Lake Champlain has not frozen over and the current temperature is a balmy 38 degrees!  It probably won't get any warmer as 1000 plus individuals take the "Penguin Plunge" to help raise money for  Special Olympics Vermont on February 6th.  This is one of the top fund raisers for the organization bringing in over  $410,000 for Special Olympics Vermont. This is just under 40% of their operating budget so it's hugely important for sustaining and growing their programs. Special Olympics of Vermont is an incredible program that allows individuals of all ages and disabilities to participate in recreational activities.  It fosters athletic skills, team work, and independence for all the athletes.  Their Young Athlete Program begins at the age of 2 and allows children with and without disabilities to participate in organized sports and develop their skills.  It is a remarkable program that gets children interested in being active at a young … [Read more...]

To most parents, bringing their kids ice-skating for the first time is pretty exciting.  Whether the child holds on to the side of the rink, holds on to a parent's hand, or pushes a crate, the child usually can figure out how to stabilize themselves on skates.  They might tumble on the ice, but they figure out how to get up and try again until they master the art of skating. This is not the case with Kayla.  Due to the instability of her legs, low muscle tone, and poor coordination, Kayla cannot skate at this point in her life.  We have never stepped foot on an ice rink.  The closest Kayla has come to the ice is riding the zamboni with Mike at UVM.  Maybe that is why she loves it, because she is close to the ice. The UVM hockey team had two games against BU this past weekend.  On Saturday, one of the team members mentioned to Kayla that she could skate around with the team after the game on Sunday.  Kayla was all excited to go out … [Read more...]

STAR Basketball continues for the second week in a row.  All the kids and mentors are on the court shooting, passing, dribbling, or just running around.  But there are two kids that stand out:  Daniel Feitelberg and Mitch.  I have been coming to this program since it began and Kayla was 3 years old and so have Daniel and Mitch.  But Mitch isn't holding a ball or throwing a ball.  He is in his upright walker running around the entire gym for almost the entire time, with his mentor, Daniel following right behind. Mitch is a 5th grader at Central School in South Burlington and Daniel is a Sophomore at South Burlington High School.  Although matched up 4 years ago through STAR basketball, Daniel was Mitch's bus buddy when Mitch was entering kindergarten.  These two have developed an amazing connection throughout the years.  When I was walking with them, Daniel would tell Mitch to keep moving and Mitch would break out in this huge grin … [Read more...]

We took another amazing cooking class at Healthy Living. This class was taught by Brian. I have to say I was a little skeptical about this class. Don’t get me wrong, I love s'mores with gooey marshmallow, melted chocolate, and tasty graham crackers. But the thought of making homemade graham crackers just didn’t sit well with me. I like graham crackers straight from the box! I dropped Kayla off at class and got her settled at the table. Kayla’s amazing SLP, Laura Bonazinga, was going to join her at the cooking class to work on social cognition skills. When I left, Kayla was engaged in the process of making the graham crackers. I returned 45 minutes later to see Kayla cutting her graham crackers in different shapes and placing them on the cookie tray. Laura reported that Kayla was doing an incredible job at following directions and interacting with peers and adults. After the graham crackers were placed in the oven, the children began … [Read more...]

On January 8th, the parking lot was packed with cars, the seats were stuffed with people, and excitement filled the Gutterson ice arena at UVM.  Everyone came to see UVM honor Martin St. Louis and retire his number 8 jersey.  UVM was also taking on Dartmouth on the ice. Although the events on the ice were very exciting because a former UVM hockey player was being honored, the events behind the scenes were even more powerful.  As a lot of people stood in line to meet Martin, I was honored to meet a 17 year old boy named Jack.  Jack is a member of the UVM men's hockey team.  Four years ago, the UVM men's hockey coach, Kevin Sneddon, decided to recruit Jack to be part of the team through Team Impact. Team Impact’s mission is to improve the quality of life for children facing life threatening and chronic illnesses by introducing them to the power of being on a team.  Jack suffers from Catecholominergic Polymorphic Ventricular … [Read more...]