Middletown Magazine March 2024

New Heights Dana Walker Lindley Pens Fictional Account of World War II Bowman Field Flight Nurses

NOW Hear THIS No Small FEAT Families for Effective Autism Treatment Supports and Funds Programs Through Multiple Means

DR. MELANIE DRISCOLL, AUDIOLOGIST, IMPROVES HER PATIENTS’ QUALITY OF LIFE

MARCH 2024

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NEW HEIGHTS

Dana Walker Lindley Pens Fictional Account of World War II Bowman Field Flight Nurses

PUBLISHER COREY BOSTON corey@townepost.com (502) 407-0185 KEY CONTRIBUTORS MARIAM BALLANTINE RICHARD CALAUTTI CHRISTY HEITGER-EWING GAVIN LAPAILLE RENEE LARR GRACE SCHAEFER

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NO SMALL FEAT

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BETTER TOGETHER How Louisville’s Coalition for the Homeless Is Making Positive Change

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NATURAL TOUCH

MARCH 2024

The Waterfront Botanical Gardens Holds a History as Intriguing as Its Natural Wonders

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NOW HEAR THIS

Dr. Melanie Driscoll, Audiologist, Improves Her Patients’ Quality of Life

/MIDDLETOWNMAG 4 | March 2024 | TownePost.com

Families for Effective Autism Treatment Supports and Funds Programs Through Multiple Means

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Incorporating Mindfulness Effectively in Everyday Life

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Leadership Team

BETTER TOGETHER HOW LOUISVILLE’S COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS IS MAKING POSITIVE CHANGE Writer / Grace Schaefer Photography Provided

N

atalie Harris has hardly known a time when she wasn’t in the housing industry. It all started with a church in Birmingham.

“I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, and I went to a church that took people to work on people’s houses,” she reflects. “I was able to do that in high school and then every summer while I was in college, and it really became a passion for me.”

Coalition of Kentucky, and Appalachia Service Project. She has also served as a consultant for various housing-focused organizations. Now she works as the executive director of Louisville’s Coalition for the Homeless.

“The Coalition for the Homeless was created to prevent and address homelessness here in Louisville,” she says. “We have been around for over 30 years, and were created when, across the nation, but also here in These early experiences led her to pursue Louisville, there started to be an increase in a career that would allow her to serve the homelessness, which had not been the case unhoused. “I originally got into housing before. [We] were even seeing families that because it was so impactful,” she says. “You were becoming homeless in the ‘80s, so the could immediately see how housing changes city and county got together and created a somebody’s life.” task force. The Coalition for the Homeless is what came out of that.”

Harris worked as chief executive officer of She says the organization’s team works as Miami Valley Housing Opportunities for the overarching agency coordinating all about four years, where she “got to actually the services of 40-plus different agencies do the building itself - to start with a project, serving homeless people. “That includes have an idea, get the funding, get the units homeless shelters, night-and-day shelters, built and renovated, and move people in. a health-care-for-the-homeless program, That was really good for me.” family health centers and legal services.

Most of her other positions, however, There’s lots of outreach teams that go out on have been as director, focusing on the the streets to work with people there. All of coordination, resources and policy behind those folks work together to try to create a building projects, with organizations system that’s more efficient and makes the including the Kentucky Housing best use of what limited resources we have.”

Corporation, Homeless and Housing 6 | March 2024 | TownePost.com

To Harris, it’s not an organization - it’s a team. “We work together to apply to the federal government every year to acquire homeless funding, and we have been very successful in bringing more money into Louisville, simply because we all work together. Working together does make a difference.”

The team includes a board whose members have experienced homelessness, and the team works in concert with currently unhoused community members. “The thing

that is most exciting to me is when you can bring people together and increase the power of their voice, by not just being one person, but having a collective voice,” Harris says. “And because most of the people that we’re serving have very little power, they live lives where they get used to just feeling like, ‘I have no power. There’s nothing I can do here’ - when in truth, if those people could work together and share their voice, we can do more.”

who are losing their housing and make their homelessness as quick and easy as possible so that they can quickly move right back into housing. My challenge would be to ask, to read, to feel free to call us, and we can tell you more and tell you how to get involved.”

That “doing more” ranges from passing bills to gaining ordinances and more.

“[We] would love to continue to partner together because we are all stronger when we’re working together,” she says. “That includes the city, business leaders, churches and others in the community that can get involved. One, to speak up and say, ‘We need to do something about this,’ but also to volunteer, to donate, to get involved in working with all these different agencies.”

But working together doesn’t apply to the coalition team alone. It is the duty of every member of Louisville’s community. “[Don’t] be afraid to ask how you can help,” Harris says. “I think a lot of people feel a little paralyzed about the situation and don’t understand, ‘Why is homelessness happening? Why are there people who are losing their housing? [We] need to be concerned about the safety of the people

Harris has seen a strong community interest in learning how to help with housing. She hopes this passion will continue as the organization moves forward.

She encourages readers to visit the coalition’s website, where they can learn more about signing up to advocate.

