Easter Seals School

When you think of Easter Seals, you might think of it as an organization that only helps physically disabled children. But it's much more than that.

In Assignment:Education.. Bill Ratliff shows us how Easter Seals is reaching out to all young children.

--[Chicken Dance Music]--

These are some of the 70 children who attend the Julianne Rock Early Intervention Center, in Tampa. About half the children who attend this Easter Seals Center have special needs and disabilities of one kind or another, but you might not know it.
Because the children here are not segregated according to their disability.

--[Program Coordinator Sandy Mushinsky says:] "We've made the decision that all children need quality child care and uh, we all have special needs."--

--[Therpist Pat Tope says:] "What?. Want a drink? Yes, good signing" (Laughs)--

But the needs of some of the children are greater than others. Brandon, for instance, is deaf. While he is in a class of hearing children, Therapist Pat Tope will work with Brandon.. privately.. one-on-one.

--[Carmen O'Driscoll says:] "Let's use both hands Michael." --

In another classroom of younger children, Therapist Carmen O'Driscoll works with Michael, who has a form of cerebal palsy.

--[O'Driscoll says:] "We are using this activity to increase strength in his fingers and develop the arches of the hand."--

Again, this one-on-one intervention takes place in a classroom where some of the children don't have disabilities. The program's coordinator.. Sandy Mushinsky.. says this co-mingling of students serves an important purpose.

--[Mushinsky says:] "Well, because you need to have modeling. Children need to have people to learn from. So, we want to put them in where they cannot only feel success, but they also feel challenged."--

Being challenged. Learning. And having fun.. It's essential for healthy childhood development. And if it means wearing shaving cream on your head.. so be it.

Bill Ratliff, Newschannel 8.

This article was brought to you
straight from the desk of

in the Newsroom of