SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- In an effort to help parents of special needs children feel less alone and educate them about the many resources available in the local area, Scott Air Force Base held its first special needs information fair Feb. 11.
"This area has tremendous resources available for parents and children," said Brenda Wells, of the Airman and Family Readiness Center, which served as host of the information fair. "Today's effort was just the beginning in our goal to connect our families with the wonderful services that are offered here."
The event, a Year of the Air Force Family initiative, brought together more than 20 helping agencies to speak and share experiences about the services they offer. Many of these helping organizations are available in this area thanks to parents such as Betsy Caines of Mascoutah who saw a need and started the Metro East Down Syndrome Support Group.
Mrs. Caines has two boys, ages 6 and 3, with Down Syndrome and she used to travel to St. Louis for parent support groups.
"After the birth of my second child, it became clear to me that perhaps I was meant to start something over here on the other side of the river," she said. "Monthly support groups allow us to share our stories and experiences, and it lets us know that we're not alone. When you first realize that your life is going to be much different than what you expected, you feel very overwhelmed. The support group gives us a venue to learn from each other and it helps us as we move through each stage of our child's development."
Military family member, Glynda Reed also attends these support groups and helps to organize activities. Her youngest son, also age 6, has Down Syndrome. She and her husband, Capt. Mark Reed, 15th Operational Weather Squadron, were able to be assigned here through the military's Exceptional Family Member Program. EFMP provides special assignment consideration to those who have a spouse, child, or dependent adult with medical conditions requiring prolonged hospitalization or out-patient treatment.
"We love it here because there's a great network of support," she said. "Simple things, such as having childcare for our other child while we go to doctors appointments, are a huge relief for us. Having a support system is really critical and a great wealth of information."
Finding ways to help children with special needs learn how to play and interact with each other is the focus of other helping agencies such as the Parent and Teacher Organization for Exceptional Children, a foundational sporting coalition that feeds into the Special Olympics program.
Lt. Col. Gene Layeski, Air Mobility Command Global C2 Branch, volunteered his time that day to talk about the sporting and social programs available through the PTOEC group. His 15-year-old son has autism, but that hasn't stopped him from playing basketball, bowling, track, volleyball and swimming ... which are just some of the sports and programs offered.
"As a parent you have to be aggressive at getting the help your child needs. Early on we invested in Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy, and that's made a huge difference in the quality of our son's life. He enjoys playing sports, so we've been involved with Special Olympics since he was 8 years old, and with PTOEC since we arrived on station in July 2005. As great as it is for our children, family members also benefit on many levels as well," he said.
"Everyone involved in this organization has a tremendous heart for our kids," said Colonel Layeski, encouraging those with special needs children to attend a sports practice and see what PTOEC has to offer.
"I think parents would be surprised how many of the programs can be adapted to accommodate their child's specific needs and allow them to participate," he said.
A teacher who also responded to a need is Kathleen Cullen, the executive director and founder of Special Children, Inc., which offers play activities to foster motor skills and social development through art, music and language development.
There are also programs for early childhood development, and groups working to create a special needs-friendly playground area in Fairview Heights, as well as organizations that offer behavioral counseling services for families, and more.
Mrs. Wells added, "Parents of special needs children will have a lifelong commitment and we want to help them learn where they can go for financial, legal, medical and developmental guidance. We [the A&FRC] plan to host more information fairs to expand the reach of the helping agencies and to ensure parents know where to turn for assistance."
Additionally, the United Way sponsors a 2-1-1 phone line that provides answers to questions about all the helping agencies available in the Southwest Illinois area or visit
www.211southwestIllinois.org.