Natalie Harris, Executive Director

“That is [for] both local policy here in Louisville, but also doing statewide policy or trying to change state laws,” she says.

In addition, the website’s Member tab displays a list of all the agencies the coalition organizes, and lists what donations and volunteer work each agency needs.

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“[It] could be something as simple as coming and serving meals, or something as intense as going out and working with the outreach teams - meet with people, make sure they’re OK, help convince them to come inside,” Harris says. “Even providing after-school care to homeless children helps.”

These acts of service are one step in getting closer to realizing a mighty goal. “My goal would be to not need a Coalition for the Homeless anymore,” Harris says.

“If we could have enough housing for everybody, then there really wouldn’t be an organization like ours. [There] would probably still need to be some direct service providers that are doing a limited amount of work for people who lose their housing, and then they can quickly get housed again. But there wouldn’t be a need for an organization

that is coordinating over 40 different agencies, because we wouldn’t need that many agencies. That is our ultimate dream.”

Yet she turns her mind to the process of reaching her dream. “In the meantime, I think what is most important is for us to make sure that nobody has to sleep outside,” she says. “Even if that means increasing shelter, and prevention money - money to pay people’s housing bills so that they don’t become homeless in the first place - until we can get enough housing built, that’s important too, because people who are homeless now shouldn’t have to wait until enough housing is built.”

Harris has, in the course of her life, seen the immense impact that this work makes.

this work because everything else rests on having it - your health, education, employment, safety, wealth, independence, family and more.”

As the coalition’s agencies continue to work to support Louisville’s unhoused residents in this sphere, she acknowledges their self-sacrifice, thanking “all of the people who work in the member agencies that are working so hard to keep people safe.”

Through their persevering efforts to coordinate an array of agencies, Harris and her team are working together to make not just houses, but homes.

For more information and to get involved, visit louhomeless.org.

“Housing is so important,” she says. “I do

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NATURAL TOUCH

THE WATERFRONT BOTANICAL GARDENS HOLDS A HISTORY AS INTRIGUING AS ITS NATURAL WONDERS Writer / Renee Larr Photography Provided

T

he Waterfront Botanical Gardens in Louisville provides urbanites a respite from the city’s everyday hustle and bustle. Its mission, as stated on the organization’s official website, is “to cultivate urban botanical gardens that educate, inspire, and enhance appreciation of the relationship between plant life and a healthy environment.”

The area where the garden now sits was once part of a larger neighborhood known as The Point. “In the mid-1800s, The Point was filled with beautiful summer homes where prosperous French families from New Orleans would spend their summers as the weather was cooler here,” says Megan Bibelhauser, director of marketing and communications. “In the late 1800s/early 1900s, the area was heavily devastated by floods, destroying the homes.”

Due to the devastation of the area from the flood of 1937, the site became an unofficial dump, with wild pigs roaming for food.

People would discard ash and hot coals, igniting other trash in the Ohio Street Dump, as it was later named. In the late 1960s, Interstate 71 was completed, passing right by the unsightly refuse.

Louisville, so in 1973 it closed,” Bibelhauser says. “A very stringent eight-year closing plan took place. Part of that plan was a dirt fill cap of approximately 25 feet, along with monitoring the water quality of the nearby Beargrass Creek. From then on, it was just a large mounded field.”

In 1993, Botanica was created as an umbrella organization for the local gardening community to help enlighten, entertain and educate the community about the botanical world. In 1999, active Botanica member Helen Harrigan left a $1.5 million trust to build a botanical garden and conservatory in Louisville. In 2009, Botanica chose the former Ohio Street Dump as the site for the new garden. In 2019, the area officially became known as the Waterfront Botanical Gardens.

The three-phase master plan for the 23acre site includes an education center, classrooms, a Japanese garden, Hillside Theatre, a visitor center, an arboretum and many green garden spaces. Currently the organization has developed about three of the 23 acres.

“The first phase was the Graeser Family Education Center, the Mary Lee Duthie “It wasn’t a very welcoming site to the city of Garden and the Ellen T. Leslie Botanical 10 | March 2024 | TownePost.com

Classrooms,” Bibelhauser says. “Those are sort of the hub of our educational, horticultural and events programming. We rent out the space for special events, so we do lots of weddings and lots of corporate events. We also have lots of adult education programs and youth programs. Of course we’ve got our horticulture team, and so they’ve also got their space.”

Adult programming includes horticulture and gardening, art and design, science and environment, health and wellness, nature photography, city and waterway history, and distance tours and trips. Youth and family programming includes gardens story time, field trips, outreach programs, Scouts programs, Sprouts camps, and virtual learning programs.

“We offer a broad array of advanced registration adult programs,” Bibelhauser says. “It might be anything from a garden walk and talk with one of our horticulturists learning about what is in the garden. We’ve even partnered with the Japan-America Society of Kentucky to bring Japanese cultural programs like Japanese calligraphy or sushi-making classes. Our classes aren’t just about gardening. Our beautiful range of programs can open up a lot of creative and artistic outlets.”

