Project Prima is an incredible dance program that started last year at UVM.  The class is held once a month and is for children with special needs.  It is truly a magical program!  Emily Fixx, a dancer,  wrote an amazing blog about the program. I owe much of the credit for our program, Project Prima, to the two founders of Ballet Viridis, who have both recently graduated from UVM.  I met them in my early morning ballet class during my second semester of freshman year, when they had only just began talking about their desire to start a ballet club.  They asked me if I wanted to come to a sort of “test rehearsal” with a few other girls to see if we would all be interested in starting the club together.  From then on we were hooked.  We started dancing more and more each week, first in the racquetball courts in the gym, and only occasionally getting to use the big dance studio on campus.  After many meetings and a lot of paperwork, we … [Read more...]

On September 25th we set out to Dracut Massachusetts to participate in the Joseph Middlemiss Superhero 5K race.  The Joesph Middlemiss Foundation was started in memory of a courageous boy who was born with a rare congenital heart disease known as cardiomyopathy.  The missions of the foundation is to promote random acts of kindness and to contribute to spread awareness of childhood heart conditions while providing financial, social, and emotional assistance to families impacted by these conditions. Dick and Rick Hoyt have graciously shown their support for this race for the past three years.  Not only do they arrive with their big Hoyt trailer packed with running chairs for people to use if needed, but they also always show up with such positive energy.   I left the race with all of the following: Inspiration: People of all different ages push individuals with various disabilities and of various ages.  A daughter pushes a mother; a … [Read more...]

In mid-august, we received a postcard in the mail about soccer starting. I promptly emailed the coach to get more information about the program and how long it would last: practice twice a week culminating in a tournament in mid-October.  Of course, this is not your typical recreation soccer, Far Post, or Nordic soccer programs.  We are talking about Special Olympics Soccer. One of the coaches of the soccer program is a man named Giles Willey. Giles works at Vermont Systems Inc, which has generously supported Kayla’s Directory. Jessica Valley coaches the more advanced team. I babysat Jessica 20+ years ago with her two siblings and two cousins, all part of the very respectable Willey family from Essex. There are several other coaches helping out as well, all of whom are amazing. They really take their time to teach these players the skills, the plays, and the strategies of playing soccer. As an added bonus, the program is very … [Read more...]

I have always said that community is key to helping families who have a child with special needs. When families feel supported by their community, whether that is accessibility in a grocery store, accessible programs or activities, or being part of team through a school, a sense of community helps the family feel like they belong. But as Kayla gets older I am realizing that she wants to feel a different kind of connection: a connection with peers. Many special needs parents talk about their child not having many friends in school. Many special needs children have impaired social skills that can make friendships challenging. Their ability to connect with peers could be impeded by their inability to communicate, their physical limitations, or in some cases their plain “quirkiness”. Whatever the reason, many of them don’t develop that special bond with another peer. I throw Kayla in as many adaptive programs as possible. Whether she … [Read more...]