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Contents:
Massive Effort Unites Boy and Soldier By Carrie Antflinger - Associated Press Mauston, WS - Captain Scott Southworth knew he’d face violence, political strife and blistering heat when he was deployed to one of Baghdad’s most dangerous areas. But he didn’t expect Ala’a Edden. Abandoned on a Baghdad street at the age of three, Ala’a was now nine, strong of will but weak of body. Born with cerebral palsy, he had limited speech, used a wheelchair and weighed just fifty five pounds. He lived with twenty kids with physical and cognitive disabilities at the Mother Teresa orphanage in Baghdad, under the care of nuns who preserved this small oasis. On Sept. 6, 2003, halfway through his 13 month deployment, Southworth and his military police unit visited the orphanage. They played and chatted with the children. Southworth was talking with one little girl when Ala’a, crawling on the floor, approached the soldier. Black-haired and brown-eyed, Ala’a spoke to the 31 year old American. He recalled the bombs that struck government buildings. “Bomb-Bing! Bomb-Bing!” Ala’a said, raising and lowering his fist. “I’m here now. You’re fine,” the captain said. Over the next ten months, the unit returned to the orphanage again and again. The soldiers would race kids in their wheelchairs, sit them on Humvees and help the sisters feed them. To Southworth, Ala’a was like a little brother. But Ala’a secretly began referring to Southworth as “Baba,” Arabic for “Daddy.” Just before Christmas, a sister told Southworth that Ala’a was getting too big and would be moved to a government-run facility within a year. “Best case scenario was that he would stare at a blank wall for the rest of his life. I couldn’t allow that on my watch. I’ll adopt him,” Southworth said. No
wife, no home
Humanitarian parole On New Year’s Eve, his cell phone rang. It was Ala’a. “What are you doing?” Scott asked him. “I was praying,” Ala’a responded. “Well, what were you praying for?” “I prayed that you would come to take me to America,” Ala’a said. By mid-January, Homeland Security called Southworth’s attorney to say humanitarian parole had been approved. Within three hours, Southworth had plane tickets. When he saw Ala’a in the Baghdad airport “forever started.” They made it to Wisconsin Jan. 20, 2005. The next morning, Ala’a awoke to his first sight of snow. On June 4th, Ala’a officially became Southworth’s son. Fundraising Special Events – Successfully Raising Funds and Fun
In November a three day silent auction was held at the Athletic Club Northeast. With 250 donated items that included services, dinners, weekend get ways, tickets, subscriptions and sports memorabilia the event was successful in raising $13,000. With waiting lists at Lekotek sites, funding from both events will make it possible to increase part-time staff and twenty four children will receive services immediately. Mark your calendar for the Lekotek Golf Tournament, May 5th, 2008. CAI Golf Tournament Raises Funds for Lekotek The Georgia Chapter of the Community Associations Institute (CAI) is part of a national nonprofit organization created to educate and represent residential condominium, cooperative and homeowner associations. In its role as the voice for Georgia’s community associations, the Georgia Chapter of CAI advances excellence through educational seminars, networking, workshops, programs and publications. The CAI-Georgia Chapter donates part of the proceeds from the CAI-Georgia Golf Classic to Lekotek. CAI members are happy to help in this way and remain proud of their relationship with Lekotek. This year’s check to Lekotek exceeded $7,000 and is allocated to the satellites housed at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Magazine Highlight: Kids Enabled by Beth McGaw and Kristi Lockwood It all started over a cup of coffee, two friends getting together to share stories about their children. But their kids weren’t “typical” kids. They happened to learn a bit differently than their peers. As the friends sipped their coffee, they posed many questions to each other. How do you keep the momentum going? How do you keep their self-esteem in tact? How do you find the right resources? Where do you start and where do you go for help? From that meeting, a seed was planted. If we as parents of children with learning differences felt frustrated by