Rock Center: (630) 790-2474 project-reach-illinois.org

Serves children and adults who have hearing impairments with additional conditions such as mental illness or developmental disabilities.

Provides technical assistance/consultation, information, training and family support to address the needs of children with deafblindness and their families.

CHOICES for Parents P.O. Box 806045, Chicago (312) 523-6400 (866) 733-8729 choicesforparents.org

DIABETES

Provides parents of children who have hearing loss with support, information and resources.

Chicago Children’s Diabetes Center La Rabida Children’s Hospital 6501 S. Promontory Drive Chicago (800) 770-CCDC (2232) larabida.org

Illinois School for the Deaf 125 Webster Ave. Jacksonville (217) 479-4200 morgan.k12.il.us/isd

Educates students who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Project Reach-Illinois 818 DuPage Blvd., Glen Ellyn

Chicago’s only pediatric diabetes program certified by the American Diabetes Association for patient education. The team of interdisciplinary experts sees patients

Camelot Therapeutic Day Schools

special needs.

Camelot has the unshakable belief in the promise within every child. Our therapeutic day schools are tailored to meet each child’s individual needs.

We focus on teaching positive behaviors and critical life skills for successful living in the child's home, school and community so that the child will be able to successfully transition into adulthood.

Exceptional care and patient comfort go hand in hand at Southwest Dental Group. This gives special needs children and adults an experience they can feel good about - with the option of IV sedation for situational anxiety.

We believe there’s no need too special.

(708) 403-3355

16600 South 107th Court, Orland Park, IL

Dr. Tentler holds diplomate status in the American Society of Dentist Anesthesiologists.

Dr. Robert L. Tentler and Associates, General Dentistry

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Camelot provides services for children ages 3 through 21 with extraordinary needs including: Autism Spectrum Disorders Developmental Delays I ntellectual Disabilities Other Health Impairments Specific Learning Disabilities Social/Emotional Disabilities

Camelot’s therapeutic interventions include: Social Work Services Speech/Language Therapy Occupational Therapy P lay Therapy Pet Therapy Art Music C.A.A.E.L. Home Services

School Locations DeKalb Hoffman Estates Bourbannais Mt. Prospect Naperville Oak Park Oa

For more information, please call 847.204.7470 or email us at tdsinquiries@camelotforkids.org.

| ChicagoParent.com

2/7/13 4:15 PM

at the main campus of La Rabida Children’s Hospital, as well as the Hinsdale, New Lenox and St. John, Ind., locations.

DISABILITIES ORGANIZATIONS Association for Individual Development 309 W. New Indian Trail Court, Aurora (630) 966-4000 the-association.org

Nonprofit, communitybased organization serving people throughout Kane, Kendall, DeKalb, DuPage, suburban Cook and Will counties. More than 20 programs are available for physical or developmental disabilities, and those in need of behavioral health services or crisis intervention.

Aspire of Illinois Belle Center Program 1754 W. Wilson Ave., Chicago (773) 878-7868 bellecenter-chicago.org

Provides a progressive, family-centered inclusive approach to education and community life that supports children with disabilities and their families. Offers occupational and speech therapy in the child’s environment.

Learning Disabilities Association of Illinois 10101 S. Roberts Road Suite 205, Palos Hills (708) 430-7532 ldail.org

Serves families of people with disabilities.

Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities 121 N. LaSalle St., Room 104 2102 W. Ogden Ave. Chicago (Field Office) (312) 744-7050 or (312) 744-4964 TTY (312) 744-MOPD (6673) or 312-744-7833 TTY (Field Office)

cityofchicago.org/mopd

Promotes total access, full participation and equal opportunities for people with disabilities.

NF Midwest 473 Dunham Road, Suite 3 St. Charles (630) 945-3562 nfmidwest.org

Non-profit network serving families and individuals affected by Neurofibromatosis.

Park Lawn Association 10833 S. La Porte Ave. Oak Lawn (708) 425-3344 parklawn.com

Nonprofit offers support, including adult developmental training, residential facilities, vocational training and supported employment.

Pathways 150 N. Michigan Ave. Suite 2100, Chicago (800) 955-2445 pathways.org

Raises awareness about the benefits of early detection and early therapy for children with early motor delays. The online brochure can be downloaded in numerous languages.

Rett Syndrome Association of Illinois 1415 W. 22nd St. Tower Floor, Oak Brook (630) 645-2280 rettillinois.org

All-volunteer organization offers resources and events for families of children with Rett Syndrome.

Spina Bifida Association of Illinois 8765 W. Higgins Road Suite 403, Chicago (773) 444-0305 sbail.org

Nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of people with Spina Bifida.

The Arc of Illinois 20901 La Grange Road Suite 209, Frankfort (815) 464-1832 thearcofil.org

A clearinghouse of information committed to empowering people with disabilities.

The Cystic Fibrosis Institute 2401 Ravine Way, #302 Glenview (847) 998-3434 cysticfibrosisinstitute.org

Supports those affected by cystic fibrosis in the Chicago area with assistance and advocacy.

United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Chicago 547 W. Jackson St., Suite 225 Chicago (312) 765-0419 ucpnet.org

The mission is to advance the independence of people with disabilities and advocate for their inclusion in community life.

DOWN SYNDROME Down in the Southland P.O. Box 831, Tinley Park (708) 614-6118 downinthesouthland.org

Devoted to fostering the development of lifelong educational, social and life skills among individuals with Down syndrome in the southern suburbs.

GiGi’s Playhouse 1069 W. Golf Road Hoffman Estates (847) 885-PLAY (7529) gigisplayhouse.org

International Down syndrome awareness centers that offer free educational and therapeutic programs and support.

Other Illinois locations include Chicago, Aurora, McHenry, Rockford and Bradley.

The Cove School Ups for Downs Hartford Plaza 1070 S. Roselle Road Schaumburg (847) 895-2100 upsfordowns.org

A volunteer parent-run support group for parents of children born with Down syndrome.

Holds meetings the fourth Thursday of the month from September through May at the Schaumburg Township Building. Email info@ upsfordowns.org for information.

DYSLEXIA Chicago Reading and Dyslexia Center 180 N. Michigan Ave.

Acacia Academy

Individualized programs to help children and adults overcome the challenges of dyslexia, ADD, and other learning disabilities. Specializes in the Davis Dyslexia Correction Program, Davis Attention Mastery Program, and Davis Math Mastery Program.

Everyone Reading Illinois 751 Roosevelt Road Suite 116, Glen Ellyn (630) 469-6900 readibida.org

Provides referrals to services for individuals with dyslexia, their families and professionals.

ChicagoParent.com |

CSP0213_041.indd 1

EDUCATION

Suite 2411, Chicago (312) 360-0805 dyslexiachicago.com

6425 S. Willow Springs Road La Grange Highlands (708) 579-9040 acaciaacademy.com

Private school approved for out-of-district placements that provides personalized programs.

Beacon Therapeutic School 10650 S. Longwood Drive Chicago (773) 881-1005 beacon-therapeutic.org

Private special education facility serving kids 3-21.

