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Meet Heaven
Hi! My name is Heaven and I love to smile at everyone I meet!
I have an older brother, Kevin who is 7 years old.
I love all things that are brightly colored.
I love to play with my pop up toys and push toys.
My favorite things to do are play with my toys and relax while watching my favorite TV shows, the Telebubbies and Wow Wow Wubbzy.
My favorite animal is a dog and I have to pet them everytime I see one.
I love all kinds of food because I just love to eat!
Meet our 1st quarter Newsletter Feature Child'
Cameron
Last week, parents, staff and friends of Special Kids were all in the gym cheering on Cameron. He is learning to maneuver a power wheelchair and everyone is excited to see his progress. Cameron is 3 years old and he and his twin sister, Candace, were born 10 weeks prematurely. Cameron weighed only 2 lbs, 8 ounces. Both twins had some developmental delays at birth but as they grew, it was obvious that Cameron was going to need more intensive care. When he was 2 years old, his parents received the news that Cameron had Cerebral Palsy.
“When we first found out, we wanted to know how this was going to affect him and what was the best solution to help him,” states Renee Herman, Cameron’s mother. “I wanted to know how we could help him with his independence.”
He started services at Special Kids when he was only 7 months old. He was unable to sit up on his own, was unable to roll over and was still working to be able to hold his head up. He worked with the physical therapists to develop gross motor skills, occupational therapists to work on his fine motor skills and speech therapists to learn communication skills.
Cameron began working with Julie Kniss, lead physical therapist at Special Kids, to improve his head control and his ability to roll over and sit up. Julie would often coax him to roll down the incline wedge by saying, “Cameron, you’d better not knock me off of this mat!”
Andrea Terry, a Speech Pathologist at Special Kids has been working with him to use some adaptive toys. Recently, they were going through an X-man coloring book and he would press a switch with his head to indicate when he wanted to put a sticker in the book.
“Cameron is very special to me. He is so smart and very sweet and he has a wonderful family to support him. His infectious laugh and coy smile melt my heart every time I see him. Cameron’s perseverance is a blessing to me,” says Kniss.
Cameron has improved control over his head movements. He is now taking a few steps with support, and he rolls over on his own at home. Cameron is able to control a power wheelchair at Special Kids. He directs it where he wants to go by touching his head against headrest switches. It has been a long time in the waiting but he can now chase his sister around the gym. We hope that he will soon have a power wheelchair of his own.
Mrs. Herman explains that even though there may still be questions, Special Kids is helping with solutions. Through the therapy Cameron is receiving, he is overcoming many obstacles. He is not solely dependant on his parents. He is able to interact with his older brother and his sister. He is able to communicate when he needs something. These are all things his mother cherishes.
“It means everything to me to have Special Kids, says Mrs. Herman. “Without Special Kids, he probably wouldn’t roll over, move or communicate. This is one step closer to a better life for him.”
Cameron now attends preschool. The therapists from Special Kids and those at his school are working diligently to help Cameron achieve levels of success that will allow him to go to school with other children his age. We will be excited to see the day when he is able to navigate independently down the halls of his school.
Madison
 
Favorite thing to do: shopping
Favorite thing to do at Special Kids: writing names on the chalkboard
Favorite food: Ice Cream
Praise of the week: Madison is putting on her own socks and drawing shapes. Madison is going up and down the stairs reciprocally while carrying a game. Her skills with buttons are improving as well.
Pets-Tigger, Bailey, Shadow, and Kitty
Favorite Color: Red
My Siblings-Meghan and Andrew
Resa
My name is Resa. I have two dogs, their names are Brandy and Ginger. My favorite color is red and my favorite food is pizza. I love to play Nintendo DS. This week I told my mom "I love you" spontaneously by myself.
 
Meet our Newsletter Feature Child Mickey
Change is good for Mickey
A child at Special Kids gains skills rapidly this year.
Michael, otherwise known as “Mickey”, has seen a great deal of change this year. His is a favorite in the Skilled Nursing program at Special Kids. Mickey loves koosh balls, and when he was first coming to Special Kids, he would sit and play with his koosh ball all the time. Now he is always asking the nurses for kisses.
“It helps us so much to have Special Kids,” states Mickey’s mother, Hirut Abebe. “It is not easy to leave my child but I feel that he is safe and is learning a lot.”
Mickey was only 16 months old when he first came to Special Kids. He is now 3 years old and he has already been through many trials. Only 2 years ago, he took eight different emergency trips to the hospital because of seizures.
This year he has had just one emergency trip. By the grace of God, we have seen many improvements in Mickey. Mickey stays in skilled nursing at Special Kids three days a week. He spends two days week in Physical Therapy with Julie Kniss, one day a week in Occupational Therapy with Stephanie Hoffman, and one day a week in Speech Therapy with Eva Wojick.
“Originally it was our goal, that he would have the ability to move by himself,” states, Julie Kniss, lead physical therapist at Special Kids. “Now we are working on him walking by himself.”
In the first year of therapy Mickey was progressing slowly but because of changes made this year in his seizure medication, he is now functioning higher than ever. It is exciting to see how quickly he is learning. It is amazing to see a child that was once very distracted in therapy now concentrate deeply on either the toy he is bending down to grasp or the bubbles that he is reaching out to pop.
Three months ago, Mickey was first introduced to a side walker. His therapists were working on helping him get from one place to the next on his own. In this short time, he has accomplished 75% of this feat. He is now taking steps and going down the hall on his own.
“It is so exciting to see him walk around the house holding onto the counter,” says, Mrs. Abebe. “I can’t wait to see him walk on his own. I would like that very much.”
Another area he was working on was his communication. Mickey didn’t used to acknowledge people when they walked into the room, but now he not only notices them but he reaches his cheek up for a big kiss and says “Hi”. He will also say “Hi” & “Bye” in the appropriate situation. He is also learning to ask to play with the bubbles. He is also starting to learn to imitate sounds and words consistently.
Mickey has an older brother at home, Nahum, who plays with him and takes very good care of him. Mickey is his best friend. His family is very excited to see the changes in Mickey.
“I can see the progress every day,” says Mrs. Abebe. “He is saying new words and you can tell he is doing well when he smiles.”
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