“One of the best investments we can make in a child’s life is high quality early education”

Barack Obama

Transitioning and change can be difficult for anyone, at any age. During a pandemic, this can present extra challenges especially for young children as they transfer back to their early childhood programs or school. There are things that parents, caregivers and teachers can do to make the transition successful for everyone involved.

New faces and routines can leave children wary. Children have a natural instinct to want to be closest to their familiar and trusted caregivers. Until a child is old enough to understand their emotions and talk clearly about their feelings, it can be difficult for an adult to explain that the new people their child is being introduced to – is a trusted source and there to care for them. If the child has developmental delays, they will need extra time to adjust. It is easier for young children to make the transition if they have spent time with their parents/caregiver and the new person (or people), together. While it’s natural for the parent/caregiver to worry about their child making a successful transition, always remember to keep calm and be reassuring so that your child mimics your behavior.

What can parents and caregivers do to make the transition easier? Here are some tips from the CDC.gov website:

Parents can:

• Ask your child’s school if they have any online support groups, such as a private Facebook group so that you can connect with other parents who have children in the same program.
• Talk about school with your child.  Show them pictures of the school, classroom, and teachers if available. (our staff will gladly provide these to families upon request).
• Talk with teachers about the best way to separate from their child at the start of the day—brief goodbyes are often best.
• Try to stay calm and reassuring during transition—using a calm voice, with a relaxed face and body language to let their child know that they wouldn’t leave them if the child were not safe and protected.
• Take care of themselves during stressful times so they can be better equipped to take care of others.
• Find resources to learn how to promote resilience and reduce anxiety.
• Remember that this is a phase—building new relationships is an important skill, and with support, children can be resilient. Even if it’s hard to separate, they will gain a new trusted relationship with their new teacher and peers so they feel more secure.

The skilled staff at Easterseals know how to help children adjust to the changes and fears they might be experiencing. From the moment a child enters our Early Intervention program, our goal is to provide them with the support and skill development needed to make positive impacts on their lives and their families. Their social and emotional learning is essential part of every child’s education. We focus on the child’s emotional and physical needs early on in their development at their individual level of ability, giving them the head start they need to keep up with their peers. We recognize that a focus on emotional wellbeing is critical to each child’s ability to engage and learn.

Our children and their social and emotional needs are in the forefront of our minds as we prepare to welcome students back to our campus.

Support our efforts by joining one of our events:

Easterseals Golf Classic – September 20, 2021 http://bit.ly/GolfForEasterseals
Clays for a Cause – October 15, 2021 http://bit.ly/clays2021
Chase Columbus Turkey Trot – November 25, 2021 https://www.columbusturkeytrot.com/

“This is the power of gathering: it inspires us – delightfully – to be more hopeful, more joyful, more thoughtful: in a word, more alive”

– Alice Waters

People are social creatures by nature – even the most introverted of us seek out the comfort of others at times.  Whether in small groups such as birthday parties, or something as simple as getting together with one’s friends, or massive groups like concerts at sold out stadiums, gathering is an important part of life.  As Alice Waters stated, gathering makes us feel more alive.  And what better way to do so then to come together as a whole to support a common cause?  Hi, my name is Ashley Democko and I am the Special Events Coordinator here at Easterseals.  Creating an atmosphere where people have a sense of belonging and purpose that is larger than themselves is one of my greatest pleasures.

Special events play such an important part in fundraising for non-profits such as Easterseals.  It is a way for people to come together, have fun, and support an organization that is near and dear to their heart.  Events not only raise major funds to support the programs and services we provide, but they are also a great way to increase awareness of what we do, thank our supporters, celebrate our successes, and generate excitement for those who are just learning what our organization is all about.    

Easterseals hosts a variety of events throughout the year.  From wine and bourbon to golf and running – you will be able to find something to your liking.  At all of our events, guests have the opportunity to network and mingle amongst each other, but more importantly learn more about our purpose and the impact just their presence alone has on our organization.  All of the proceeds from events goes directly into the programs and services we provide for people with disabilities.  Just by buying a ticket to attend an event, you are helping us to continue to carry out our mission while having an enjoyable experience in the process. 

Romancing the Grape (RTG), Easterseals signature event, is one of my favorite occasions to plan.  It is known to be one of Central Ohio’s premier wine and food tastings, featuring more than 200 varieties of hand selected wine as well as hors d’oeuvres from Columbus’s top chefs and finest local restaurants.  The event also showcases local brews and spirits, along with an impressive silent auction and live entertainment.  To top it all off, RTG takes place at the Huntington Club of Ohio Stadium!  It is definitely a night to remember.  Mark your calendars – after two years of not being able to host this prestigious event due to COVID-19, RTG will return on April 30, 2022.   Stay up to date on information regarding the event at our website www.romancingthegrape.org  or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

In the meantime, we have plenty of great events coming up for you to be a part of.  I hope to see you at any or all of them!