Offers a multi-site service center for high-risk, multiple problem children, adolescents, teens and their families.

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EDUCATION

SURE, AT FIRST I WAS A LITTLE TAKEN ABACK

BY THE WHOLE PEEING STANDING UP THING. SURE, BUT I TAUGHT HIM TO THROW A STICK AT FIRST WAS HANGING A LITTLEOUT TAKEN ABACK ANDI NOW WITH HIM

BY THE WHOLE PEEING STANDING UP THING. IS THE BEST PART OF MY DAY. BUT I TAUGHT HIM TO THROW A STICK AND NOW HANGING OUT —WITH HIM EINSTEIN IS THE BEST PART OFadopted MY DAY.12-09-10 — EINSTEIN adopted 12-09-10

Brain Balance Achievement Center 1101 S. Milwaukee Ave. Suite 105, Vernon Hills (847) 821-1328 brainbalancecenters.com

Works with children with developmental and learning disorders such as ADD, ADHD, Asperger’s, dyslexia, Tourette’s, PDD and autism spectrum disorders.

Chicago Education Project 2353 Hassell Road, Suite 110 Hoffman Estates (847) 884-7030 cepautism.org

Nonprofit organization certified by the Illinois State Board Education as a non-public special education facility.

Provides special education alternatives to kids 3-14 diagnosed with autism and related disorders.

Cognitive Solutions Learning Center Inc. 2409 N. Clybourn Ave. Chicago 480 Elm Place, Suite 105A Highland Park (773) 755-1775 helpforld.com

Specializes in learning disabilities and ADHD.

Easter Seals Autism Therapeutic School Tinley Park 17300 Ozark Ave., Tinley Park (708) 802-9050 eastersealschicago.org

Licensed by the Illinois State Board of Education for kids 3-22. Easter Seals has three schools located in Tinley Park. There are four classroom levels: early childhood, primary, intermediate and senior.

Easter Seals Gilchrist - Marchman Child Development Center 1001 W. Roosevelt Road Chicago (312) 492-7402 chicago.easterseals.com

Full-day, full-year inclusive early childhood and

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education services for kids six weeks-5 years.

State certified credentialed and bilingual teaching staff.

Elim Christian Services 13020 S. Central Ave. Palos Heights (708) 389-0555 elimcs.org

Programs for children and adults with disabilities, including a school and a residential program.

Hope Institute for Children and Families 15 E. Hazel Dell Lane Springfield (217) 585-5437 thehopeschool.org

A multifaceted educational, residential, health services, research and training. Programs provided on and off campus.

Keshet 617 Landwehr Road Northbrook (847) 205-1234 keshet.org

Therapeutic day school committed to excellence in educational, recreational, vocational, social and religious programs within the framework of Jewish values and traditions. For information contact abbieweisberg@ keshet.org.

Leelanau School One Old Homestead Road Glen Arbor, Mich.

(231) 334-5800 leelanau.org

Leelanau is a small boarding school with limited enrollment. Offers summer programs.

L.E.E.P. Beyond 400 N. May St., Chicago (773) 255-8155 leepbeyond.org

Offers supplemental, therapeutic and educational classes including art, music, science and yoga in supportive, sensory-safe small groups.

Safe Haven School 937 Happ Road, Northfield (847) 509-5885 safehavenschool.org

Therapeutic school that accepts kids 5-18 with internalized emotional disabilities.

Soaring Eagle Academy 8320 S. Madison St. Burr Ridge (630) 323-2900 soaringeagleacademy.org

An Illinois State Board of Education-approved therapeutic day school for kids 5-21 with autism and related disorders.

The Cove School 350 Lee Road, Northbrook (847) 562-2100 coveschool.org

A private K-12 day school.

The Lily Garden Child Care Center 830 S. Addison St., Villa Park (630) 261-6283 eastersealslilygarden.org

An inclusive Easter Seals child care center.

The Parent Mentor Project - Special Education District of Lake County (SEDOL) 18160 Gages Lake Road Gages Lake (847) 548-2577 sedol.us/parents

Provides support, training and ongoing technical assistance to parents and educators related to special education services. Mentors are trained parents of children with special needs.

Therapeutic School & Center for Autism Research 1939 W. 13th St. (13th Street and Damen Avenue), Chicago (312) 432-1751 (school) (312) 491-4110 (central office) eastersealschicago.org

Offers education, research, training, academic and therapeutic services, school-to-work

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2/7/13 4:15 PM

EPILEPSY

transition and on-site adult vocational program.

blazingprairiestars.com

Danny Did Foundation

TLC Educational Services

P.O. Box 46576, Chicago (800) 278-6101 dannydid.org

732 Raleigh Court Northbrook (847) 508-9981 tlcedservices.com

Educational specialist, offering remediation and enrichment in all academic areas.

Wolcott School 524 N. Wolcott, Chicago (312) 756-7757

Chicago’s first high school for college-bound teens with languagebased learning differences, including dyslexia.

Now accepting applications from students who will be entering freshman and sophomore years in September 2013. Class size will average about 10 students.

A nonprofit foundation offering resources for parents, seizure warning devices and awarenessraising events.

EQUINE THERAPY Beverly Farm Equestrian Program 6301 Humbert Road, Godfrey (618) 466-0367 beverlyfarm.org

A planned community designed to enhance the lives of its residents (18 and older) with developmental disabilities.

Offers horse-assisted physical, occupational and speech therapies, therapeutic riding, equine-assisted psychotherapy, groups for children and adolescents who have mental health issues or are at risk, groups for children who have a brother or sister with a disability and social skills groups.

Equestrian Connection 600 N. Bradley Road Lake Forest (847) 615-8696 equestrianconnection.org

Improves the physical, cognitive, sensory and emotional well-being of those with disabilities.

Blazing Prairie Stars

Freedom Woods Equestrian Center

47W635 Beith Road Maple Park (630) 365-5550

9501 Austin Ave. Morton Grove (847) 967-9800

Camp Independence

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EQUINE THERAPY freedomwoodsfarm.com

Offers therapeutic riding and hippotherapy for children with special needs.

Friends for Therapeutic Equine Activities P.O. Box 1636, Warrenville (630) 588-8543 ftea.org

Provides therapeutic equestrian activities for people with disabilities.

Hooves to Heal 20604 Collins Road, Marengo (847) 293-6176 hoovestoheal.org

Equine therapy for children and adults with special needs.

Midwest Center for Children’s Development 4701 N. Oak St., Crystal Lake (815) 788-1020 mccdtherapy.com

Equine therapy as well as speech, physical and occupational therapy.

Partners For Progress, NFP Therapeutic Riding Center 23525 W. Milton Road Wauconda (847) 226-1300 partnersforprogressnfp.org

Occupational and physical therapy facilitated with horses.

Sunrise Center North Therapeutic Riding Program 23061 S. Thomas Dillon Drive Channahon (815) 467-9332 sunrisenorth.org

A nonprofit organization that provides horseback riding lessons and equine-assisted activities to kids and adults with disabilities.

GENERAL Access Living 115 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago (800) 613-8549 (312) 640-2100 accessliving.org

A nonresidential center

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for independent living for people with all types of disabilities. All services are provided at no charge.

