Siblings are special too at Easter Seals

Family services can help families who have children with special needs stay together, and Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region will be able to continue to provide those services thanks to a $22,788 grant given by the Amicus Foundation.

The grant will fund continued support services for parents and siblings of children with disabilities through a part-time parent liaison, a Summer Siblings Program and a Parent Resource Library.

The Summer Sibling Program provides children who have siblings with special needs with the opportunity to meet other siblings who understand and know what it’s like to have a sibling with a disability.

During the 10-week program, parents can drop off their children at any time between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The group is run by two college interns specializing in the social service field and is supervised by an Easter Seals social worker.

Throughout the program, the group leaders plan activities such as arts and crafts, story telling, snacks and games. The main purpose of this group is to provide an environment that focuses on the sibling by giving them a special place of their own at Easter Seals.

Another benefit of the program is that it gives parents the ability to focus on their child’s therapy session without distractions from their other children.

“This program has been wonderful. I love it,” said Aurora Martinez, a parent whose children, Omar and Yaihr, both attend therapy and the sibling program at Easter Seals. “It helps me relax because I know while one child is in therapy, the other one is playing.”

The part-time parent liaison, Cara Long, has been in the position for eight years. As the mother of a child with Down syndrome, she has been part of the Easter Seals family for more than 15 years. Her role as the parent liaison is to advocate for children with disabilities and empower parents to be advocates for their own children.

She does this by attending school staffings, hosting support groups, coordinating parent education seminars and Parent’s Night Out, and by encouraging parents to share any struggles or questions with the social services team.

The parent liaison also is responsible for maintaining the Parent Resource Library. The library provides parents and caregivers with resource information that assists families with a variety of issues they may face, including accessibility, legal counseling, transportation, housing, education, and sources of public aid they may qualify to receive.

Amicus Foundation has contributed to Easter Seals’ social services department since 2006. For information about the social and family services provided by Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region, visit dfvr.easterseals.com or call (630) 620-4433.