Local Spotlight Learning Tree Farm

This Dayton farm is helping to meet the growing demand for nature-based education in the community.

Learning Tree Farm is a working farm in Dayton that engages people in hands-on, nature-based learning. The non-profit farm connects the community with farming by hosting educational programs and learning opportunities throughout the year. Southwest Ohio Parent spoke with Heather Ritter, executive director of Learning Tree Farm, to learn more about the organization.

How does learning about farming and nature help the community?

Studies have shown that time spent in nature benefits the overall emotional health of all individuals. Through our educational programming, we hope to "plant seeds" in the sense that as children grow, they develop an appreciation and respect for the environment and become future stewards of our planet. Nature and farming education helps children and families connect with the world around them and see the bigger picture of how everything works together. Learning Tree allows children to go into our gardens, pens, pastures and woodlands to taste fresh vegetables, learn how to pick up chickens and to explore.

Please share more about your farm literacy efforts.

Our farm has many programs that are based on literacy in nature. For our community programs like our Chickadee program, every session has a book that is read that goes along with the topic for that day. Our Stories Alive field trip for 2nd to 5th grade allows students to read an easy-level chapter book and then come to the farm for a field trip based on that story. We recently installed a new Storybook Trail that will have a different story featured every couple of months and can change locations to encourage more exploration. We plan to start Stories in the Straw this fall.

What other neat programs do you have coming up?

Our largest event of the year, Autumn Fest, is coming up on Saturday, September 17 with educational booths, food trucks, pony rides and hayrides. Our Four Seasons of Family Fun Saturday program will continue this fall and be all about our honeybees and how honey is made. We will also have a four-week fall Discovery Class for 2.5- to 5-year-olds plus our last Farm School drop-off Saturday program for 8- to 11-year-olds. This program will be expanding to weekdays for homeschool families.

Can you give us a sneak peek at future plans for the farm?

We are going to be expanding educational signage and our field trip programming to talk more about healthy soil through regenerative agriculture as well as the importance of pollinators. We also have plans to continue to grow our reach into urban communities. Next year will be our 50th anniversary and we’re planning 50 things to do for our 50th. Stay tuned!

How can people help Learning Tree Farm and get involved?

We are always looking for new supporters! We accept monetary and gift item donations from our wish list. We are also always looking for dedicated volunteers who want to come out regularly and help us take care of the farm and animals! For more information about volunteering, donating or signing up for events or programs, visit learningtreefarm.org.

Neurodiversity 101

What is neurodiversity, and what does it mean for your child who thinks and learns differently?

during the Autistic Rights Movement of the 1990s, a new term was coined to describe the brains of people with neurological differences. First used by Australian autistic sociologist Judy Singer, the term “neurodiversity” became the springboard of what we know today as the Neurodiversity Movement.

Words Matter

Neurodiversity in and of itself isn’t a new or contestable concept. It’s the scientifically backed idea that there are infinite variations within the human brain and how it functions. When people’s neurocognitive functioning falls within societal norms, they are known as neurotypical (NT), and when they don’t, they are neurodivergent (ND). Neurodivergences can be innate — as in with conditions such as autism, dyslexia and ADHD — or they can be the result of an experience, like a traumatic brain injury or a long-term meditation practice, writes autistic scholar Nick Walker, PhD, in his blog Neurocosmopolitanism. Being neurodivergent, he says, isn’t in and of itself negative or positive, but depends on the person and their condition.

On the other hand, the neurodiversity paradigm — the concept on which the Neurodiversity Movement was built — is an emerging viewpoint that these neurological differences are normal and valuable. According to Carrie Steenbergen, a speech language pathologist and owner of TherapyWorks Cincinnati, the neurodiversity paradigm helps put the focus on the person and not the disability label. “With labels, comes assumptions and stereotypes about those diagnoses,” she says.

While the neurodiversity paradigm is becoming increasingly accepted by those within the neurodivergent communities, as well as within the community at large, it is still a fairly new concept that not all have aligned with.

DIFFERENCE VS DISABILITY

One of the major criticisms of the Neurodiversity Movement is that by normalizing neurodivergences — by seeing them as just differences — the movement downplays the need for support for neurodivergent individuals. However, as research psychologist and Autistic activist Jacquiline den Houting writes in “Neurodiversity: an insider’s perspective” for the peer-reviewed journal Autism, “neurodiversity advocates generally consider autism to be both a natural variation and a disability.” As a result, they are working toward services for ND people that improve their quality of life, respect their way of being, and are provided at their request and consent.