Anixter Center 2001 N. Clybourn Ave. 3rd Floor, Chicago (773) 973-7900 anixter.org

Provides an array of services, including education, employment, life skills, communication, recreation, health care, counseling and support at dozens of locations.

Blue Cap 2155 Broadway St. Blue Island (708) 389-6578 blue-cap.org

Offers physical, occupational, speech and developmental therapy to children birth-3.

In addition, offers a school for children with developmental disabilities, including autism, ages 3-21. On-site day care for kids 2-5 available.

Brain Injury Association of Illinois P.O. Box 64420, Chicago (312) 726-5699 (800) 699-6443 biail.org

Offers free information and resources. Provides a summer camp program for children-adults.

Center for Enriched Living 280 Saunders Road Riverwoods (847) 948-7001 centerforenrichedliving.org

Provides skill development for greater independence, community integration, recreation and social programs for youth, teens, adults and seniors with developmental disabilities. Also offers summer day camp for ages 13-22 and day programs for ages 22 and up.

Specıal Parent Winter 2013 CHICAGO

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Chicago Education Project Clearbrook 1835 W. Central Road Arlington Heights (847) 870-7711 clearbrook.org

Provides experiences and opportunities through programs and services for people with autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities.

Community Service Options Inc. 6845 S. Western Ave. Chicago (773) 471-4700 cso1.org

Promotes access, service, options and independence to people with developmental disabilities who reside in Chicago.

Community Support Services Inc. 9021 W. Ogden Ave. Brookfield 5416 W. 25th St., Cicero (708) 354-4547 communitysupportservices.org

Nonprofit serving suburban Cook and eastern DuPage people of all ages with intellectual/ developmental disabilities and their families.

Offers independent

living arrangements, adult and parent support services, supported employment, transition planning and classes, cooking, art, health and wellness classes, and social activities. Cicero location focuses on family support services. CSS also owns and operates the Chicago Canine Club offering daycare, boarding, grooming, retail sales and conducting vocational training programs for people with disabilities.

Illinois Chapter for Prader-Willi Syndrome pwsaillinois.org

List of resources and events for families with this syndrome.

Institute on Disability and Human Development-UIC 1640 W. Roosevelt Road Chicago (312) 413-1647 ahs.uic.edu/dhd

Center for developmental disabilities with services that include a family clinic, a Hispanic diag-

nostic and family support program, 0-3 program and an autism clinic.

Keshet-Jewish Parents of Children with Special Needs 617 Landwehr Road Northbrook (847) 205-1234 keshet.org

Provides educational, recreational and vocational programs for children and young adults with special needs. Yearround programs allow kids to play and work alongside typically developing peers. Includes preschool through adulthood. Also has transition programs for after high school. Multiple locations throughout the Chicagoland area.

Leeda Services of Illinois

support. Other services include adult residential, transitional services and vocational services.

Lexi Kazian Foundation-Helping From Heaven 105 Townline Road, Suite 132 Vernon Hills (847) 624-LEXI (5394) helpingfromheaven.org

Helps network families through events for children with special needs.

Also runs Lexi’s Closet, a place to request therapy equipment. Accepts gently used therapy equipment to share with others.

MAGIC Foundation 6645 W. North Ave., Oak Park (800) 362-4423 magicfoundation.org

Support and education for children and adults with growth disorders.

Marklund

1607 W. Howard, 4th Floor Chicago (773) 274-9760

1 S. 450 Wyatt Drive, Geneva (630) 593-5500 marklund.org

Child-centered services and support including developmental, goaloriented enrichment, behavior analysis, respite, therapeutic recreation and caregiver and sibling

Offers a variety of programs and services designed to provide infants, children and adults with developmental disabilities a full life experience.

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MidAmerica Service Dogs’ Foundation 3 Grant Square, #354 Hinsdale (630) 272-8159 midamericadogsfoundation.org

Provides service dogs and companion dogs to children and adults with disabilities.

Neumann Family Services 5547 N. Ravenswood Ave. Chicago (773) 769-4313 neumannfamilyservices.org

Provides education, housing, recreation, rehabilitation, training and employment opportunities to people with disabilities and mental illness.

New Hope Center 1624 E. 154th St. Dolton (708) 841-1071 newhopecenterinc.com

Community service agency that provides

services to individuals with developmental disabilities who reside in Southeast Cook County and Northeast Will County.

ness, traumatic brain injury and provides early intervention therapies for children birth to 5.

Oak Leyden Developmental Services

Custom Allergen-free Prescriptions 603 E. Diehl Road, Suite 131 Naperville (877) 976-7873 purecompounding.com

411 Chicago Ave. Oak Park (708) 524-1050 oak-leyden.org

Vocational and residential services for adults and therapy, educational and family support for infants and young children with developmental disabilities.

Pure Compounding Pharmacy

Makes custom prescription medications without allergens or artificial additives. Specialties include autism, ADD/ ADHD, asthma, allergies and dermatology.

Pioneer Center

Ray Graham Association

4001 Dayton St. McHenry (815) 344-1230 pioneercenter.org

901 Warrenville Road Suite 500, Lisle (630) 620-2222 raygraham.org

Nonprofit organization that serves people with developmental disabilities, mental ill-

Children and adults with developmental disabilities receive vocational, residential, educational,

respite, therapeutic and recreational services and supports at 35 locations in DuPage County including Bloomingdale, Lombard, Lisle, Bensenville, Downers Grove, Elmhurst, Villa Park, Addison, Burr Ridge, Naperville, Roselle, West Chicago and Woodridge.

SHORE Community Services Inc. Regenstein Center 4232 Dempster St., Skokie (847) 982-2030 shoreinc.org

Provides programs for children and adults with developmental disabilities from birthadult. Programs include Residential, Early Intervention, Supported Living, Home Based Services, Vocational, In-Home Respite and Adult Day Services.

Southwest Community Services 6775 Prosperi Drive Tinley Park (708) 429-1260 swcsinc.org

Five core programs provide services to individuals with developmental, behavioral, physical or learning disabilities and to those with a mental illness.

Day programs include vocational opportunities and training. Therapies offered through Southwest Therapy And Rehabilitation Services (STARS) program (starstherapy.org).

St. Coletta of Illinois

residential program is designed to provide quality housing for special needs individuals.

The program consists of 30 group homes within 15 southwest suburban communities of Chicago.

Suburban Access Inc. - SAI 900 Maple Ave., 3rd Floor Homewood (708) 799-9190 suburban-access.org

Nonprofit agency handles case management and service coordination to individuals with developmental disabilities in 18 townships of south and west suburban Cook County.

The Friendship Circle of Illinois

18350 Crossing Drive Suite 103, Tinley Park (708) 342-5200 stcoletasofil.com

Provides elementary through high school education. St. Coletta’s

2095 Landwehr Road Northbrook (847) 943-9770 fcil.org

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GENERAL lies who have children with special needs that involves them in a full range of social and Judaic experiences.

(773) 363-6700 larabida.org

Trinity Services Inc.

Children with complex medical conditions receive the array of services they need under one medical home roof.