The second phase of the master plan includes the Tree Allée (a paved walkway lined with benches and 24 American Dream swamp white oak trees), the Japanese Garden and the Beargrass Creek overlook. Bibelhauser says the area also consists of an entry garden, children’s garden and visitor center. The final or third phase will be the conservatory, since it’s a large undertaking. Currently there isn’t a timeline for all stages to be finished, due to a need for additional funding.

Bibelhauser says the Japanese Garden is now slated to open in 2025.

There is no cost to visit and wander the Waterfront Botanical Gardens.

However, fundraising is paramount to keep the urban oasis growing and advancing. Funds are raised through memberships, paid adult and youth programming, event space rentals, hosted events, donations, sponsorship opportunities, memorial gifts, and gifts of stocks or securities.

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“We’ve already done so much, but we cannot continue to grow and thrive without the generous help of the community,” Bibelhauser says. “If you look at the Graeser Family Education Center, there are these beautiful vertical wooden beams. You can sponsor one of the beams and have your name put on the building - or the same with benches in the gardens, or on a brick on the Beargrass Creek pathway. There are so many ways to support our mission.”

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Waterfront Botanical Gardens team funds its goals. The outdoor concert series includes live music, cheese and charcuterie from Cultured, and beverages. They also offer a holiday event called Gardens Aglimmer during the winter season.

The Graeser Family Education Center also serves as an event venue and can hold up to 250 guests. Bibelhauser says the thoughtful, immersive design with all-glass walls makes guests feel as though they’re in the gardens while being indoors.

“We are always trying to find opportunities to bring people out to the gardens,” Bibelhauser says. “We like to offer fun, engaging events so they visit us and then be connected to the organization’s larger vision. Music in the Gardens is held every month from May to October. Once a month we bring in a local or regional band or artist of different genres.”

“The beautiful thing about it is, weatherpermitting, guests can hold their wedding ceremony outdoors in the gardens and then the reception in The Graeser Family Education Center, so they get the best of both indoors and outdoors,” Bibelhauser says. “We also host various corporate events including luncheons and conferences.”

From a landfill that human beings sullied to a landmark garden, the Waterfront Botanical Gardens provides a timeless cultural asset to the residents of Louisville for many years to come. Bibelhauser says they envision the space becoming a well-known, growing asset to the southern Indiana and Kentucky areas.

“We’re providing this engaging and kind of ever-changing mix of activities for all kinds of audiences,” Bibelhauser says. “We want this to be a place where anyone feels welcome and comfortable visiting. We hope to deepen the community’s knowledge and appreciation of plants and nature in our urban botanical garden. I think that part is

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so important because you are just minutes from downtown Louisville. When you stand up at the gardens, being so high up on this hill, a former landfill, you look across the parking lot and see downtown Louisville.

To have this green oasis just minutes from the downtown urban area and access to green spaces is extremely important for our residents. There is a unique and interesting tie that we’re still learning about between mental and physical health, and engaging in the outdoors.”

The Waterfront Botanical Gardens is located at 1435 Frankfort Avenue in Louisville. For more information, visit waterfrontgardens.org.

Bibelhauser says she’s proud of what was once known as a dump, and is now a place of beauty where families can make memories for years.

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NOW

Hear

THIS

DR. MELANIE DRISCOLL, AUDIOLOGIST, IMPROVES HER PATIENTS’ QUALITY OF LIFE

Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photography Provided

A

s a newly divorced single mom of two children, Melanie Driscoll had to find a new way to navigate life.

One day a friend suggested she check out an audiology program at the University of Louisville (Uof L). At the time, Driscoll had an elderly neighbor - a former military man who would come over with his wife every weekend to play cards.

“He had hearing aids that were always squealing, and his wife was always fussing about it,” said Dr. Driscoll, who also had another friend with a little girl who was born deaf. “She had a cochlear implant when she was 2 years old. Having these connections to two different people with hearing issues let me know I was headed down the right path pursuing audiology as a profession.”

14 | March 2024 | TownePost.com

After getting her doctoral degree, she worked for a year at Uof L coordinating the auditory processing disorders program for children before opening Eastpoint Audiology in 2016. The team at Eastpoint Audiology includes Kathleen, Amy, Kerrie, Tiffany, Sophie, Hope, Casey, and

Jean. Dr. Driscoll said her team gives her inspiration every day and she enjoys watching each of them grow as they work with patients. “Without them I would never have been able to accomplish all that we’ve accomplished.”

“As a team, we look at the patient’s overall quality of health because hearing loss affects many aspects in life,” Dr. Driscoll said. “Research has found a link between hearing loss and diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and depression, among other things. Since hearing loss is the number-one modifiable risk factor for dementia when identified and addressed, Dr. Driscoll and her team decided to have patients complete a cognitive screening.

In the early 2000’s, an over-the-counter (OTC) hearing device came on the market.

However, patients would get frustrated with how quickly it stopped working, or that it never worked the way they anticipated.

