I am proud to announce that Vermont Systems is once again our key sponsor of “Abilities Outweigh Disabilities.”  Over 20 years ago, I helped a grandmother, Sandy Willey, watch her grandchildren during the summer.  Her husband, Robert Willey, founded Vermont Systems. Robert Willey works alongside many of his relatives, including his three children, Giles, Kate, and Laurie, and some of the grandchildren I used to watch. Once Kayla turned 8, she began to participate in Special Olympics soccer.  Practice was held at the Willey Farm in Essex, and the head coach was Giles Willey.  The property brought back many memories.  The delightful gardens that surrounded the property with no weeds in sight.  The big red barn that was located at the back of the property. The fenced in pool that was always clean.  And the famous handmade swing set that I spent hours at during the week.  Several kids from soccer ended up using it.  Unfortunately, Kayla … [Read more...]

In recognition of autism awareness I want to share this beautiful piece by Keli Bayrouty Rogers. December 19, 2016 may not hold any significance to you, it may have just been a normal day. You may have gone to work, you may have started your day with breakfast and a coffee, or you may have even played hookey that day. To me this day made everything that our little family was going through a reality. You see, on December 19, 2016, my beautiful little girl was given the diagnosis of autism. I want to say that I was in disbelief, that I was taken back by this but the reality is, I already knew. I had known as early as 3 months. A mom just knows. This is not to say that I wasn’t scared or unknowing of what the future would hold for my sweet little girl, it just confirmed what we had known for so long. It confirmed all the doctor appointments, it confirmed her being in Early Intervention since 9 months old because she wasn’t … [Read more...]

Kayla’s Directory started our “Successful Skating” program in the fall of 2016. This program all began because Dan McFall from Full Stride was willing to partner with us to get it off the ground. A visit to the Full Stride office opened my eyes to another wonderful Vermont business. As I entered Full Stride, I was greeted by two friendly Labradors.  But what struck me more than the beautiful dogs were the old printing presses, cardstock, and printed cards that were scattered around.  It was clear that this wasn’t the work of the Full Stride staff (unless they had some creative side business) but the work of Allison Lowry. I had known that Dan’s wife, Allison Lowry, was creative because I’d seen the Full Stride tournament t-shirts (which I love) that she’d designed and the handmade leather bags she’d created, but this old press printing was incredible.  The cards scattered around were simple, elegant, creative, and fun.  Welcome to … [Read more...]

There are many behaviors that Kayla exhibits in public that I have come to ignore or brush off.  Hand flapping, wearing headphones, covering her ears when it is loud, bringing her dolls everywhere, not filtering what she says…. those I can handle with ease.  But there is one behavior that always makes me feel like the “bad parent”— the parent whose kid is appearing to ignore an adult who is talking to them.  For instance, an adult will say “Hello, my name is….”  and Kayla will look at the ground and walk away.  How do you explain that? After all, Kayla is verbal and looks like any other 9 year-old child.  In fact, the only difference you might see is that she wears braces and might have her headphones on.  But wearing headphones is typical these days.  Call it autism, anti-social skills, or anxiety, but Kayla has a lot of difficulty looking at people, saying hi, and sometimes even acknowledging someone’s presence.  It can take Kayla … [Read more...]

It is time to come and celebrate how “Abilities Outweigh Disabilities” at the Kayla’s Directory annual fundraiser. A great evening is planned with speakers and simulation stations presented by Changing Perspectives, a non-profit that teaches adults and children about disabilities. We also will have a wonderful silent auction and end the evening with fabulous music provided by DJ, Craig Mitchell.  Click here for tickets. … [Read more...]