100 N. Gougar Road, Joliet (815) 485-6197 trinity-services.org

Pfeiffer Medical Center

Provides a wide range of programs and services for children and adults with developmental disabilities and/or behavioral health needs.

Provides residential services, adult learning programs, vocational programs including supported employment, an autism center, respite services, and varied therapeutic services.

HEALTH Advocate Hope Children’s Hospital 4440 W. 95th St. Oak Lawn (708) 684-8000 advocatehealth.com/hope

The hospital provides a cleft palate and craniofacial center and a pediatric endocrine program, among other specialties.

3 S. 721 West Ave., Suite 300 Warrenville (630) 505-0300 hriptc.org

Medical outpatient facility specializing in the treatment of symptoms from biochemical imbalances. Treats children, teens and adults with symptoms of behavioral and learning disorders, autism spectrum disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and anxiety.

Shriners Hospitals for Children 2211 N. Oak Park Ave. Chicago (773) 622-5400 shrinershospitals.org

Provides pediatric orthopedic surgeries, plastic and craniofacial surgery, and spinal cord injury rehabilitation to kids under 18 at no charge.

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago 225 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago (773) 880-4000 (800) KIDS-DOC (543-7362) luriechildrens.org

Region’s top provider of pediatric specialty care.

Association of Children’s Prosthetic-Orthotic Clinics-ACPOC 6300 N. River Road, Suite 727 Rosemont (847) 698-1637 acpoc.org

Provides prostheticorthotic care for children with limb loss or orthopedic disabilities.

La Rabida Children’s Hospital 6501 Promontory Drive East 65th at Lake Michigan Chicago

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LEGAL DePaul University Special Education Advocacy Clinic 1 E. Jackson Blvd., Suite 100 Chicago (312) 362-8294 law.depaul.edu/clinical_programs/clinical_special_ed.asp

Comprehensive advocacy program designed to protect the educational rights of children with disabilities while introducing law students to special education law. Primarily works within Cook County and at public schools only.

RECREATION 1st Position Dance and Movement Held at Dance Center of

Specıal Parent Winter 2013 CHICAGO

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Milestones-For Kids’ Success Evanston 1934 Dempster St., Evanston (847) 563-8719 1stposition.us

(847) 854-1300 Loves Park, Rockford (815) 282-3488 dolphinswimclub.com

Designed to encourage movement and improve posture and selective motor control. Classes include facilitators for each student and live piano music.

From small-group lessons to private one-on-one lessons, teachers are experienced at working with students who have special needs.

Chicago Children’s Museum Navy Pier 700 E. Grand Ave., Chicago (312) 527-1000 chicagochildrensmuseum.org

Funtastic Gymnastic Therapies Multiple locations (224) 554-9634 funtasticgymnastic.com

Offers occupational therapy in gymnastics settings and aquatic therapy in warm water pools.

The second Saturday of every month, the museum hosts its Play For All program, which provides families with children with special needs a chance to visit the museum early, and play in a quiet, more manageable setting. Opens at 9 a.m. for the event.

Registration is required at (312) 321-6551 or chicagochildrensmuseum/eventbrite.com. The first 100 to register (limit six per family) receive free admission.

Provides a safe, healthy, sensory motor environment for individuals with physical, cognitive and social disabilities. The kids, teens and young adults are mentored by their peers of typical development. For information, visit facebook. com/haleysplayground.

Dolphin Swim Club

Hanson Center

Crystal Lake, Skokie

15 W. 431 59th St.

Haley’s Playground 1 N. Lincolnway North Aurora (630) 777-5045 haleysplayground.com

Burr Ridge (630) 620-2222 raygraham.org

A nonprofit agency that offers a variety of programs. The 12.5acre facility includes an indoor riding arena, a playground, a petting zoo and an indoor solarium. Programs include horseback riding, sports, physical fitness, summer camps and a preschool.

Karate Can-Do! North Shore Dojo 2081 Johns Court Glenview (847) 729-0001 karatecando.org

Dedicated to helping children with learning differences and physical challenges reach their full potential.

Right Fit 7101 S. Adams St., Unit 7 Willowbrook (630) 850-4050 right-fit.com

Right Fit’s fitness programs “Raise the Bar” for youth and adults with autism spectrum disorders are taught on- and off-site.

Rink Side Special Sk8er class Rink Side Ice Arena and Family Entertainment Center At Gurnee Mills Mall, entrance H, Gurnee (847) 856-1064 ext. 302 skateisi.org

Skating class for ages 3-adult who have physical and mental challenges.

Classes are held Saturday mornings year-round. Cost is $13 pre-registered, $15 at the door.

School of Performing Arts Spectrum Program 200 E. 5th Ave., Suite 132 Naperville (630) 717-6622 schoolofperformingarts.com

Workshops in music, theater, dance and visual arts geared toward children with special needs.

Also offers summer camps for children with special needs.

Sky High Sports 2244 Corporate Lane Naperville (630) 717-5867 6424 Howard St., Niles (847) 801-5867 Nil.JumpSkyHigh.com

Once a month, Sky High Sports turns off the

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music and dials down the distractions for special jumpers. One court remains especially quiet for kids with sensory disorders. Even children with physical disabilities can join the fun. Jumps are held from 3-6 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month. Cost is $5 for three hours for the special jumper with a parent or therapist free.

Siblings, friends and others who jump are also $5.

Special Gifts Theatre P.O. Box 2231 Northbrook (847) 564-7704 specialgiftstheatre.org

Provides children and teens with special needs, ages 3-21, a creative drama performance program. School year and summer programs available.

Special Recreation Associations in Illinois specialrecreation.org

To find your Special Recreation Association or learn more about specialized recreation services, log on to the website.

Sunshine Through Golf Foundation Midwest Golf House 11855 Archer Ave. Lemont (630) 257-2005 sunshinethroughgolf.org

Collaborates with golf clubs, park districts and SRAs throughout the Chicagoland area to provide people with special needs professional instruction. The camp program is designed to accommodate all organizations that serve individuals with special needs.

Therapy Yoga Gymnastics Rocks 2630 W. Bradley Place Chicago (773) 991-7316 therapygymnastics.com

Provides pediatric occupational, physical and speech therapy in sensory rich gymnastic and yoga centers.

SUPPORT AmeriFace P.O. Box 751112 Las Vegas, Nev. (888) 769-9264 ameriface.org

National organization with volunteers around the country who provides information and emotional support to individuals with facial differences.

Celebrate Differences 5375 Route 34, Suite 4 Oswego (630) 885-3006

celebratedifferences.org

All-inclusive community resource center, welcoming all children and their families regardless of age or disability. Offers monthly workshops, sibling workshops, a resource library, an annual summer and holiday party, a Next Chapter book club, play groups and more.

Center for Independent Futures 743 Main St., Evanston (847) 328-2044 independentfutures.com

Nonprofit organization that helps individuals with disabilities and their families access skills and opportunities.

Dyspraxia Foundation USA

Family Resource Center on Disabilities

Provides information about, and personal stories from, people and families living with dyspraxia.