Buying an OTC hearing device means that there’s no one to help them get a good fit (which is important for good hearing) or troubleshoot any issues with it.

“Back then, most OTC hearing devices were just amplifiers. Are you willing to put something in your ear and run the risk of damaging your hearing? Besides, how do you know you don’t just have wax in your ear?” said Dr. Driscoll. Though OTC hearing devices are now more reliable, that doesn’t mean they are for everyone.

“If you have moderate to severe or profound loss, you’re not going to be a good candidate for OTC hearing devices.” said Driscoll. “Our goal is to educate patients as to what these devices actually do.”

Dr. Driscoll’s favorite audiology stories involve the ones in which her patients cry when they are fitted for their hearing-aid. “It’s such a drastic difference because they usually have a significant degree of hearing loss.” said Dr. Driscoll.

“Just yesterday, two of my audiologists completed an in-home visit and the lady cried tears of joy because she was so happy that she could finally hear her loved ones’ voices again.”

In September 2021, Driscoll found a way to help more people in the community.

She opened Simetria Fall Prevention Center, where patients with vertigo and balance issues are seen. Patients may have benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, which occurs when crystals become loose in the inner ear. They may suffer from other vestibular issues (episodes of dizziness described as rocking, spinning, floating, swaying, internal motion and lightheadness) or traumatic brain injuries.

The end goal is to pinpoint what is causing the balance problem.

“Does it have to do with the vestibular system?” said Dr. Driscoll. “Does it have to do with their vision? Is it something with their medications interacting, or an

issue like diabetic neuropathy where they can’t feel their feet? It’s like a puzzle, and we’re trying to gather all the pieces of the puzzle to figure it out.”

“If someone is dizzy every day and we’re able to pinpoint what’s causing it, whether it is something simple or more complex, we can get them headed in the right direction to resolve the issue, to get them on the path

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to a better quality of life,” said Dr. Driscoll. “That’s our purpose.”

When patients come into Eastpoint Audiology, they can grab a coffee from the coffee station, and on their way out they get a cookie. “We don’t always know what’s going on in our patients’ lives before they walk through our door,” said Driscoll.

“Our goal is to make sure when people leave, they are better for having come to our office.”

Driscoll appreciates how important that is, as she is grateful for her family. In her free time, Driscoll likes to travel, particularly taking cruises and going to the beach. “I don’t even care if I get in the water,” she said. “I love the waves, the sunshine and the sand.”

As a Uof L alumni, Dr. Driscoll has mentored many Audiology doctorate

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students. In 2017, Dr. Driscoll established the inaugural “Bright Futures” initiative for all Uof L Doctor of Audiology graduates. Each year since 2017, graduates are presented with otoscopes, an essential tool which helps give the graduates a successful start to their career and links them to the community of successful Uof L Doctor of Audiology alumni.

Eastpoint Audiology is located at 731 Speckman Road, across from Southeast Christian Church, in Louisville. For more information, call 502-215-3860 or visit eastpointaudiology.com.

Simetria Fall Prevention Center is located at 729 Speckman Road, next door to Eastpoint Audiology.

For information on Simetria Fall Prevention Center, call 502-539-5000 or visit simetriafpc.com.

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NEW HEIGHTS

DANA WALKER LINDLEY PENS FICTIONAL ACCOUNT OF WORLD WAR II BOWMAN FIELD FLIGHT NURSES Writer / Grace Schaefer Photography Provided

On a wall in the administration building at Bowman Field, Louisville’s first commercial airport, hang the photos of notable men who have been involved, in some capacity, with the location; even Charles Lindbergh’s picture is there. At the end of the hallway hangs a photo from the 1940s that doesn’t match the others - a photo of three women in military fatigues.

It was this single photo that intrigued Dana Walker Lindley a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic began. “I had been [at Bowman Field] a couple of weeks or months 20 | March 2024 | TownePost.com

before COVID struck, and I had noticed that there were these pictures of all these men,” Lindley says. “There’s a rich history of this airport. At the very end of the hallway there is one picture of three women looking up, and I remember seeing that at the time.

I thought, ‘I wonder why these women are here,’ but I didn’t do anything about it until COVID. Then I’m sitting on my front porch and we’re stuck at home and had some time, and I just started researching it.”

What she found amazed her.

The photo dates from the 1940s, when World War II was raging. The United States had officially entered the war after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Army Nursing Corps recruited nurses with a goal of bringing the pre-Pearl Harbor number (1,000) to an astounding 60,000. “[They] started bringing in nurses from all over the country,” Lindley says.

A special program was started to train air

evacuation, or flight, nurses to retrieve and treat wounded soldiers in C-46, C-47 and C-54 transport planes headed for hospitals. There was much to learn in the few weeks of training.

“When you put people in airplanes, things change in the body in terms of how you evaluate them, treat them - there are all sorts of repercussions about being in an airplane when you treat people,” Lindley says.

Besides learning new procedures, nurses also dealt with a changing environment.

