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!

Written by: Amica Gardner

My name is Amica Gardner and I’m an Early Intervention Specialist for Easterseals. I have always believed in timing, and the day I applied for the Early Intervention Specialist (EIS) position was perfect timing. I was at a professional crossroads of what my next career move would be. When I was researching a popular employment website I stumbled upon the EIS position. As I was reading the job description my heart was fluttering in excitement. With each sentence I was saying, “I can do that, oh that’s me, I can definitely do that”! I applied that day! 

I was nervous, anxious and determined that this would be my next career move, and thankfully I was hired. Fast forward to 6 years, here I am, an EIS. I’ve grown so much as a person and as a professional. I’ve learned to be present, intentional and cherish the moments. To always appreciate the small and big milestones that occur in the classroom. There have been so many incredible moments and memories in my classroom that will be forever remembered and that in itself,  is a blessing. 

There are days, and we’ve all had them where you wake up and you are just  blah and you’re in a different head space. On these days, I park my car, gather my things and say to myself, “these young children need you Amica, you need to be present and intentional, look for and seek all the good and positives today”! Beep! Car is locked, I walk my way to the door, scan my badge and shake all that blah (ness) off and get ready for the day. Lets be honest some days are challenging emotionally, physically and mentally. Those are the days you push through, laugh, smile, sing a little louder at circle time, dance, be silly with the kids, and remember to breathe. And then you go home eat some ice cream for dinner and go to bed by 7:30. LOL 

Being an EIS has been an incredible journey. From connecting with wonderful families, advocating for them and their child, building a rapport with them, and reassuring them, I will be with them every step of the way. That WE, the other 3 EIS’s will be there, giving 110%.  

I work with an amazing group of individuals who also make me a better EIS. We are an exceptional team, and I grateful for them as well. 

As for Ms. Amica, being an EIS has been one of the best experiences I have been apart of. I always tell my families, “thank you for allowing me, and Easterseals to be apart of your child’s journey”. Being an EIS is rewarding to the heart, soul  and mind. How inspiring it is to know that each day you get to be apart of something so big, watching these young ones grow, learn, and accomplish a goal

 That is a blessing! 

#easterseals, #earlyintervention, #autism, #disabilityservices, #beingpresent, #beingintentional, #allabilities

Written by: Brittney S., Columbus, Ohio

We are a family that loves to travel. Beach or City? Mountains or Desert? Historical sites or Museums? Lakes or the Ocean? Yes, please! All of the above! Please don’t make us choose! 

However, we aren’t a family that can hit the road without a fair amount of preparation, flexibility and sense of humor. Sounds very much like all scenarios for families with children who have special needs, right? 

We are parents to 3: 14 year old Skyler, 5 year old Quinn and 4 year old Reilly. Our oldest child, Skyler, has Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy and uses a manual wheelchair for mobility. While traveling with Skyler does create some unique challenges, he has been able to cross 17 states off of his travel list! The blog Curbfreewithcorylee.com has been a wonderful resource we have used many times in our past travels. Cory Lee is an award winning travel blogger living with Spinal Muscular Atrophy who details his travel experiences and offers practical guidance. 

We’ve been traveling to cities and beaches for years; only recently did we decide to venture out and try our hand at the true great outdoor adventure, camping. We didn’t want to travel far from home for our first camping trip, so thankfully Ohio is home to some of the most expansive, beautiful and accessible parks in the nation. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources website is a wonderful resource as it lists all of the accessible activities and facilities. There are a number of accessible fishing piers, paved trails, boat launches, etc. throughout the state. Note: Hiking was not a priority for us this trip, however, we love the website AllTrails.com that lists park trails and includes user reviews and photos. This has been very helpful preplanning other trips to determine if a trail is appropriate for our family.