20 E. Jackson Blvd.

Room 300, Chicago (312) 939-3513 (312) 939-3519 TTD frcd.org

Eagle’s Nest Willow Creek Community Church 67 E. Algonquin Road South Barrington (847) 855-9571 willowcreek.org/disabilities

Provides information and support for families, free seminars, Youth Advocacy Project and Parent-ToParent Training Project.

Group for parents of special needs children meeting twice a month Saturday afternoons for support and spiritual growth. Children’s program provided during meetings. Siblings welcome.

Family Support Network of Illinois 651 E. 159th Place South Holland (708) 331-7370 familysupportnetwork.org

Works to unify individuals with disabilities and their families to advocate for funding, services and community resources.

Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy 925 Busse Road Elk Grove Village (800) 886-1762 fsma.org

910 W. Huron St., Unit 302 Chicago (312) 489-8628 dyspraxiausa.org

HELP (Helping, Encouraging, Listening to Parents of Children with Special Needs)

Check website for local chapters.

(708) 946-0129

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Group aims to help adolescents with autism

D

r. Michael Clatch, a clinical psychologist at Courage to Connect Therapeutic Center in Glenview, says he developed a group therapy for children with Asperger’s Syndrome based on two passions: Working with adolescents with autism and Native American customs.

Four universal needs, Clatch says, are the pathway to emotional health. They include belonging, mastery, independence and generosity.

Within each of these basic needs, Clatch says the group learns techniques one at a time and then is taught to use them all together.

The group size is limited to four. “I Dr. Michael Clatch want the participants to feel safe and never overwhelmed,” he says.

With belonging, group members learn how to make friends and the importance of maintaining “mutual support.”

Mastery involves evaluating emotional reactions.

Generosity emphasizes the value of learning to observe and listen to others.

And with independence, the group members learn techniques to help them control anxiety in real life situations, such as in school or other social settings.

“I require all my group members to come to individual therapy in addition to attending group,” Clatch says. “It lets me see what skills are lacking and how to create an environment that is best for each individual participant.”

Some clients, Clatch says, started out refusing to speak but ultimately attended sessions multiple times a week.

For more information, visit the center’s website, couragetoconnecttherapy.com.

Dimitrios Kalantzis

SUPPORT Meets the third Saturday of the month (except December and summer months) at the Crete Reformed Church, 24755 S. Country Lane, Crete.

Child care is available at meetings. For information, email hornerfamily7@gmail.com.

Illinois Parents of Adults with Developmental Disabilities Unite 3104 Treesdale Court Naperville (630) 922-3232 health.groups.yahoo.com/ group/IPADDUnite

Offers free online support and resources specific to Illinois on topics including: transition, employment, self-employment or supported employment, volunteerism, day programming, funding, legislative advocacy, housing, social security, Medicaid and Medicare, and transportation.

National Lekotek Center 2001 N. Clybourn Ave. Chicago (773) 528-5766 Toy Resource Helpline: (800) 366-PLAY lekotek.org

Lekotek centers offer monthly play sessions for families of children with special needs birth-8. Families enrolled can borrow up to five toys a month from the toy library. Services are provided in English and Spanish. Check website for locations.

National Respite Network 800 Eastowne Drive Suite 105, Chapel Hill, N.C. (919) 490-5577 respitelocator.org

couragetoconnecttherapy.com

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Helps parents, caregivers and professionals find respite services in their local area.

Protected Tomorrows Charities

Supporting Illinois Brothers and Sisters

103 Schelter Road Lincolnshire (847) 522-8086 protectedtomorrowscharities.org

3800 N. Lake Shore Drive #3E Chicago (708) 989-3619 sibsnetwork.org

Nonprofit dedicated to helping families with special needs. The mission is to provide resources, research and education for families of individuals with disabilities and the elderly.

Sibling Support Project 6512 23rd Ave. NW, #213 Seattle, Wash.

(206) 297-6368 siblingsupport.org

National program dedicated to the interests of brothers and sisters of people with special health and developmental needs.

South Chicago Parents & Friends 10241 S. Commercial Ave. Chicago (773) 734-2222 scpfrc.org

Supports people in South Deering, South Chicago, South Shore, Pullman and Roseland communities with developmental disabilities, enabling them to become productive, valued members of society.

Southern Fox Valley Mothers United for Moral Support (630) 554-8989 groups.yahoo.com/group/ foxvalleymums

A nonprofit organization dedicated to education about various disabilities, networking and parent support.

Special Parents for Special Kids 212 Barney Drive (inside Easter Seals), Joliet specialparentsforspecialkids. com

Parent-led group open to all parents. Monthly meetings to share experiences and support.

Childcare provided.

Nonprofit organization providing support to siblings of people with disabilities by connecting them with information, networking opportunities and resources. For information, email tara@ sibsnetwork.org.

TherapyBuzz.com (866) 936-5255 therapybuzz.com

Collaborative communication tool for parents, teachers and providers of children with learning disabilities.

THERAPY Adult and Child Therapy Services 708 Washington St. Woodstock (815) 338-1707 adultchildtherapy.org

Offers physical, occupational and speech therapy, as well as nursing services.

Adventist Paulson Pediatric Rehab 222 E. Ogden Ave., Hinsdale (630) 856-2600 keepingyouwell.com/ahh/ Care-Services/Pediatric-Rehab

Offers physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists and a pediatric audiologist in kid-friendly atmosphere.

All Bright Therapies 1957 W. Dickens, Chicago (773) 698-6535 allbrighttherapies.com

Speech/language, occupational and feeding therapy for children.

Art & Soul 1509 W. Berwyn Ave. Suite 202, Chicago (773) 878-7685 artandsoulchicago.com

Art therapy and counseling services for children, teens and families. Offers parenting workshops,

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peer support groups, and in-services for schools, parent groups and neighborhood associations.

Aspire Children’s Services 1815 S. Wolf Road, Hillside (708) 236-0979 aspireofillinois.org

Comprehensive services for children who have developmental delays and disabilities and their families. Offers social skills groups for children on the autism spectrum; Alert Groups for children who need help regulating their arousal levels; parent groups; Sibshops; and family programs.

Assential Therapies 241 Golf Mill Center Suite 201, Niles (847) 699-9757 atmfc.com

Feeding clinic and multidisciplinary therapy services.

BDI Playhouse 11411 W. 183rd St. Orland Park 1864 High Grove Lane Suite 104, Naperville (708) 478-1820 bdiplayhouse.com

Provides a wide range of therapy services, intensive programming for autism, play groups and parent training.

Beth Osten & Associates 9833 Woods Drive, Skokie (847) 663-1020 home.bethosten.com

Offers individual therapy as well as parent coaching and psychotherapy for children and parents.

Also offers an intensive therapeutic preschool play group and in-home floortime sessions.

Center for Independence through Conductive Education 100 W. Plainfield Road Countryside (708) 588-0833

center-for-independence.org

Uses the principles of conductive education for children with motor disabilities. Also has locations at St. Francis De Sales Church, 135 S. Buesching Road, Lake Zurich, and 2434 S. Kildare, Chicago.