Easterseals Golf Classic – September 20, 2021 http://bit.ly/GolfForEasterseals
Clays for a Cause – October 15, 2021 http://bit.ly/clays2021
Chase Columbus Turkey Trot – November 25, 2021 https://www.columbusturkeytrot.com/
 

Contributed by: Helyn Marshall, Wexner Center for the Arts

What was the most beautiful thing you’ve ever experienced? Whether seen, heard, felt, or some combination of sensory understanding? Even if it was fleeting. Even if it was small. Even if you were alone when it happened.

Was it art?

There are many questions and ideas that circle like vultures over the concept of art, such as “Do artists make art because they want to, or because they have to?” and “Is it still art if no one else ever appreciates it?”

Hi. My name is Helyn Marshall, and I’m currently working in my second year as the first Accessibility Manager at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio. Before this job, I was a house manager, helping visitors of the Wex get into and out of events. I’ve been at the Wex for about 16 years, and in that time I’ve experienced a lot of things and asked a lot of questions. Some of the questions have been about the art—contemporary visual art, experimental performing arts, multidisciplinary arts—and yes, I have asked “Is this art?” more than once! Some of the questions have been about how to get people interested in or comfortable with the arts. Still more have been about how to make the arts more accessible.

Many questions over the past year-and-a-half have been about how to make what we offer through the Wex digitally accessible, since that was our only option. Funny how things start to work (or break and get fixed) when they’re your only option! We made a move to new, online platforms for sharing the art of our time, immediately moving film/video programs online during the same time as The Ohio State University was rolling out a new digital accessibility policy for all its units. The Wex is part of Ohio State, so we very quickly realized all the films and videos we showed online needed to be captioned. Our Film/Video programmers rapidly adapted to that need by working individually and with vendors to provide captions. Our Exhibitions Department sought an academic advisory council which included the Director of Ohio State’s Disability Studies Program to bring an incredible exhibition called Climate Changing: on Artists, Institutions and the Social Environment, which has been extended through August 15, 2021. Supportive programming is woven into the run of this exhibition, including a cross-disability artist talk that included captioning, ASL interpretation, and Audio Description; an electronic gallery guide available on the exhibition’s webpage along with a large print version of the opening essay of the gallery guide; and a project where graduate students in a seminar class about access created Audio Descriptions for selected works in the exhibit.

This gorgeous and engaging exhibit will have a closing panel discussion online on August 5, 2021 called Ways Forward: New Institutional Paradigms and Practices, focused on access and equity as intersectional issues in arts institutions and how this last year-and-a-half has helped us change for the better on an international scale. We’re continuing our partnership with Ohio State’s Disability Studies Program to create a new internship program to teach students real-life access skills and help the Wex support digital media access by providing alt-text, transcript, and caption creation. Our Performing Arts Department worked with local musicians and national performers to share intimate nights of online escape, which were also captioned. More adaptations followed with members of our Learning & Public Practice (LPP) Department working with local artists to produce “how to” videos to bring making art into people’s homes instead of bringing people into the Wex for workshops as had happened every year before. I partnered with our LPP Department and Functional Training Services, a private, person-centered vocational rehabilitation agency which partners with Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, to connect with their local support group for blind and visually impaired individuals for which we’d been brainstorming how to bring in for an audio description tour of the exhibit that was showing right as the pandemic hit… Well, guess what? Phones still work! We had a lovely call and connected over the ideas, described images, and sounds in some of the art. Just because the entire world was on lockdown didn’t mean that there wasn’t freedom for art! And as we, as a nation, entered what has become a recognized dual public health crisis of COVID and racism, the Wex’s outreach efforts with local artists became more personalized and began branching into more immediately supportive programs for individuals and communities who are doubly impacted.

One project, Cameron Granger’s Everybody’s got a little light, under the sun, began as an in-person short film program and community food initiative, was postponed due to the pandemic restrictions and then had a metamorphosis to become both an e-zine and an act of community care and service with Willowbeez Soul Veg, a local grassroots, vegetarian and vegan food business. Willobeez worked with Cameron to share a simple recipe for a healthy dinner via his e-zine, and the Wex assisted in distributing the ‘zine and all of the needed ingredients (plus a few staple foods) to around 200 participants at two Columbus locations, during the heart of winter. Cameron also worked with the Willowbeez brothers Carnell and Malik on a cooking video to support the instructional aspect of the project. In a lot of ways, it became less of getting people to come to us in our building and more about meeting folks where they were.

And that includes listening.

Asking questions and listening.

And then doing what is asked for; what is needed.