She says the planes were like “big tanks that flew, and they were very, very hot if they were on the ground in a tropical climate - no air conditioning, of course, no bathrooms, and no modern convenience on these planes at all. What you had on the planes were bodies strapped to the wall, lots of bodies, maybe 20, 25, maybe 30 injured men strapped to a wall. You and a handful of other people were responsible for treating them the entire trip until you could deliver them to a hospital where they would be safe.”

Because doctors stayed on ground ready for surgeries, these nurses took on the responsibility of leadership as well. “In most cases, the nurses were the medical person in charge,” Lindley says.

Along with the heavy responsibility, the aviation nurses also faced a challenging lack of supplies. “The nurses were on the planes caring for these patients,” Lindley says. “They never had a satisfactory medical bag. You just used whatever was in your bag, and your bag didn’t have much.”

Lindley found that, despite the monumental impact Bowman Field’s nurses had, today’s Louisville community knew little about the story. Having worked for Better Homes and Gardens, and having written before (including a number of published essays), she decided to write a novel based on what she had found, featuring fictitious air evacuation nurses.

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The idea for “Ascension: Portrait of a Woman” was born, and preliminary research began.

“It was interesting to read the Courier Journal,” Lindley reflects. “I read it cover to cover for 1943 and got all sorts of useful information out of that. I was able to download the actual training manual that governed from the Army Air Corps that govern Bowman Field during that time period. I had to know what were the uniforms like, what were the classes that they took, what was the layout of the field, what buildings were there.”

She also read firsthand accounts of two nurses - rare documents, since, “like so many people in World War II, [many nurses] did not come back and tell their story,” Lindley says.

“I spent about a year researching everything I thought that I needed to know until I felt confident that I had good information in my

22 | March 2024 | TownePost.com

head,” she says. “Of course I had notes too. Then I just started writing. [I spent] hundreds of hours rewriting to make it the best I can make it because that, to me, is what your obligation as a writer is.

I hope it makes Louisville proud. I think it’s a very rich part of Louisville, Bowman Field in particular. Our community came together and really supported a very important mission that really made a difference, and they did it really well. I think we should be proud of that.”

for?’” Lindley says. “It doesn’t have to be World War II. There are infinite ways for us to show our courage, so how can we do that?”

“As far as the individual reader, I hope it inspires people to just always think about, ‘What can I contribute? [Where] can I show my courage? What can I stand up

And she certainly has. The special photo at Bowman Field, with three nurses looking up at the skies they were soon to fly in, may be only one photo; yet because of it, the stories of air evacuation nurses are becoming known. Through painstaking research and diligent care, Dana Walker Lindley is reminding today’s generations of the one that came before: that of “ordinary women who signed up for an extraordinary job,” she says.

“[It] was an honor to write about these women, and I believe that these women who served then and those who serve now, were really amazing for their sacrifice and their courage,” she adds.

“So I was really just honored to be able to tell their story.”

“Ascension: Portrait of a Woman” is available at Carmichael’s Bookstore and at amazon.com.

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Melanie West, FEAT Executive Director

NO SMALL FEAT

FAMILIES FOR EFFECTIVE AUTISM TREATMENT SUPPORTS AND FUNDS PROGRAMS THROUGH MULTIPLE MEANS Writer / Gavin LaPaille Photography Provided

F

or over two decades, Families for Effective Autism Treatment (FEAT) has sought to actively support and fund programs that help individuals navigate an autism diagnosis.

FEAT was founded in 1999 by a group of families searching for answers to their children’s complex medical problems and educational needs. Since then, the nonprofit organization has continued to expand its reach in the Louisville area while being a reputable source of comfort for a number of families. With the rate of individuals diagnosed with autism on the rise, the need for help with this developmental disability continues to be a high priority.

“At the time, autism wasn’t as prevalent as it is today so there wasn’t insurance to cover expenses,” said FEAT Executive Director Melanie West. “We were still learning about what autism is. FEAT was formed because they saw a need for early intervention.

We’ve been providing support education

26 | March 2024 | TownePost.com

for families and individuals on the autism journey. All year long we have various programs geared towards that goal.”

FEAT reaches individuals mainly by networking and word of mouth.

Doctors and medical providers often will recommend FEAT’s services, and the

organization routinely posts updates on its social media channels.

“We’ve been around for so long, we network with providers,” West said. “We have relationships with Norton doctors and those who are doing evaluations. They get referred to us. A lot of people find us organically.

It’s gotten to the point that so many people know about us, it’s a referral program. We pride ourselves on community partnerships and we think we’re a stronger force when you do that.”

According to the CDC, one in every 36 children is now diagnosed with autism, an increase from even two years prior, when the rate was one in every 44. FEAT offers a number of programs to support those families and raise awareness for autism, including an annual gala and 5K, both of which involve reaching out to all members of the local community for support.

The calendar is full of one-off and recurring

events, including swim classes, holiday parties and nights out for parents. Other initiatives include the Best Buddies program, which matches teens and young adults with autism to a peer from Trinity High School, University of Louisville and Bellarmine University, via a very detailed application process. There’s also the Dreams in Motion summer camp, the only eight-week educational, therapeutic and recreational summer camp for children and teens with autism in the Louisville Metro area.