Chicago Sound Therapy 180 N. Michigan Ave. Suite 310 2113 W. Walton St., Chicago (773) 227-1619 chicagosoundtherapy.com

Provides Integrated Listening Therapy for adults and children with ADD/ADHD, auditory processing disorders, sensory integration disorder and autism spectrum disorders.

City Kids 5669 N. Northwest Highway Chicago (773) 467-5669 citykidsinc.com

Physical, occupational, speech and language, and therapy, plus educational preschool playgroups and a variety of classes and groups.

Clinical Connections 2225 Lakeside Drive Bannockburn (847) 234-0688 clinicalconnections.info

In-home floortime services, occupational therapy, sports training and music therapy. Teen center to learn and practice leisure and social skills.

Community Therapy Services 40W310 LaFox Road Suite A1/B1, St. Charles (630) 444-0077 ctspediatrics.com

Provides speech, occupational, physical, and augmentative communication therapy. Facilitates support groups for parents and caregivers.

Courage To Connect Therapeutic Center 2400 Ravine Way, Suite 600

Chicago Children’s Museum Glenview (847) 730-3042 couragetoconnecttherapy.com

Full range of therapy and support services for Asperger’s syndrome, anxiety, depression, ADHD, art and play therapy, behavior management, teens and young adults. Monthly group therapy for Asperger’s social skills.

Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region 830 S. Addison Ave. Villa Park (630) 620-4433 eastersealsdfvr.org

Offers physical, occupational, speech-language, nutrition and assistive technology therapies for children of all abilities.

Also offers audiology services, community outreach programs and specialty clinics. Provide a Respiratory Clinic, Nutrition & Feeding Clinic, Positioning and

Mobility Clinic, Casting Clinic, Splinting Clinic, Orthopedic Clinic, Vision Clinic and Dental Clinic.

The organization has a social worker and parent liaison available to help parents. In addition to counseling and resources, provides support groups and sibling support groups. Other locations at 1323 Bond St., Suite 119, Naperville, (630) 357-9699, and 799 S. McLean Blvd., Suite 103, Elgin, (847) 742-3264. The Lily Garden Child Care Development Center in Villa Park (eastersealslilygarden.org) is an inclusive childcare center.

Easter Seals Joliet Region Inc. 212 Barney Drive, Joliet (815) 725-2194 joliet.easterseals.com

Provides certified, accredited services to children and adults with special needs including

physical, occupational, speech therapy, inclusive childcare, early intervention, school therapy, outpatient rehabilitation and residential services.

Easter Seals Society of Metropolitan Chicago 1939 W. 13th St., Suite 300 Chicago (312) 491-4110 eastersealschicago.org

Provides comprehensive autism services, early intervention, inclusive early childhood education, family support and services, and youth and adult services.

El Valor 1850 W. 21st St., Chicago (312) 666-4511 elvalor.org

Bilingual, bicultural rehabilitation center for children with special needs in South Chicago.

Multiple locations.

Eyas Landing

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Offers occupational therapy, sensory exploration, developmental therapy and preschool readiness.

Focus on Kids Too 425 Huel Road, Suite 14A Northbrook (847) 412-9772 focusonkidstoo.com

Pediatric occupational therapy. Specializes in the treatment of children with sensory processing disorders.

Hope’s Playground Pediatric Therapy 311 W. Depot St., Suite N Antioch (847) 838-8085 hopesplaygroundinc.com

Offers pediatric occupational, physical and speechlanguage therapy. They work with kids birth-18.

Indivisual ABA 5140 N. Bernard, #2, Chicago (773) 332-7382 indivisualaba.com

Offers home-based ser-

1436 W. Randolph St. ChicagoParent.com |

Suite 204, Chicago (312) 733-0883 eyaslanding.com

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THERAPY vices, specialized instruction programs, transition support programs, school visitation/observation, IEP development, potty training and family support services.

Institute for Therapy Through the Arts 2008 Dempster St., Evanston (847) 425-9708 itachicago.org

Provides individual, group and family therapy services for individuals of all ages who have psychological, physical and developmental challenges.

Jewish Child and Family Services 216 W. Jackson Blvd.

Suite 800, Chicago 855-ASK-JCFS (855-275-5237) jcfs.org

T:10”

Services for children, adults and families with disabilities.

Julie Herr & Associates Early Childhood Therapy Center 2032 W. Grand Ave., Chicago julieherr.com

Center offers developmental assessments, individual and group developmental therapies, transitional JK/kindergarten programming (ages 3-7), in-school support, therapeutic camp (ages 3-9). Also offers social groups (ages 2-9).

Services support children with challenges involving attention, communication, speech, sensory processing, fine motor, learning, behavior and emotion regulation.

Kids Can Do Inc. Children’s Therapy Center 19100 S. Crescent Drive Suite 101, Mokena (708) 478-5400 kidscando.org

Provides speech, occupational and physical therapy.

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Kids in Motion Inc. 4721 W. Midlothian Turnpike Suite 25, Crestwood (708) 371-7007 kidsinmotion.org

Pediatric physical, occupational and speech therapists specialize in the treatment of autism spectrum disorders, dyspraxia, sensory processing disorders, feeding disorders, cerebral palsy and other neuromuscular conditions.

Also provides therapy intensives, social groups, serial casting, partial weight-bearing treadmill training, post-operative therapy, and social work consultations.

Kids in Sync Pediatric Occupational Therapy 1820 W. Webster Ave. Suite 202, Chicago (773) 235-5070 222 Northfield Road Suite 201, Northfield (847) 784-9115 kids-in-sync.com

Provides pediatric occupational therapy services guided by the principles of the DIR/Floortime Model, the Sensory Integration Model, and others.

Langston Pediatric Therapy 143 Garden St., Yorkville (630) 553-8444 langstonpediatrictherapy.com

Specializes in creative and playful therapy using a sensory integrative approach.

Learning through Play Center for Child Development 633 W. Addison St., Chicago (312) 458-9865 pediatricresources.org

Offers speech therapy, ABA/behavior therapy, occupational therapy, and sensorimotor modalities such as Interactive Metronome. Has a variety of preschool classes, socialization groups and yearly speech camps.

LEEP Forward Developmental Clinic 400 N. May St., Suite 202 Chicago (773) 255-8155 leepforward.com

Offers therapeutic preschool, developmental therapy and social groups for children with special needs, family music classes and music therapy, birth-to-3 social-emotional services, bilingual toddler groups, assessments and parenting coaching, home visits, educational tutoring and therapy and babysitting training for kids with special needs.

The new LEEP Beyond (leepbeyond.org) programs offers supportive enrichment classes that include art, music, science and yoga.

LYNX Therapeutics Pediatric Therapy 9436 Ozark Ave. Morton Grove (847) 791-1631 lynxtherapeutics.com

Pediatric therapy and learning instruction programs. Home-based services available. Provides assessments, techniques and technology. Focuses on improving sensorimotor development, gross and fine motor skills, as well as enhancing social development, attention and academic success.