What I seek to bring to the center in this role of Accessibility Manager as we move to offer greater access to all patrons for all programs, can be broken down into four actions: being available, listening, asking questions, and doing what is needed. I’m interested in how accessibility can be centered in the arts by shifting policies and adapting practices to open up experiences to all individuals of all abilities, all the time, for maximum independence and enjoyment of the arts on each individual’s terms. Sometimes it’s something simple like being able to sit for part of a performance instead of needing to stand because of an inflexible environment. Sometimes it’s about having access to an interpreter for ASL or Audio Description or support for another communication-based disability. Sometimes access is more personalized, with layers of adaptations needed for an individual to have the same opportunity to fully engage with the content of an event.

There are many windows through which to view the universality of human life depicted in the arts, whether in-person or online. I hope you can look at the Wex and see yourself here, even when “here” is where you live. And I hope you have a beautiful view.

Authored by: Payton Reuter

As a first year Project BEAR (Building Emerging and Achieving Readers) and AmeriCorps member, I knew I was looking to get more involved with early literacy in my community.  I jumped at the opportunity to be able to collaborate with Easterseals.  Project BEAR directs their focus on literacy development for children birth through the age of five, therefore, this made the perfect partnership with Easterseals’ sponsorship and promotion of the Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library (OGIL) enrollment. 

This program provides specially-selected, age-appropriate, high quality hard cover books that are delivered to registered children each month from birth to age five.  The books are personalized with the child’s name and mailed directly to the child’s home at no cost to the family.  Let’s continue to put books into the hands and hearts of children in our community.

With this collaboration, I was responsible for promoting OGIL in the counties of Pike, Scioto, Jackson, and Gallia.  During my service, I participated in enrollment display tables, Facebook Live readings (#TellAStoryTuesday), community promotion including Jackson County’s Rotary Club meeting, Shawnee State University’s Children Learning Center readings, visiting local preschools and daycares, and partaking in the first Little Free Library in Pike County, Ohio located at our local YMCA (Waverly, Ohio).  Ultimately, our team has surpassed every expectation of enrollment numbers.  This is something that we are all very proud of.

Overall, my service with Easterseals and Project BEAR has been a wonderful and fulfilling experience.  Personally, I have grown leaps and bounds since the beginning of my service.  I have been given the opportunity to provide early literacy development in my community, network, work with wonderful individuals, and resume building.  Since the beginning Pandora Shaw-Dupras and Michael-Ann Cox have welcomed with open arms.  The Easterseals team is providing wonderful services to Central and Southeast Ohio. 

Easterseals will forever have my support.

#Easterseals #ProjectBEAR #SSU #AmeriCorps #Molina #EarlyLiteracy #FreeBooks #OhioGovernorsImaginationLibrary #DollyPartonImaginationLibrary #OGIL #DPIL

Alyssa Graber, MME, MT-BC, Music Therapist- Board Certified

“Everybody play your instrument, everybody play your instrument, everybody play, everybody play, and then we….STOP!”

I am lucky that singing this little instrument song is a normal part of my everyday life. I regularly sing not only this song, but lots of familiar kids songs like “Wheels on the Bus,” “Open and Shut Them,” and yes, even “Baby Shark.” I am a board-certified music therapist, and one of my favorite days of the week is Thursday, when I get to come make music with the kids at Easterseals Early Intervention. If you happen to peek into one of my music circles you will see me with my guitar and the kids with instruments like egg shakers and rhythm sticks. You will see the kids imitating actions in songs like clapping, stomping, and dancing. You might see me with a book, but instead of reading it, I’m singing the words. It will probably look like we’re having lots of fun, because we are! But there’s actually a lot more to my music therapy circles than just having fun.

I plan my music therapy sessions to target specific age-appropriate goals to help the kids learn and grow. We sing songs to work on speech, sound production, social skills, and communication. We play instruments to work on gross and fine motor skills, impulse control, and following directions. We move to music to work on fine and gross motor skills and following directions. We do finger plays and action songs to work on attention, following directions, and fine and gross motor skills.

Why does this work? In part, because music is motivating! Almost everyone enjoys listening to music, and even if you think you can’t sing, I bet you enjoy singing along to your radio on full blast in your car. Just like music helps you get through rush-hour traffic or a tough workout, music helps motivate and hold the attention of the kids I work with. Music also provides structure for the tasks I ask the kids to do. For example, the song at the beginning of this post is a really fun way to practice following important directions like stop and go. If we’re playing egg shakers, I can also work on body part identification by singing about playing the egg shakers on our tummies, our feet, our head, etc. This little song also provides opportunities to practice communication. For instance, I give the kids the chance to say “go!” after we “stop!” We can also practice making requests, leaving space for the kids to ask for “more,” either verbally or in sign language.

As you can see, there’s a lot of thought that goes into one little song! Participating in music making is a fun and motivating way for kids to learn important skills to help them succeed in life, but it is also just a normal part of childhood. If you have a little one in your life, don’t be afraid to sing with them! While I have years of training and education in music therapy, you don’t need that to have a meaningful musical experience with the kids in your life. So go ahead—turn on some music, sing out of key, bang on some pots and pans, and have some fun!