FEAT has increased its ability to reach adults in recent years. Since there is no

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“We’ve offered the swim program for two decades and we’ve already expanded it to Oldham County to serve more families and individuals,” West said. “The swim program is really important because autism is one of the leading causes of drowning. Individuals see water as therapeutic and they’re naturally drawn to it, but they don’t see the dangers.”

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“All year long we have various programs,” West said. “I’m always looking to collaborate with other businesses on new initiatives. We have events all throughout the year for our families. We have monthly parent meetings, and we have a coffee or a lunch for parents to come to. We have two parents on staff with children with autism, so that is a huge asset for us because they are walking the journey as well.”

With drowning as one of the leading causes of death for children with autism, the Get Your FEAT Wet swim program has proven to be an important tool for hundreds of children in the community.

Many children with autism have deficits that prevent them from learning to swim in typical settings, including hypotonia, sensory integration dysfunction and gross-motor-skill impairments.

Collaborating with Home of the Innocents and All About Kids, FEAT has developed and financed a very specialized program that includes a behavior therapist to make the classes easier. West said she is looking to expand the program into neighboring counties and beyond.

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cure, an individual with autism never grows out of the disorder, and rather learns to better manage the condition. FEAT has partnered with a number of employers nationwide to provide training on hiring and employing individuals with autism through the Autism Friendly Business Initiative. The program leaders have partnered with businesses across a number of industries in 17 different states to date, providing online or in-person training.

“We work with businesses on modifications to create a welcoming environment - also, to talking to employers about hiring,” West said. “That’s a big gap and that’s something I’m focused on. Even though we’re in Louisville, we can reach others. We want to break down those barriers and show employers this population is full of brilliant individuals. It’s just about learning and hiring strategies. They’re very capable of changing people’s mindsets.”

West said while awareness for autism has

increased drastically over time, there are also a number of misconceptions about what the diagnosis truly means. There is a wide spectrum when it comes to autism, and early intervention is crucial in discovering the best way to move forward.

“Years ago, what they were portraying about autism, it wasn’t that accurate,” West said. “They were showing the worst-case scenarios and that’s not really the case anymore. There is such a spectrum. You could meet someone and not even know they had it unless they told you. Then you have others on the other end that might be nonverbal. Intervention is key, and physical, occupational and speech therapy are critical, especially in the early days. The awareness of educating the community is important so if they see these signs in their loved one, they can act and get help. We can really help the symptoms.”

Supporting autism treatment is personal for West, as two of her nephews are

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autistic. West and her family began their association with FEAT by participating in the 5K and donating to the gala, then began volunteering on a more regular basis. That led to West officially joining FEAT as program manager six years ago after spending many years in the banking industry, and she moved into the executive director position in late 2021.

“I love the mission and have seen firsthand what FEAT is able to accomplish,” West said. “It was a wonderful way to come on and make a difference. My nephews were my why, and like with anything, if you want to make change you have to take action and get involved. It is definitely a shift going from corporate world to nonprofit world.”

“Our goal is to continue to fill whatever the need is and to serve the autism community,” West said. “Even what we’re doing now could look different down the line. There could be a need for a new program, so we’re always trying to think what is the current need and what we can do to help. We want to offer the education and support while expanding on new programs.”

Additional info can be found at featoflouisville.org.

West said FEAT measures impact in a number of different ways, getting feedback regarding hopes for the program’s future.

The team is continually looking for ways to expand, and hopes to reach more individuals in the coming years.

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J Making Meditation

ust about everyone can agree that meditation is good for you. It is a great way to calm the mind, reduce reactivity to stress, and promote overall well-being. But if you ask people how their own practice is going, many will say “I don’t have time,” or “I can’t sit still,” or “I’m not good at it. I can’t seem to empty my mind.”

Accessible

INCORPORATING MINDFULNESS EFFECTIVELY IN EVERYDAY LIFE Writer / Mariam Ballantine Photography Provided

The truth is, meditating does not have to mean sitting on a cushion for an hour and banishing all thoughts from your brain. Starting a meditation practice and reaping the benefits is easier than you might think.

WHY START MEDITATING?

Reasons to start meditating usually involve a desire for greater peace of mind, more living in the present moment, and even improved health. Ironically, spending some time in quiet reflection actually helps you connect more with other people. Meditation creates compassion for yourself and for others. You become more emotionally resilient and better able to separate feelings from facts. Together, these skills have a positive impact on your relationships with other people.

“Mindful meditation has been truly revolutionary for me,” says Sarah Davasher-Wisdom, president and chief executive officer of Greater Louisville, Inc. “I highly recommend it for anyone wishing to develop a greater sense of internal serenity or a stronger understanding of self.”

Meditation also helps in the following ways: Focusing on slower, deeper breathing can cause your brain to release endorphins, reduce stress hormones and lower your heart rate. When you feel like you’re going 100 miles an hour, being able to stop the rush for even a short time can help you regain a sense of control.

