“I don’t have any friends at my school because I am different and I wear braces” says a voice choked with tears.  These are the words my daughter relayed to me while in the car coming home from school.  She continued to talk how people pick on her because she wears braces, how a girl continually tells her “I am not playing with YOU today”, and how another girl says “MOVE out of my way!” as she is climbing up a structure that Kayla is trying to maneuver.  It was a breaking point for Kayla as she cried and a heart wrenching thing for me to listen to and see. This led to a conversation about how many friends she has outside of school.  She was able to name so many: Connor, Lucia, Adam, Max, Delaney, Bella, Thomas, Abi, Adam, Will, Madi, Griffin, Charlie…. We then had a conversation about what a friend is.  We talked about how all of her friends are respectful, make her laugh, give her hugs, stand up for her, encourage her, and wait for … [Read more...]

Thanks to the Marinovich family, an adaptive stroller has been donated to the ECHO Leahy Center.  The stroller is in memory of Mitzie Marinovich who passed away this past December. On Mitzi's trips to Vermont, she loved to spend time on the Burlington waterfront with her grandchildren, daughter, and son-in-law.  This stroller will allow children with special needs and their families to be able to enjoy the beautiful Burlington waterfront. The Echo Center also received two pairs of headphones for children to access for noise cancellation.  Echo is about including and accommodating EVERY individual, regardless of their needs.  Ask the friendly staff at the front desk for information about the headphones or use of the stroller! The Echo Center was gracious to offer Kayla's Directory a limited amount of day admission vouchers and yearly family membership passes. Please email skruk@kaylasdirectory.org if interested! … [Read more...]

When I get together with friends who have children on the spectrum, we realize that no child with autism is the same.  All autistic children have different things that they like and dislike.  One thing my friends and I do share is the overall set of challenges we face raising a child on the spectrum.  But more importantly, we all love to share the strengths of our children and the beauty that they bring into our lives and the lives of others. April is Autism awareness month.  Although autism presents very differently with every child, autistic children all bring some wonderful things to our lives.  I want to share all the positive things that Kayla has brought to our lives. Visual Memory Kayla has always taken in the world visually.  She can remember events in full detail that occurred years earlier that I completely have forgotten.  Although her executive functioning skills are not the best, she will be able to recall where … [Read more...]

As most of you know, Kayla became a member of the UVM Women’s Hockey team last year through Team Impact.  Team Impact takes children with illnesses and places them on a local sports team.  Kayla’s involvement with the UVM hockey players and being part of their team has been life changing.  As we sat in Walter Brown Arena a couple of weeks ago and watched her team play an unbelievable game against BC, I reminded her that her team might lose and that means the season will be over.  As BC scored during the second overtime, I looked over and saw Kayla sobbing.  She truly felt what her team was feeling -- pure sadness. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to be a parent of a team member and see your child’s heart break because they lost.  All the women on that team played with so much strength and dignity!  To lose was heartbreaking.  And then to look at Kayla and see her sadness was devastating.  Kayla loves life and is so happy.  She … [Read more...]

Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting with Erik Oliver, Directory of Development and Communications at the Echo, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain.  We were meeting to discuss how Kayla’s Directory was interested in getting an adaptive stroller for the Echo Center.  With an adaptive stroller, families that have children with special needs would be able to access the beautiful Burlington waterfront. When I sat down with Eric, I explained to him the reason we wanted a stroller on the waterfront.  A wonderful family recently lost a mother and grandmother.  In memory of this amazing woman, the family asked that donations be made to Kayla’s Directory.  When we asked the family where they wanted the money to be spent, they immediately responded that they’d like it used to purchase an adaptive stroller, and specifically asked to see whether the Echo Center would partner with this idea. The reasoning behind the stroller is simple; this … [Read more...]