A Sense of Identity

Critics also believe that by moving away from “disability” terminology and instead framing conditions like autism as cultural identities (i.e., an “autistic person” versus “a person with autism”) does a disservices to the communities they indeed view as disabled. den Houting once again points out that the Neurodiversity Movement doesn’t actually deny that ND

“We can't expect neurodivergent people to conform to a neurotypical world,” Steenbergen clarifies. “Neurotypicals have to learn to accept and adapt to a neurodivergent person's way of thinking, feeling and doing just as much as neurodivergent people do."

Those within the movement believe that disabilities often can be minimized or eradicated through proper assistance and a posture of acceptance by the community at large, even for those with high support needs.

Full Spectrum Support

And this idea of support circles around to a third major criticism of the movement: that the Neurodiversity Movement caters only to those with low support needs — or to put it in more traditional terminology, highfunctioning individuals. However, those in the movement see this dichotomous view of high-functioning versus low-functioning as erasure of the variability within the human brain. “For all humans, there are a number of different cognitive abilities in which we can excel or lack; we are all somewhere on the spectrum of human capability,” Nancy Doyle, an organizational psychologist specializing in neurodiversity, writes in Forbes. For parents of neurodivergent children, particularly those who just received a diagnosis, jumping into this conversation can be overwhelming.

“People are quick to throw out a label to explain away behaviors, challenges or differences in others, instead of just accepting that people are different and using the information we know about that person to accommodate their needs,” Steenbergen says. “This very much makes it feel like we are trying to force square pegs into round holes.”

She says while that getting a proper diagnosis is essential for getting your child the support they need, she wants to remind parents that the diagnosis is simply a label.

“None of us have a crystal ball and we can't predict a future outcome for a small child,” she says. “We know that therapy and intervention works and that we can make big gains when we assume competence and have high expectations for neurotypical and neurodivergent children alike.”

KIDS EAT FREE

Here’s where to find restaurants that offer free or cheap kids meals around town.

Going out to eat can be a fun and convenient way to spend time with the family — but it can be pricey. Check out this Southwest Ohio Parent’s Guide to find places that offer free or cheap kids’ meals so that a night out doesn’t break the bank. Always make sure to call beforehand to check the location’s participation.

KIDS EAT FREE EVERY DAY Chili’s

Multiple locations My Chili’s Rewards members can receive Free Kids Meal rewards offers that can be redeemed in-restaurant or online.

Fricker’s

Locations in Mason, North College Hill and West Chester Kids 10 and under eat free at Fricker’s with the purchase of an adult meal and kid’s beverage. Offer valid for dine-in only.

Golden Corral

4394 Glen Este-Withamsville Rd, Cincinnati Children 3 and under eat free from the buffet with the purchase of an adult meal.

IHOP

Select locations around Greater Cincinnati Kids eat free with the purchase of an adult meal. Valid daily from 4-10 p.m.

Old Bag of Nails Pub

5234 Kings Mills Road, Unit 11&12, Mason Get one free kid’s meal with the purchase of an adult entrée valued at $6.99 or higher. Offer valid any day of the week with coupon available on website.

Rusty Bucket

All greater Cincinnati locations Grab a Bucketeer Bookworm Bookmark Tracker and record five books for a free kids meal.

Skyline Chili

Select locations around Greater Cincinnati Kids eat free on varying nights at participating Greater Cincinnati locations. Call your local Skyline to check for participation.

KIDS EAT FREE MONDAY Buffalo Wings & Rings

All Greater Cincinnati locations Kids eat free with a paying adult; $5 minimum purchase required.

Frisch’s Big Boy

All Greater Cincinnati locations Enjoy one free Kids Mini Meal (12 & under) per adult purchase of $6.98 or more all day every Monday.

Quaker Steak & Lube

Milford, Colerain and Florence locations All day Mondays, get a kid’s meal for $1.99 with each adult entrée purchase.

KIDS EAT FREE TUESDAY Bob Evans

Multiple locations Tuesdays are family nights, where kids eat free with the purchase of an adult entree after 4 p.m.

Denny’s

Multiple locations Kids eat free from 4-10 p.m. Participation varies per location.

Gold Star Chili

All Greater Cincinnati locations For each adult order of $8 or more from 4- 9 p.m. on Tuesday nights, customers can receive a free kid’s meal.

Hofbrauhaus Newport

200 E. 3rd St., Newport, KY The second Tuesday of every month is Family Night! Kids eat free with the purchase of an adult entree

Joella’s Hot Chicken

Select locations Free kids’ meal every day on Tuesday with the purchase of an adult meal (up to two free kids’ meals per 1 adult purchase).

Submarine House

Locations in Dayton, Troy, Beavercreek and Hillard One free kids meal per $15 purchase; 4-8pm, dine-in only