Slowing down gives you time to think more deliberately and creatively. Instead of habitually reacting to a situation, when you notice that there’s a gap between the stimulus and your response, you have a better chance of choosing an appropriate and innovative course of action.

Feeling a sense of peace spreads to the rest of your life. Once you’ve learned to slow down and take a few minutes to observe your mind during meditation, you can begin to experience this same sense of peace as you move throughout your day.

30 | March 2024 | TownePost.com

WHAT IF MEDITATING IS TOO HARD?

Experiencing the benefits of meditation has a lot to do with managing your expectations.

You might secretly hope mindfulness is going to be a tranquilizer that instantly calms your mind, but mindfulness doesn’t come automatically to most of us. It takes practice, so don’t allow the flittering mind to become a problem. It might be annoying, but it’s just what minds do. On average (an unofficial estimate), beginning meditators can pay attention to something for about 1.2 seconds, then the mind darts off or attention fades away.

Father Joe Mitchell, a Passionist priest who founded the Earth & Spirit Center, explains more. “When you sit to meditate and try to focus on the breath, you’ll notice how quickly the mind gets lost,” he says. “In fact, your awareness will probably get lost over and over again. Don’t get upset. This is the normal default setting of the untrained

mind. During meditation you get a firsthand glimpse of how incredibly busy the mind is.”

You might have discovered how easy it is to obsess about things and replay the past from a biased perspective. It’s also common to anxiously imagine what the future might or might not be like. What a beginning meditator soon realizes is that the mind is focused on almost anything except what’s happening right now.

As soon as you discover your mind has wandered, don’t try to banish the thought.

Let go of entanglement with the thought or emotion and refocus your attention on the breath. Take delight in letting go. Relish the freedom of not being kidnapped by a thought or emotional scenario.

The goal is not to stop the flow of thoughts.

Thoughts are bound to keep arising. What you are putting effort into is avoiding becoming carried away by them and instead returning to the breath.

WHAT’S INVOLVED IN STARTING A PRACTICE?

Any healthy step you take is more likely to “stick” if you can make it a habit. “Increasing your motivation can make a big difference,” says Tony Zipple, Ph.D. “Building any habit benefits from some ‘nudges’ like visual reminders, support from friends and family, and small rewards. We can also increase motivation by taking a moment to pay attention to the good things we get from meditation, like the feeling of calm and centeredness.”

Mitchell suggests setting aside a specific time to practice each day. It’s helpful to keep in mind your reason for meditating.

Is it about reducing particular stressors, or cultivating a sense of calm that enables you to ride the roller coaster of daily life? Think about what it looks and feels like to reach your goal. How enjoyable is your life with less anxiety? How does it feel to respond rather than react to difficult situations? Keep

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this motivation in mind and let that drive your commitment to meditating regularly.

Here’s how to do it: 1. Find a space where you can sit

Do the best you can. Your focus is on cultivating the habit of mindfulness meditation, not getting it perfect.

or stand comfortably. This could be at your desk, in your car - anywhere that’s quiet.

2. Close your eyes and take a

HOW TO GIVE IT A TRY

“Most of us had very little instruction growing up about how to relate with equanimity to our thoughts and feelings,” says Karen Newton, MPH, an instructor at the Earth & Spirit Center. “We often learn hypervigilance, worry, and problemsolving skills. It’s not surprising that we believe we have to pay attention to all our thoughts. So, it is really important to get connected with solid teachers when you’re learning to meditate. Plus, there’s big value in starting with a group where you can hear about other people’s experience, and how they’ve handled the challenges that come with starting this practice of changing our relationship to both thoughts and feelings.”

However, there’s a short form of meditation you can try on your own: a one-minute meditation that takes just 60 seconds to focus your mind and breathe deeply. This practice can be done anywhere, at any time, making it a convenient tool for managing stress reactivity and anxiety throughout the day.

deep breath in through your nose, breathing deeply and feeling the abdominal muscles expand.

3. As you breathe out, slowly

exhale through your mouth and let go of tension or stressful thoughts.

4. Repeat this breathing pattern

for 60 seconds, doing your best to focus on your breath sensations, noticing that thoughts arise but you can gently return to breath awareness, over and over.

5. When the minute is up, take

one last deep breath and slowly open your eyes.

Incorporating one-minute meditation into your daily routine is a simple and effective way to promote mental and physical health. Taking 60 seconds to breathe deeply and focus your mind can make a world of difference.

HOW MEDITATION INFLUENCES THE REST OF YOUR LIFE

“If you can be successful at never making a problem out of whatever occurs during meditation, you can be a successful meditator,” Mitchell says. Then, you start to take this skill into your daily life. “The moment you step out of the raging stream of thoughts with awareness, your experience of them changes,” he says. “You’re learning to observe thoughts with the calm dispassion of a bystander. You witness a thought or feeling but don’t attach to it. Simply observe it and let it pass down the stream.”

