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Greetings
from Deena, Gretchen, Eli and Jeff!
June already?
It is difficult to believe we are already three months into the 2006 Island
Dolphin Care therapy season. Maybe that’s because we’ve been
having so much fun, seeing old friends and making new ones every week.
We all were very busy in the off-season. Deena,
Gretchen, Jeff and Sara held
more than 30 Dolphin Talks- each one a day of art, food, dolphin touches
and big F-U-N - that benefited critically ill, abused and special needs children.
Organizations that sent very special children to IDC for the talks included Baptist
Hospital, Gladstone Center for Girls, Bay Point School, Miami Children’s
Hospital, Gilda’s Club, Kesher School, Cleveland Clinic, UCP Miami Easter
Seals, Renaissance Learning Center, Therapies 4 Kids, and Child Psychology Associates.
We are so thankful for the generosity of donors who allowed us to touch the lives
of children coping with cancer, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, AIDS,
sexual abuse, depression, sickle cell anemia, congenital heart disorders and
developmental delay. |
Assistive Technology
After seeing significant communication gains among
some children who used our Tellus computer last season, the therapy team focused
on improving and enhancing
our ability to offer assistive technology support to families.
To learn more about the exciting changes experienced by one IDC family, please
check out the March 2006 issue of Exceptional Parent magazine. You may download
a copy of a feature article about assistive technology’s impact at IDC
by visiting www.eparent.com. Just click on archived articles, and search “Tellus.”
We now have the ability to use Mind Express communication
software in both classrooms
at once – using English or German versions. The possibilities really are
endless and we couldn’t be more excited about using this technology with
more families.
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Welcome
Aboard
Therapy is humming right along, and the staff just
got a boost of youthful enthusiasm and energy. His name is Eli Smith and he is
a recent graduate of Ball State University in Indiana, where he majored in Special
Education.
We are excited to have him on board.
Eli, who is 23 years old, hails from Gaston, Indiana.
It was in Gaston where he first worked with special education students; he spent
all four years of high school working as a teacher’s aide in a resource
room.
In college, Eli gained teaching experience working with students with emotional
and learning disabilities in a self-contained room at the middle school level.
He also worked with elementary school students in a resource setting. |
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IDC
welcomes Eli Smith
to our team. |
Eli loves the water. An experienced diver and fisherman,
Eli pulled his 13-foot Boston Whaler down from Indiana and had it out on the
water within the first few days.
Eli spent a couple of months at IDC recently as
an intern, so he knows his way around. He also knows what a lucky guy he is to
land here right out of college. Eli says he can’t wait to meet more of
the great families we’ve all been telling him about. |
See You Later
Jeff is heading back to Arizona, where he will
be teaching elementary school special education students again. He is hoping
to return next summer to spend the school break at IDC. We are hoping to have
enough reservations in place by season’s start to make that happen.
Dolphin Days
of Summer
We’ve seen some wonderful things happen in
the classrooms and in the water, but especially in the eyes of children and in
the eyes of their parents. Suffice to say, each and every Friday it is difficult
to say goodbye to the families with whom we’ve spent very special moments.
Yes, it’s the dolphin days of summer already
and the therapists at IDC couldn’t be happier about that! |
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