searching for these answers, then we were sure other parents did as well. Hence, Kids Enabled magazine was born. The idea since has grown to help other parents locate educational and therapeutic interventions and resources for their children. In Atlanta, there are professionals, schools and organizations eager and ready to help, but weeding through the seemingly limitless choices makes it difficult for busy parents to select the right options. This is especially true when these resources are not found in one place. We often have to stumble upon them by asking teachers, doctors, therapists and other parents before we find them. As co-editors and publishers of Kids Enabled we strive to make these choices easier for parents. We aim not to define children in terms of labels, but rather to focus on the interventions and strategies that enlighten parents to consider options they might not have known about before. Our goal is to partner with parents and together make the maze of learning differences easier to navigate. IEP Tips for Parents from the Georgia Advocacy Office Students with special needs are required by law to have an individual educational plan and these meetings are typically held at the end of each school year. However, a parent may request an IEP meeting anytime. Tips for the meeting:
After the meeting:
Remember:
(This article was edited with permission from JustKids magazine – Atlanta Parent’s annual issue that focuses on children with disabilities. Lekotek commends Atlanta Parent for this issue which is always comprehensive and extremely well done.) Little Champs 3-in-1 Sports Center
The Little Champs Sports Center is available from ToysRUs. It was recently featured in the ToysRUs Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids. The Toy Guide is a joint project of ToysRUs and the National Lekotek Center.
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| En Español Lekotek of
Georgia, Inc.
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With
550 participants the fifteenth annual Lekotek run was the most
successful to date, raising $52,000. As the presenting sponsor, Lekotek
appreciates the generous and continued support of The Marcus Foundation.
Additional sponsors include: Georgia Perimeter College, Piedmont
Construction, J&E Real Estate, Cushing & Morris, Ippolito’s, American
Elevator, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, The Maslia Foundation, Repro
Products, Pittman Construction, Szabo Associates, Victor Realty,
Rainmaker Consultants, Sotto Design & Development, Sutherland, Asbill &
Brennan, Performance Medical Centers, The Home Depot, Atlanta
Psychological Services, D.A.D., Wells Fargo Foothill, Hennessy Lexus,
Abbott Labs, B&M Auto Repair, Spikes Running Company, Herman Homes,
Career Sports & Entertainment, Marvin F. Poer & Company, Tucker Optimist
Club, Kurt Salmon Associates, Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion, Ford Motor Company,
Craig Automotive, CGI, Suwanee Realty, Cliff Valley Office Partners,
Kiddo’s Clubhouse, Barnes, Broyles & Associates, Olanksy Dermatology,
QuikTrip, Ed Voyles Acura, Graphics Central, Starbucks Coffee
(Dunwoody), The Bagel Palace, Kid’s Creek Therapy, Atlanta Coc-Cola
Bottling Company, High Cotton Apparel, National Premiums, Washington
Mutual Card Services, Wal-Mart, PowerBar, Robek’s Juice,
MyProduceGuy.com, Sweet Tomatoes and Discovery Toys.
L
to R: Julie Jackson, of CAI-Georgia, Diane Lasek of Arborguard Tree
Specialists, Dale Pendergraft of All South Renovations, Neal Back of
Back, James, Mansour & Co., Helene Prokesch of Lekotek of Georgia,
Ashlie Bisig of SERVPRO of North Fulton and Steven M. Winter of
Weinstock & Scavo, P.C.By Brenda Ali
With
this multi-sports center, everyone can have fun taking turns batting a
baseball, kicking the football or shooting baskets. This sturdy sports
center is made by Little Tykes. The football and baseball games are
stabilized making it easier for children with gross motor delays to kick
or hit the ball. A child who can’t stand can enjoy shooting baskets from
a sitting position. With each basket, the sports center responds with
cheers, building self-esteem. The digital display counts each basket so
in addition to developing eye hand coordination, the child learns and
practices counting. In addition, as children take
turns with friends and family members, they develop patience,
sportsmanship and teamwork.