We decided to stay at John Bryan State Park in Yellow Springs, just east of Dayton. We booked our campsite through the ODNR hotline and were able to speak with a customer service representative to ensure our site was accessible, near a restroom and an overall good fit for our family. We did a ‘practice’ run in our basement where we set up the tent and let the kids get used to the idea of sleeping in a tent etc. We packed Sky’s medical supplies, our s’mores supplies, an electric heater and off we went! We looked like a parade float driving down 70 with the amount of supplies, bicycles, bike trailers, and even Skyler’s wheelchair that we had in the bed of my husband’s truck! 

We stopped at Young’s Dairy, a Yellow Springs must see, before arriving and unpacking for the night. We set up camp quickly and enjoyed family time around the fire pit. The joy I felt seeing the kids all around the fire together made the entire trip worth it. The s’mores were perfect.

And friends, this is where having a sense of humor came in handy.

I had never cooked over a fire before, but armed with a recipe from Pinterest and a good attitude, I tried. Our meal a blackened pulp and kiddos fed Doritos and s’mores for dinner, we decided to call it a night and head into the tent. We knew temperatures were expected to dip low that night, but grossly underestimated the cold and overestimated the power of our little electric heater. We froze. And then…our youngest, our sweet Reilly, sat up and projectile vomited. 

CAMPING IS SO FUN, GUYS! WE LOVE THE GREAT OUTDOORS! 

I remember looking at my husband and saying “Should we just pack up and go? It’s 1o’clock in the morning!” And by the light of the moon and our truck’s headlights, we did just that. I admit to feeling slightly defeated driving that parade float back down 70 heading home in the middle of the night. 

However, I am now able to laugh at the situation and remember the dozens of other travel and outdoor memories we have made as a family. We pre-planned as much as we could, we controlled what we could, and also knew when to pack it up and try again another day. To repeat something I said at the beginning of this post-  Sounds very much like all scenarios for families with children who have special needs, right? 

Over the last 14 years of life with Skyler, we have certainly learned to ‘roll with it’. I’m confident we will try camping again when the weather is warmer. Maybe we’ll just order pizza? We’ll certainly pray for no puke. And if it doesn’t go as planned again, there’s always the Hilton.

Written by: Maryjo Flamm-Miller

Where better to learn new things while appreciating the beauty of nature and learning to challenge ourselves than the great outdoors?

Imagine yourself standing in the middle of an arena at center court. You squint at the brightness of the overhead lights. All around you the seats are empty. Unseen, someone is whistling. You hear the sound of sweeping and laughter but it feels disorienting because you cannot see who or where the sounds are originating. It is overwhelming and a little bit scary.

When young children, with their very limited life experience, are taken outdoors to play, a similar thing happens. They remain near their familiar grown-ups, reluctant to explore because the sensory stimulation and wide-open space feels mind-boggling, very different from small indoor spaces. Only with repeated exposure will children develop an enthusiasm for the natural world and the opportunity to move their bodies in big ways, to notice minute details, and thrill to the freedom. As children age, they embrace their growing self-reliance and curiosity outdoors.

Over time, children develop more skills that enable them to climb, swing, leap. Their dexterity allows for digging, scooping, moving heavy objects, and constructing. All the sensations that wind, water, and soil provide become elemental playthings outdoors. Who hasn’t smiled while watching children digging in sand or sloshing water with such concentration that they do not even hear their own names being called? Allowed more and more time in nature, children’s imagination and self-concept bloom. They discover the world is an expansive place, ripe with possibilities and interesting things. They discover their own capabilities.

There is a fun program for families called DISCOVERY GARDEN which provides children of all ages, parents, and grandparents weekly mornings of open-ended play. The outdoor summer session runs for twelve weeks, May 6 – July 22, in Chillicothe’s Yoctangee Park every Thursday from 9:30 am – Noon.

This pop-up playground affords families opportunities to socialize and enjoy being with each other. Discovery Garden also offers water and bubble play, a mud kitchen, ball and target games, building hide-outs, art experiences, parachute games, singing, and storytelling each week. Lots of fresh air, shady trees, and room to run. Always free and open to the public. Parking and restrooms conveniently located close by.