Milestones-For Kids’ Success 2901 Finley Road, Suite 101 Downers Grove (630) 792-1800 milestones4kids.com

Provides pediatric occupational, physical and speech-language therapy. Expertise in sensory integration therapy, sound-based/therapeutic listening intervention, feeding therapy, Neuro-Developmental Treatment, Kinesiotaping, oral-motor techniques,

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and specialized techniques to work with children with apraxia, torticolis, neurodevelopmental disorders and autism spectrum disorders.

collating/assembling folders and press kits, labeling, coil binding, etc. Additional location at 1939 W. 13th St., Chicago.

Parents Alliance Employment Project

North Shore Pediatric Therapy

2525 Cabot Drive, Suite 302 Lisle (630) 955-2075 parents-alliance.org

Glenview, Chicago and Highland Park (877) 486-4140 NSPT4kids.com

Three pediatric multidisciplinary clinics including neuropsychology, diagnostics and therapy.

Offers occupational, speech and physical therapy, applied behavior analysis, behavior911, social work, nutrition, academic tutoring, reading and social groups. Provides free resources, developmental checklists and parenting blogs on its website.

PlayWorks Therapy 3201 N. Wolcott Ave. Suite 2B, Chicago (847) 977-3399 playworkschicago.com

Offers home-based developmental therapy, speech therapy and social work/counseling services to children throughout Chicagoland.

Social Endeavors 1416 Lake St., Suite 1 Evanston (773) 339-7619 socialendeavors.net

Social Skills groups for kids 2-10. Emphasizes hands-on learning for both parents and children.

SPOT 4 Kids 29-D Stonehill Road, Oswego (630) 554-6156 spot4kids.com

A pediatric therapy center in Oswego, sponsors the MUMS Resource Guide on its website—a listing of services and resources for parents and caregivers of children with special needs.

Organization devoted to improving the quality of life for people with disabilities through free employment services.

SouthStar Services 1005 W. End Ave. Chicago Heights (708) 755-8030 southstarservices.org

Julie Herr & Associates Early Childhood Therapy Center Super Stars 5400 East Ave., Countryside (708) 352-3099 flyinghighgym.com

A full-service sports and rec center, Super Stars offers pediatric occupational and physical therapy program, and is expanding into a fullservice outpatient clinic including a therapeutic gymnastics program, for kids 3-18.

The Discovery Clinic 1306 Waukegan Road Glenview (847) 901-0909 thediscoveryclinic.com

Offers neurofeedback and interactive metronome to improve attention, impulse control, mood and energy, anxiety, organization, motor control, language and social skills. Additional services include Yoga for the Special Child, educational therapy and social skills groups.

The Neuroconnection 1847 W. Jefferson Ave. Naperville (630) 858-5105 theneuroconnection.com

Neurofeedback practice

works with children and adults with ADHD and anxiety, and children with autism spectrum disorders.

Tivers Clinical Specialties 26575 W. Commerce Drive Unit 506, Volo (224) 636-3742 erictivers.com

Therapy, coaching and consulting. Specializing in ADHD and Asperger’s syndrome/ high-functioning autism.

UIC Child & Family Development Center 1640 W. Roosevelt Road Room 336, MC628, Chicago (312) 413-1567 uic-cfdc.org

A licensed provider of evaluation and intervention services in Illinois’ early intervention system. This program offers stateof-the art services to the child and family that are individualized, evidence-based and family-centered.

Vital Rehabilitation Clinics and Services 5820 W. Irving Park Road Chicago (773) 685-8482

vitalrehabilitation.com

Developmental, occupational, physical and speech therapies. Also offers in-home services.

Locations in Chicago, Park Ridge, Merrionette Park and Schaumburg.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING/ PROGRAMS Avenues to Independence 515 Busse Hwy. Park Ridge (847) 292-0870 avenuestoindependence.org

Helps people with special needs and developmental needs through residential housing, job placement and workshops.

Cornerstone Services Inc. Career Solutions 800 Black Road, Joliet (815) 727-6694 career-solutions.org

A service to assist adults with disabilities to find and keep jobs. In addition to employer-based training, in-house training options prepare par-

ticipants for business and custodial skills jobs.

Donka Inc.

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Spectrum Vocational Services

400 N. County Farm Road Wheaton (630) 665-8169 donkainc.org

Provides computer training to disabled students who demonstrate special accessibility requirements and low income levels.

HarrysButtons.com Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago 17300 Ozark Ave. Tinley Park (708) 802-9050 harrysbuttons.com

Adolescents and young adults with autism are employed by HarrysButtons.com, a micro-enterprise that manufactures wholesale, handmade custom buttons, magnets and keychains. In addition to creating custom promotional products, the highly skilled, efficient team Also provides wine bottle charm assembly, document destruction, data entry, mailings, packaging, assembling, ChicagoParent.com |

Provides opportunities for people with developmental disabilities.

Additional locations in Olympia Fields and Schererville, Ind.

2302 Wisconsin Ave. Downers Grove (630) 852-7520 littlefriendsinc.org

The adult day services division of Little Friends Inc. Offers training and vocational opportunities for teens and adults with developmental disabilities. Men and women can work at Spectrum’s workshop or at jobs in the community.

Ticket to Work Program (866) 968-7842 (hotline) (866) 949-3687 (employer) yourtickettowork.com/program_info

Employment program for people with disabilities.

We Grow Dreams 1055 W. Washington St. West Chicago (630) 293-0100 wegrowdreams.org

Training and employment for people with disabilities through the greenhouse and garden center.

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Specıal Parent CHICAGO

SERVICE DIRECTORY

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

TUTORING

PEDIATRIC THERAPY

TUTORING

BY THAD

Pediatric theraPy associates

Special Needs, In Home Tutoring 20 years experience, M.Ed+18 Academic/Behavioral/ Learning Disabilities Illinois Certified K-21, LD, ED, MR, SED, LBS1

(773) 951-6079

See our ad on the Inside Front Cover

See our ad on page 1

SUPPORT

SPEECH THERAPY

Serving the North Shore and Northwest Suburbs

thaddiusmaslanka@att.net

Has your child been diagnosed or do you suspect that your child has a learning disability?

For information contact:

LDA of Illinois 10101 S. Roberts Road, Suite 205 Palos Hills, IL 60465 phone: (708) 430-7532 e-mail: ldaofil@ameritech.net www.ldail.com

Pediatric Speech Therapy

• Shots and drilling are no longer necessary • Computer x-rays reduce your child’s exposure to radiation • We use smaller chairs and instruments • We welcome patients with special needs

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special needs.

Diplomate, American Board of Pediatric Dentistry

16345 S. Harlem • Tinley Park

708-633-8700 • www.kidsdds.net

Look for the Summer issue of Chicago Special Parent this July!

Specıal Parent ChiCago ChiCago SUMMER 2012

an EMpowERMEnt gUidE fRoM

The faCE of beauty

Exceptional care and patient comfort go hand in hand at Southwest Dental Group. This gives special needs children and adults an experience they can feel good about - with the option of IV sedation for situational anxiety.

We believe there’s no need too special.