What you practice in meditation becomes a new way of living - mindful living. You’re training your mind to practice seeing your emotions and what’s really happening, without participating in them. Becoming a detached observer allows you to make decisions based on facts without the confusion of emotions in the way. Spending short periods of time practicing this detachment helps you start incorporating this approach into your day.

Your cultivation of mindfulness doesn’t have to be restricted to the meditation chair or cushion. Throughout the day, bring your full awareness to whatever you are doing walking from your car, standing in line at the grocery, eating lunch, drinking water, showering, talking on the phone. Be present to whatever you’re doing as you do it.

The Earth & Spirit Center is located at 1924 Newburg Road in the Highlands in Louisville, on a 27-acre campus and nature preserve. There is a wide variety of meditation, social justice, Earth-care programs and classes offered each spring and fall, including Camp Odyssey offered in the summer for elementary-school kids. In addition, the Center team has created the Institute for Applied Mindfulness that customizes mindfulness practices for organizational leaders and leadership teams. Please visit earthandspiritcenter.org to learn more and to register.

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T

The survey questions were initially completed locally in Perth, Australia, via a cancer support organization, and have I’d read self-help books for comfort and guidance, but was searching for advice from grown internationally since I started a page on Instagram in April 2015 with quotes actual, real people rather than the opinion from patients around the world. Gratitude of a psychologist who, for example, had written text from years of research. I decided about life comes through strongly in many of these quotes. The quick, easily read to ask advice from people who had faced quotes resonated deeply with people on death, yet had the opportunity to review many levels throughout the world. their life and consider how they may have lived differently, believing there was some Patients and healthy individuals responded wisdom to be gained through these lifeI started interviewing cancer patients to these insights, commenting on the changing circumstances. about the important things in life in difference they’d made to their lives, proving 2009, following a period living in London that the human experience and human This led me to survey cancer patients on surrounded by people who were stressed, struggles are universal. a number of topics as a way of helping busy, exhausted, and seemingly running “well” individuals like myself to realize that around in circles trying to make as much Each quote reflects the patient’s personal our daily struggles were minor and trivial money as possible, yet not particularly story, and there’s so much that those of us compared to a potentially life-threatening happy or satisfied with life. I was one of living normal, healthy lives can learn about illness. My theory was that a cancer these people. how lucky we are to have the struggles we diagnosis must really put the important have. Simply waking up each day and being things in life into focus and provide an I had always conducted my own survey insight into life, and that those of us stressed grateful for the healthy life we have is a gift. research around various topics, but I was about our comparatively minor daily dramas Recognizing this fact also makes a positive really looking for something deeper, more had forgotten how lucky we are to be impact on our life. compelling and life affirming. I wanted to be reminded of what was really important in healthy and alive.

The cancer patients and survivors who life, aside from what I was frantically chasing here’s a wealth of wisdom about life that cancer patients and survivors can teach us about gratitude, and the important, simple things in life that we take for granted on a daily basis. We get so caught up in daily trivial matters without realizing that things could be so much worse. We fail to notice that simply being alive and recognizing how lucky us “well” individuals are can be a gift in itself.

to make me “happy.”

TownePost.com | March 2024 | 35

contribute quotes to my project are real, human, living examples of gratitude, hope, courage and inner strength. Their wisdom was gained from insurmountable pain and fearful circumstances. Yet, through all of this, they teach us enormous lessons around how grateful we should be to face another day, and be thankful for our simple blessings. They provide an appreciation of the real treasures of life, and the importance of love, family, friends, self-belief, gratitude, resilience and never giving up. They so clearly remind us “well” individuals of what really is important in life. They are an invaluable source of hope and courage.

There’s no doubt that a cancer diagnosis can be truly devastating, and every single one of us has been affected by cancer in some way.

Cancer patients who have contributed to this project have helped people who suffer mental illness, depression, loneliness and relationship breakdowns, or people simply having a bad day and needing some comfort and guidance.

Looking at life through the eyes of someone who has faced death is one of the clearest ways to realize how grateful we are to have another day, whether that is to experience the daily grind, sit in traffic, or even have the luxury of complaining about the minor and, ultimately, utterly meaningless things to which we devote so much time and energy.

For all of it, we should be grateful. It could be a lot worse.

Many participants in the research have since lost their battle to cancer, yet their quotes live on and are a source of hope, courage and inspiration to others facing their own personal struggles, enabling them to truly live life now and recognize that gratitude for daily blessings, no matter how small, really is one of life’s greatest treasures.

To “well” individuals who are able to reflect on this advice, look at their own lives, and make positive changes to their lives and the lives of those around them, I am grateful.

I started this project as a way of helping myself find some meaning in life. I am grateful for all contributors and followers who keep this project alive.

Richard Calautti is the founder of Live Life Now Project, an inspiring research project which surveys cancer patients from around the world about the important things in life, and how their cancer journey has impacted how they live their lives today.

For the cancer patients and survivors who have contributed to my project in a way that helps me and others realize what’s important in life, I express my utmost gratitude.

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