Celebrating 15 years in 2021, Discovery Garden is pleased to be an Easterseals program, enriching the lives of families and helping children grow confidently.

www.Facebook.com/DiscoveryGardenChillicothe

Discovery Garden Family Playgroup

“Connecting People, Nurturing Family Relationships”

Serving Ross County families since 2006. 

Partnering with Easterseals Central & Southeast Ohio, Inc. in 2021: Chillicothe & Ross County Public Library, United Way of Ross County, Junior Civic League of Chillicothe, Burton E. Stevenson Fund, Chillicothe Parks & Recreation Department.

Dad & Me Adventures

“Involved Fathers Have Happy Children”

Celebrating Fatherhood since 2008. 

Partnering with Ross County Community Action Commission & Head Start since 2015.

by: Annie Crane

6:30am – Beep. Beep. Beep. I roll over in bed and try to focus on hitting the stop button on my phone. I lay on my back and struggle to keep my eyes open. Immediately, I run through a mental checklist of all the therapy appointments and items on my to-do list for today. I pick up my phone to scroll through Facebook. Mindless scrolling. My mind drifts between some of the good days and hard days of motherhood.

Meet Annie, Matthew, & Nora

My name is Annie and I’m the mother of two amazing children with disabilities. My days as a mom are spent watching therapies, going to doctor appointments, researching, scheduling medical appointments, and looking up other therapies, medications, or new interventions for my kids. Oh, and I provide daily care for my daughter.

Both of my kids have Autism. My son, Matthew, is seven years old and is in 1st grade. He LOVES Hot Wheels and basically anything that has to do with cars and transportation. He has been able to identify every car in a parking lot (Honda, Toyota, etc) since he was two and half years old. He is incredibly smart and hilarious. Most would consider him high functioning or in the old terminology, Asperger’s. He struggles with changes in his routine, processing his emotions, and recognizing and implementing social cues/skills. He was diagnosed when he was 4 years old, long after our daughter, Nora, received her initial diagnosis.

My daughter, Nora, is four and a half years old. She loves Minnie Mouse, her brother, giggling when someone sneezes or trips, and swinging in her swing. Her smile will brighten anyone’s day and her laugh is infectious. In addition to Autism, Nora has Agenesis of the Corpus Collosum (ACC), which means that she is missing the part of the brain that sends information between the right and left hemispheres.

To understand ACC, think of a circle. Imagine that you want to get to the top of the circle the fastest way possible from the bottom. Your first thought would be to go straight up the middle. For Nora, she would have to go all the way around the outside of the circle to get to the top. This is how Nora’s brain works. Information takes longer for Nora to process because the connection between her brain’s halves, her direct route is missing. She was born without it, though we didn’t find out until she was 10 months old.

Nora has a longer list of other diagnoses, including global developmental delay and microcephaly. Nora cannot walk independently yet and is nonverbal.

The moment I became a mother of a child with disabilities

I remember the moment I got the call about Nora’s diagnosis very clearly. Looking back now, it was a moment that changed my life and ultimately how I was going to parent in the future. In the moment, I was full of confusion, high emotion, and guilt. I don’t think I registered how much I would change and our lives would change after this phone call.

Nora had just had an MRI. The neurologist said he was checking for something called microcephaly.  At the time, I remember googling it and seeing phrases like “small head” and “developmental delay.” At the time, I remember not being very concerned and believing that her physical therapy would resolve it. I can confidently say, I was very naive about the situation, but most importantly, I was in denial that something serious was happening.