(708) 403-3355

16600 South 107th Court, Orland Park, IL

ModEling beyond disability

Real life

Play and Say Therapy 6650 N Northwest Hwy, Suite 208 Chicago, IL 60631 www.playandsaytherapy.com

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At Southwest Dental we take special care of

• Pleasant, comfortable surroundings

Speech and Language assessments as well as individual and group therapy Our therapists specialize in treating clients with a variety of difficulties, including: • Autism Spectrum Disorders • Down Syndrome • Social pragmatic deficits • Language delays and disorders

4721 W. Midlothian Turnpike Crestwood, IL 60445 (708) 371-7007

PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY We take the fear out of dentistry for your child.

Learning Disabilities Association of Illinois

“When Experience Matters”

Our center provides intensive, hands-on physical, occupational and speech therapy to children with neuro-motor involvement. Kids in Motion employs only highly experienced and clinically advanced therapists to best help your child achieve rapid and meaningful progress. We specialize in baby treatment and offer free screenings on an on-going basis.

Dr. Tentler holds diplomate status in the American Society of Dentist Anesthesiologists.

Dr. Robert L. Tentler and Associates, General Dentistry

6/28/12 4:24 PM

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ChiCago Specıal Parent Advertiser Index Ad Name .....................................Page Number(s)

Extended Home Living Services ....................................24

PACE ...................................................................................3

Acacia Academy.............................................................. 16

Fredric S. Tatel, DDS ...................................................11, 52

Play and Say Therapy .....................................................52

Belly Bum .........................................................Back Cover

Horizon Therapy..............................................................43

Cadence Health ........................................................... 1, 52

Karate-Can-Do ................................................................10

Camelot .......................................................................... 40

Keshet ..............................................................................27

Chicago Children’s Museum ............................................ 9

Kids in Motion .................................................................52

Southwest Dental Group ................................... 23, 40, 52

Chicago Park District........................................................ 6

Kohl Children’s Museum................................................. 17

Special Olympics ............................. Inside Back Cover, 14

The Cove School ..............................................................35

Learning Disabilities Association of Illinois .............11, 52

The Discovery Clinic ........................................................22

Learning Through Play ...................................................24

Dolphin Swim ..................................................................33

Little City......................................................................6, 38

DuPage Children’s Museum ...........................................10

Marklund.......................................................................... 12

Tutoring by Thad.............................................................52

Easter Seals .......................................................................5

Mobility Works ................................................................ 14

Urban Brain and Body .................................................... 16

Seaspar ............................................................................22 Smart Love ....................................................................... 9

SRANI ................................................... Inside Front, 37, 52 The Therapy Tree..............................................................11

Sign up online for

Weekly Newsletters Be in the know about family events, coupons and great giveaways!

Find us on Facebook Join the Twitter party!

Follow us @ChicagoParent

ChicagoParent.com |

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Jessica

Photo by Carl Jalowiec

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Sebastian

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Photo by William D’Arcy

Iliana

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Photo by Megan Dibblee

Oh, The Places You Will Go!

Their smiles tell a big part of their story. But the other part of their story is something only parents with children with special needs will fully grasp: How hard the children are working to overcome the challenges facing them. These kids were caught on the go. For 13 years, Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region has teamed up with the College of DuPage Photography Department for this annual photo exhibition.

Anna

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Nevaeh

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Photo by Petra Ford

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Jacob

Photo by Lauren Vitiello

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Jacob

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Photo by Courtney Penzato

Photo by Cara Pagels

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Gallery

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7 1) Keller, 3, Naperville 2) Renee, 6, Northbrook 3) Benicio, 3, Carol Stream 4) Lucas, 8 months, Glen Ellyn 5) Allie, 9 months, Lockport 6) Twins Nico and Josie, 4, Glenview 7) Shane, 12, Villa Park

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Send your child’s photo to tamara@chicagoparent.com.

ChicagoParent.com |

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INSPIRATIONS

PHOTO BY DAVID PIERINI/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Not afraid to make waves M ary Kate Callahan is not a girl who sits on the sidelines. She swims, competes in triathlons, plays wheelchair basketball and goes snow skiing and water skiing.

But athletics aren’t the only place that Mary Kate puts up a fight. She also wants to make sure that no athlete gets relegated to the sideline, unable to participate due to their disability. That’s why she joined with Equip for Equality and the Illinois Attorney General to sue the Illinois High School Association for the right of disabled high school athletes to compete at the state level.

It’s not hard to believe she won. After all, Mary Kate has been fighting her whole life, ever since transverse myelitis left her without the use of her legs at five months old.

“My quote I live by is, ‘Never, never, never give up,’” she says. “Even the tiniest things I fought for, like just to be able to go down the slide at the park.”

Transverse myelitis, a neurological disorder, made her a quadriplegic, but extensive physical therapy helped her regain movements in her hands and core.

Shortly after the diagnosis, Mary Kate’s parents, Joanne, an occupational therapist, and Jack, a judge, decided to try aquatherapy.

“I loved the water. They said I was like a fish,” Mary Kate says.

At 6, she joined her first swim team.

When it came time to choose a high school, she went with Fenwick in Oak Park. She immediately felt embraced by her teammates and coaches. But, while she practiced with the team and competed against able-bodied

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Fast Facts Who: Mary Kate Callahan, 17 Family: Parents Joanne and Jack Hometown: LaGrange In her words: “Really fight for what you believe in, and if you think you should, don’t ever give up on that.”

“I think the way people perceive themselves mirrors how other people perceive them.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF FENWICK HIGH SCHOOL

athletes, she had to sit in the stands at the state championships because she wasn’t allowed to compete.

During her freshman year, she asked IHSA to include people with disabilities in the state

championships, but nothing changed. So last May, only a few months before her final swim season would begin, she filed a lawsuit.

“At 17, you never think you’re going to be filing a lawsuit or named as a plaintiff, but it was something that I believed in,” Mary Kate says. “I really wanted this done for the kids … that are coming down and might not necessarily put up the same fight that I wanted to.”

A settlement reached last September allowed disabled swimmers to compete in the state championship. On Nov. 17, Mary Kate and six other disabled athletes swam at the Illinois High School state championships.

“It was a really cool experience to see and kind of make history in Illinois for high school sports,” Mary Kate says.

She says the other swimmers told her how much it meant to them, an experience she describes as “really humbling.”

Her advice for other young athletes who might be told they can’t do something?

“Don’t let anything hold you back,” she says. “You’re your own person and have the opportunity to change the world.”

She is now focusing on triathlon, which she hopes to continue throughout college and maybe even on the Paralympic level.

Her experience with the lawsuit has had another effect: cementing a long-held ambition to become a lawyer who fights for people with disabilities.

“I’m living my life,” she says, “and if along the way, people think I’m inspirational, that’s amazing.”

Elizabeth Diffin

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inclusive, simple, fun: because finding what you need should be easy!

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Sensory Toys & Clothing Behavioral & Learning Systems Swings, Scooters & Therapy Furniture Adaptive Aids, Chewelry & Fidgets Weighted & Compression Items Bed, Bath & Feeding Gear Organic Baby Toys, Gifts & Layette Pre & Postnatal Parent Necessities Parent Support Groups & Classes Online Store & Gift Registry

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