Supporting the Potential of Every Child

Sitting in the common area of Portland's Breakwater Elementary School this Tuesday morning, I was impressed by reading the wall plaque dedicated to  Eleanor “El”  and Frank Costa, founders of the K-8 school on Brighton Avenue.  The school was founded in 1955, to appreciate the potential of ever child.  Moreover, the website says....".  a school should provide...comfort and security for children while they are learning the skills, concepts, and knowledge that will optimize their ability to navigate the rest of their lives. "

The Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness was warmly welcomed by the grade 3-8 school administrator Cheryl Hart, who helped to organize the 3 and 4th grade programs presented today by two instructors in The Cromwell Method (R), Dede Bennell and Renee St. Laurent. 

Lady Bird Johnson, former first lady and wife of President Lynden Johnson said, "Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them." This quote reminded me how The Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness and The Breakwater School are striving for some similar educational goals.

Cromwell Center educational programs teach children, with an interactive curricula, about the importance of being inclusive and accepting of one another. Instructors help children to recognize the particular gifts all of us bring along life's journey. When children are taught disabilities awareness with The Cromwell Method, the intention is to  help them understand, accept and respond positively to the potential in every one. 

When we raise children to be aware of how to respond with openeness and inclusion to people with visible or invisible disabilities, we are likely to see them live up to what we teach them. 

Thanks to the Portland Breakwater School for your mission about children and their potential!

The Lancet - Championing Good Health for People With Disabilities

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(11)61825-4/fulltext?rss=yes

"There has been a move away from the medical model of disability towards the social model; with the spotlight on how societal barriers disable individuals, the health of disabled people has received insufficient attention and investment."

Unfortunately, disabilities can lead to chronic ill health. This article link from the Journal "The Lancet" calls for more attention and resources to be made available to help people with disabilities to maximize their abilities and efforts toward social and medical wellness.

The Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness supports educational programs to teach communities in schools and workplaces about how all people can be supported to lead productive lives, regardless of disabilities, whether they are physical, emotional, learned, acquired or inherited. 

Upcoming programs for 3rd & 4th graders at the Breakwater School in Portland, and for children, and parents at the Small Elementary School in South Portland, will teach and emphasize our mission!

Labels: The Lancet

Teaching Children Without Labels - "Anthony Best" by Davene Fahy

Maine writer Davene Fahy writes an entertaining and instructional young children's book about a school boy named Anthony Best, who exhibits negative behaviors in class and on the playground. 

FAhy's beautifully illustrated story describes behaviors and talents exhibited by Anthony, without attaching labels to his attributes.

Anthony's young friend in the story supports him, regardless of how his aggressive or unusual behavior upsets other people.  Eventually, Anthony's friend is pleasantly surprised to discover that he is an accomplished piano player.  It turns out, Anthony is probably the best pianist his young friend has ever heard play. 

"Anthony Best" holds the reader's interest because the child's behaviors are familiar to many who have known or worked with children with autism. Fahy writes about Anthony's behavior without attributing his actions to any particular label, but are consistent with observations of children with autism. 

This presentation of Anthony as a boy with a special gift for playing the piano, in spite of being unable to control his behavior, is what  makes Fahy's book an exceptional teaching story.  Anthony seamlessly changes from a boy with behavior problems into a child with musical talent.

Readers are able to focus on the faithfulness of Anthony's defending friend, who learns about his special musical talent, almost by accident. While Anthony's classmates are  upset by  his disruptive behavior, he keeps his exceptional musical talent private, by playing the piano at home for his mother.  As a beautiful story ending, we learn how Anthony really is the best boy because he has a wonderful talent for music.

A value added to Fahy's story is the succinct description about autism provided at the end of the book. This helpful addendum assists the adult reader to may be asked questions from children who either hear the story or read it for themselves.

The Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness teaches children in the classroom about the specialness of all people, especially those who may have a disability, either visible or invisible in nature.  "Anthony Best" is an excellent story example to teach children about disabilities awareness, about understanding others, without applying negative labels to their behaviors.

"Anthony Best" is illustrated by Carol Inouye.  Author Fahy is a resident of Thomaston, ME.

 

Bullying Prevention Review - Two Media Stories

The Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness works to "Change Attitudes" about people with disabilities. .Our programs are particularly effective in teaching prevention of bullying and mistreatment of others.

Two stories in the media over the past year bring out the importance, and urgency, of prevention programs:

1.  Upper Darby, Pennsylvania:  A 13-year-old victim of a bullying attack tells how he was jumped by seven other teens - and how a woman saved him. On January 11, Nadin Khoury was walking home from school when he was randomly picked out by the teens, who Upper Darby police chief Michael Chitwood called a "wolfpack."http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/Upper_Darby_Videotaped_Bullying_Charges_020111

2.  New Jersey anti-bullying law: Under a new state law in New Jersey, lunch-line bullies in the East Hanover schools can be reported to the police by their classmates this fall through anonymous tips to the Crimestoppers hot line. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/31/nyregion/bullying-law-puts-new-jersey-schools-on-spot.html?pagewanted=all

Both situations describe children in schools. Upper Darby's was a violent incident. In New Jersey, the intention of a new law may have over reached its goals.

The Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness teaches The Cromwell Method (R), an interactive program  presented in schools, in developmentally appropriate educational programs, for grades 3 thru 6, for the purpose of supporting positive behaviors, and acceptance for all people, especially those with disabilities.  Other programs are designed for workplaces.