When the tech called with the results, he began saying all of these large medical terms that I did not understand. “enlarged ventricles.” “Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum.” “copolcephaly.” I asked if they could spell all of these words for me. I pride myself on earning a master’s degree, but these words were foreign to me. I wrote each word on a scrap piece of paper. I asked what some of these words meant. I remember getting answers like “missing part of the brain, extra space in the back of the head.” He said the doctor also confirmed microcephaly. He told me the neurologist would follow up with us at our next appointment, almost 2 months later. Never did I expect to hear that my child was missing a piece of her brain.

Immediately, I started googling some of these words in hopes of a better idea of what the MRI results indicated. We all know Dr. Google is the best way to get medical information. (Insert sarcasm.) But, in this case, I did learn what these words meant, but not the ramifications of how that would affect our lives moving forward. I collapsed to the floor, allowing the tears to fall.

The Hard Days

Nothing really prepares you for motherhood, but everyone has some idea of the basics. I spent the first two and half years of motherhood, thinking my life was going one way. I had it all planned out. My husband and I had all these goals and dreams.

After that phone call and in the months that followed, my role as a mother became a lot more complicated. My emotions went through all stages of grief. I learned how to be a therapist, scheduler, researcher, medical expert on Nora’s diagnosis, observer, and most importantly, an advocate.

My husband and I grieved the life we thought we were going to have with our children. Honestly, we still have days where we still have moments of sadness. Those are usually on the hard days when one or both kids have had multiple meltdowns and everyone ends up crying.

When I think of hard days in our house, I think about when Matthew has several meltdowns in one day. A meltdown may begin over a waffle, but really is about a change in his schedule. A meltdown can start with harsh words and can escalate quickly to throwing a plate across the room. My goal is to remain calm and get Matthew to “take a break” to calm down. While this is happening, Nora usually begins to cry or head banging because there is yelling or crying. In these moments, I struggle to keep everyone safe and make the right choices. There are days when this situation is on repeat and I feel resentment. These are the low moments of special needs parenting.

The Good Days

Since learning my children have disabilities, there are so many things about my life that have changed for the positive. I’ve become a better advocate for myself and for my children. I’ve learned I have to be bold, ask questions, and most importantly, ask for help. I’ve met so many amazing, strong parents, therapists, teachers, and administrators who really care about Matthew and Nora. The amount of gratitude I have for these people is unmeasured. I could not be the mother I am without their support.

Nora and Matthew bring so much joy to our lives. Every small milestone is big in our house. There were big cheers and tears when Nora brought scissors to the paper during occupational therapy. It took a year of hard work for her to do it on her own. We also celebrated when Matthew started using his scissors correctly to cut simple shapes.

When there is a really big milestone, it makes all the hard days worth it. A month ago, Nora and I were at Nationwide Children’s Hospital for her bi-weekly physical therapy appointment. Nora’s been working on taking independent steps between small distances like the couch to a chair. Up until this day, Nora was consistently doing 4-5 steps independently between people. Her steps had started to look more sturdy and she looked more confident.

We had moved to the large gym area.  Her therapist had Nora in an independent stand position. She saw another child across the room. She must have got excited because she started to take steps independently across the room. She would pause, gain her balance, then continue again. I watched my child confidently take 20 independent steps across the room in that moment.

When she plopped to the ground, I had tears in my eyes while her therapist and I cheered. Nora looked pretty proud of herself too.

I smile when I remember this particular day. It felt like one of the biggest dreams I’ve had since Nora’s diagnosis, that she would walk, seemed inevitable. I know she will get there. As I say, she does things in Nora time, when she wants to.

People have told me over the years that I’m super mom and they don’t see how I do all that I’m doing. I am just surviving day-by-day and doing what any mother would do, regardless of ability. I’m just trying to set my children up for the best possible future. It just looks a little different for us. It isn’t your normal, but it is our normal.

6:50am: Twenty minutes have passed. I hear Matthew get up, go to the bathroom, and head to the basement to play Hot Wheels before school. I guess it is time to get up and get into the shower before Nora wakes up. It is the only time to myself before the craziness of the day begins.