[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 27 (Thursday, February 13, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E218]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF SPECIAL CHILDREN INCORPORATED

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JERRY F. COSTELLO

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 12, 2003

  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker I rise today to ask my colleagues to join 
me in recognizing the 50th Anniversary of Special Children Incorporated 
of Belleville, Illinois.
  Special Children Incorporated is a not-for-profit organization which 
began in 1953 as ``The Parent Group for Mentally Retarded Children, 
Incorporated'', when a group of parents came together to address their 
concerns over a lack of appropriate education for children with special 
needs. After developing and holding classes in local churches and 
homes, a permanent site was constructed in 1971 at 1306 Wabash Avenue 
in Belleville. A 10,000 square foot addition was completed in 1993 to 
meet the expanding needs of the agency. This building was constructed 
completely from the fundraising efforts of parents and community 
volunteers.
  Special Children, Inc. continues to provide services for individuals 
in the St. Clair, Monroe, Randolph and Madison county area. The mission 
of Special Children, Inc., is to provide educational and early 
intervention services to children developmentally and or physically 
disabled from birth through 21 years of age and to provide education 
and support to the parent/guardian in hopes that these children can 
continue to reside in the most supportive and least restrictive 
environments.
  Mamie O. Stookey School is approved by the Illinois State Board of 
Education as a Non-Public Facility in the State of Illinois to educate 
trainable mentally handicapped and severe profound handicapped 
students. Special Children develops an individual education plan, which 
provides a comprehensive assessment of the student's health, education, 
and social needs. An interdisciplinary team trained to provide 
specialized pediatric treatment is provided, as is a low pupil-teacher 
ratio. Special Children also provides for an adaptive physical 
education program including swimming, bowling, and adaptive 
therapescrotoscrotoutic playground. Daily progress reports to the 
family/guardian of each student are given as well as linkage and 
coordination to other community resources.
  The program has eight self-contained classrooms that provide 
individualized instruction in the area of motor skills, language and 
communications, socialization; self help skills of daily living, and 
pre-vocational activities. The program focuses on a developmental 
curriculum, which include a variety of support services; Physical 
Therapy, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy consultation, adaptive 
physical education, social services, and nursing.
  The family has the primary responsibility for the child's early 
learning environment. What happens in these early years is crucial to 
the child's success during the school year. Born of this belief and 
commitment to help parents of young developmentally delayed children do 
their job more effectively and enjoyably, the PRIME/CARE program 
started in 1974. An Individual Family Service Plan (I.F.S.P.) provides 
a comprehensive assessment of the child and family's health as well as 
their education and social needs. An interdisciplinary team has also 
been trained to provide specialized pediatric treatment and case 
management. Special Children follows an interagency approach to 
treatment designed to enhance coordination and ease the transition 
between medical, social, and educational services in the community.
  Special Children provides for comprehensive developmental assessment 
at referral and also schedules assessments by other professionals for 
coordination and individualized planning. They provide progress review 
and a program update every three months. All assessed, but not 
eligible, children are referred to appropriate community resources. 
Special Children Service teams represent these area disciplines; 
Special Instruction, Speech and Language Therapy, Physical Therapy, 
Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Service Coordination
  Additional Special Children Services include; PRIME (home based)--
Weekly home visits, CARE (toddler Classroom), Parent Support Groups and 
a Parent Education Group. Special Children Inc. also serves Newborns 
Through Two Year Olds, primarily infants at risk for developmental 
disabilities as the result of prenatal, perinatal and neonatal factors; 
such as: severe respiratory distress, prematurity, seizures and feeding 
problems. Special Children also treats infants and toddlers with 
diagnosed medical disorders such as; Rubella, Tuberous Sclerosis, 
Cerebral Palsy, Microcephaly and Down's syndrome. Infants, Toddlers and 
Preschoolers with delayed development (25 percent or more) in one or 
more areas are also treated for analysis in: cognition, expressive 
language, receptive language, fine motor development, gross motor 
development and affective/social/emotional development.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the 50th 
Anniversary of Special Children Incorporated and recognize the work 
that they do in the community to benefit the health, safety and welfare 
of children.

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