Resources for Parents of Exceptional Children

 

Having a child with special needs brings additional questions to the territory of parenting. While our aim is to make the Lakewood Parents Page an exhaustive guide to every question someone might have about parenting resources in the community of Lakewood, Ohio, we rely on the suggestions of others to help fill in where we've missed. Special thanks to our original editor, Laura, her neighbors Jen and Shawn, and their son, Zach, for pointing out the need for information, programs, and resources for families with exceptional children.

If you're concerned about your baby's development, you will probably want to bring up your questions at your child's regularly scheduled well-baby visits with your pediatrician, family practice physician, or other primary health care provider. If you don't have access to such services, you may want to watch for the annual Infant and Toddler Health Screenings, sponsored by Lakewood Early Childhood PTA, the Lakewood City Schools and Interlink-Help Me Grow, the local Cuyahoga County Early Intervention Services affiliate.

If your child has just received a diagnosis, your first step should be to contact the Ohio Department of Health's Bureau of Early Intervention Services. The bureau's toll-free phone number is 1-800-755-4769. The local Cuyahoga County Early Intervention Services affiliate is called Interlink-Help Me Grow, and you can reach them at (216) 736- 4300. Help Me Grow is the central intake and referral site in Cuyahoga County of various programs for children to age three, and provides the following services:

All of the services are voluntary, confidential, and are provided at no cost to families. A major goal is "Service Coordination." Parents work with their choice of service coordinator -- usually a nurse, social worker, teacher or physical therapist associated with local early intervention services -- to develop an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). Your IFSP is a legal document that outlines the plan for services for your child and your family. The service coordinator helps your family find and use community services that will benefit your child.

Local Resources, Services and Organizations

The Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital for Rehabilitation is one of only a handful of accredited pediatric specialty hospitals in the country.  The main campus is located at 2801 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive in Cleveland (216-721-5400), and their satellite office is Therapy Services West, at 826 Westpoint Parkway, Suite 1220, in Westlake (440-835-7400). The center offers programs on therapy (including physical, adaptive equipment, speech, occupational, recreational, music and arts, and water), autism, feeding disorders, dialysis, spasticity, and reading.

The Cuyahoga County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities offers early childhood programs designed for children from birth through age five and their families, include supportive home services, center-based programs for toddlers and preschoolers and parent-child programs.  Toddler and preschool programs take place at six early childhood centers located throughout the county, in buildings alongside programs for typically developing children with a focus on including children with and without disabilities. Emphasizing play and functional activities, the curriculum centers on developing the child's ability to communicate, social and emotional skills, physical development, self-help skills and parent education. For more information and enrollment, contact the CCBMRDD Intake Services at 216-736-2673. The Beach Early Childhood Satellite Center is the closest to Lakewood, at 1101 Morewood Parkway, Rocky River (440-356-5321).

Family Support (216-391-6096), through the Cuyahoga County Early Intervention Services, offers parent-to-parent support (Parent Partners), information about workshops, Web sites, playgroups, premature baby development information, as well as newsletters. Plan ahead for an Early Intervention Day At The Zoo in August, with free admission for families in Early Intervention, along with refreshments and door prizes.

Lakewood's Department of Human Services / Early Childhood has a "Parents Raising Children with Special Needs" drop-in program on Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Here, parents support each other and offer tips that have worked, plus professionals offer the resources available in the greater community -- all this while the children play, learn and make new friends. It's in the Lakewood Family Room, at 17400 Northwood Avenue, off Granger Avenue (behind St. James Church on Detroit Avenue).

The Early Intervention Center - West (2357 Tremont, Cleveland, 216-574-9689) offers free parent training programs for families with preschool children that either have been identified with disability, including language delays and behavior problems, or parents experiencing difficulties in their parenting roles. They work with children from birth to six years old, and have morning, afternoon, evening, and full-day programs.

Matthew's Lending Library (15528 Madison Avenue, 216-226-3669), dedicated to the memory of Matthew James McCarthy, is a not-for-profit, publicly funded corporation that provides adaptive therapy equipment and adapted toys to children and young adults with special needs. In addition, they help link families for social interaction and support, and act as an advocate for inclusion in community playground settings. Membership is by application with a nominal annual fee.

The Achievement Center for Children (at 14587 Madison Avenue, 216-521-5050) offers family support, education, recreation and therapy to children with special needs and their families. Their services include physical, occupational and speech therapies, as well as other specialized therapies; preschool and early intervention programs, recreational opportunities at Camp Cheerful in the Cleveland Metroparks Mill Stream Run Reservation in Strongsville and at their locations in greater Cleveland; and family support services including intake assessments, Service Coordination, parent education, individual, family and group counseling, support groups, crisis intervention, and transitional planning and follow-up.

A public health nurse from the Cuyahoga County Board of Health suggests we list:
Bureau for Children with Medical Handicaps (BCMH), a tax-supported, state-administered program located at the Ohio Department of Health and administered locally by the Health District. This is a free program for children, ages birth to 21 years, with an official medical diagnosis. It is a secondary insurance program to help pay copays, for therapy, and for medications for these children.

The Parent Mentor Program (1470 Warren Road, 216-529-4279), through the Lakewood City Schools, links school-age children receiving special education services with the school district and community at large through the involvement of a parent of a child with special needs.

The Beck Center's Creative Arts Therapy Program (17801 Detroit Avenue, 216-228-8499) offers vibrant experiences for individuals with special needs, including mental, physical or developmental disabilities. Using music and art as a therapeutic tool, individuals address academic, motor, emotional, and social skills, as well as talents in the fine arts. Each participant receives individualized treatment with personally designed goals tailored to meet their needs. Weekly sessions are offered on an individual, paired or group basis.

Links to State, National and Internet Resources, Organizations and Support

Rather than list links for every possible resource, we have chosen to highlight the sites below, which offer extraordinary collections of links to special needs resources on the Web.