In Upper Darby, PA, we commend Police Chief Chitwood (a former Portland Maine Police Chief), for confronting the behavior of a group of bullies in his community.

In New Jersey, where legislation was enacted to prosecute bullying behaviors, the public policy initiative has caused angst because some may have overreached their interpretation and implementation of the law.

We believe educating people to understand and accept people's differences or disabilities, regardless of their nature (visible or invisible disabilities) are the best preventions against bullying or mistreatment of others. 

The Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness supports efforts to eliminate bullying.

We believe awareness education is the best way to help eliminate bullying.

Please help our mission to "Change Attitudes". 

Our experts in disabilities awareness education and training are available to provide your organization with interactive programs to insure all people are supported and accepted for their gifts and talents. 

Contact us if you would like to observe one of our programs or are seeking more information. http://www.cromwellcenter.org/ and on facebook, too!

 

Feedback to Prevention: Disabilities Awareness and Bullying Prevention

http://db.tt/QY9SywMc

Calls from Maine Parent and Teacher groups (PTOs) are asking The Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness (CCDA) to educate adults, as well as children, with trainings consistent with The Cromwell Method TM presented in the 3 thru 5th grade classrooms. 

A composite of the evaluation results of one PTO program is attached at the link http://db.tt/QY9SywMc. This positive feedback is from the Burchard Dunn Elementary School in New Gloucester, ME, a program conducted on October 19, 2011 in the school auditorium/gym.

"We Change Attitudes":  Along with disabilities awareness discussion and teaching people centered language, the Cromwell instructors address bullying behaviors and the mistreatment of others,. The Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness presents information to "change attitudes" about everyone with disabilities, either visible, or invisible, acquired  or inherited.

Nearly every day, it seems there is some negative media story with a focus on the damaging impact of bullying behaviors in some schools or workplaces.  Wouldn't it be helpful, and newsworthy for the media to report on The Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness prevention programs, where special interactive curricula, and trained instructors teach about the harmful impact of bullying behaviors to children and adults?

Moreover, The Cromwell Method TM teaches positive interactions, by engaging children in discussions about inclusiveness and how we value every person, supporting their opportunity to live in accepting communities.  As one parent wrote on the Burchard Dunn evaluation, "I'm excited for my 3rd grader being exposed to this training, thanks!"

Please contact The Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness if we can help your organization, or school with disabilities awareness education and training.  http://www.cromwellcenter.org/.

Creating Safe Communities and Parent Feedback Comment on Facebook

Being Bullied for Learning Differently - A South Portland program for supporting safe communities is being planned. Stay Tuned!

A parent posted this comment on our Facebook page, and it captured another reality and anguish of  learning disabilities:
"Today a speaker from the Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness went into my daughter's class to do a presentation on acceptance. She really enjoyed it and was excited to share all about it when she got home. Hopefully her classmates were receptive to the info and took it to heart, I'd love it if she weren't bullied for learning differently."
Children learn differently, and no parent wants their child being bullied for any reason, especially while they are at school where they are in safe environment. 

The Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness is planning a Creating Safe Communities Program with the South Portland Maine elementary schools to support disabilities awareness education and training. Stay tuned for details.

Mental Illness and Disabilities Awareness

Bill Nemitz is a journalist with the Portland Press Herald who routinely reports on the best of people who are willingly open about overcoming personal and professional challenges presented by particular disabilities. 

An October 2, 2011 article titled "From Voices in His Head....to a Voice of Hope," tells about a Nemitz  interview with South Portland resident Jeff Daigle who shared his experience living with schizophrenia.  Mr. Daigle sometimes speaks at Maine Medical Center's grand rounds to physicians, nurses and mental health professionals to help them better understand his life with schizophrenia.  Mr. Daigle describes how some people reacted to his mental illness.  "...he'd break down in tears at which point 'everyone would look at me and walk away'", he says.

People with Schizophrenia have been misunderstood for centuries, because symptoms of this mental illness are unpredictable.  Some recent advances in social, and psychiatric interventions are helping people to understand and manage schizophrenia's symptoms, similar to how diabetes or high blood pressure are treated - through education and prevention of acute episodes.

Mr. Daigle says, "....someone can deal with schizophrenia on a day-to-day basis and still have a full life."

Unfortunately, while people with schizophrenia are willing and able to work hard towards achieving their life goals, there are sometimes others in the workplace or schools who continue to harbor misunderstandings about mental illness.  In fact, education programs are available to help support Mr. Daigle's hopeful statement.  The Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness www.cromwellcenter.org teaches students, teachers, guidance counselors and adults in the workplace about acceptance and tolerance for people with all disabilities, whether they are emotional, behavioral, inherited, acquired, physical or the result of mental illness.

Congratulations to Mr. Daigle for reaching out to help others through his 5 years of work as a peer support counselor at Portland's Shalom House, a mental health agency. He also volunteers during Sunday Mass as a greeter at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland. 

Mr. Daigle "finally decided to bare his soul to a counselor..." who helped him understand his symptoms.  The Cromwell Center's expert educators can be equally helpful teaching those of us in the public, who may not be professionally trained, to understand how to recognize the accomplishments of people who are challenged by their disabilities. 

"We Change Attitudes" is The Center's mission!  Thanks to Bill Nemitz for raising the public's understanding about schizophrenia by reporting on Mr. Daigle's life experiences.