LETTERS: EASTER SEALS CENTER WAS GOOD FOR

To To the editor:

Friday marked the end of an era in Cape Girardeau. The Easter Seals facility closed with no plans for opening another facility to serve our area's children with special needs.

When my daughter, Katie, was born in June 1994 with Down's syndrome, I called Easter Seals and was told, "Please bring her in. We would love to meet here." Katie was placed in the infant program and began receiving services when she was three months old. This was such a blessing for both Katie and our family. While she was attending this program, we met two other babies with Down's syndrome and their mothers. We continue to get together monthly and have formed our own support group. These people have become some of our closest friends. It saddens me to think other parents and children won't have the opportunity to meet people they can relate to and grow with.

Katie has received services at the Easter Seals center on Plaza Way and most recently at the Child Development Center. She has grown and learned more than we dreamed possible. We have seen the greatest changes since she has been a part of the Child Development Center, where she has been included in a regular classroom with typically developing children. She has grown so much socially. She truly loved going to her school.

Perhaps the most heartwarming thing I am taking away from this experience is the knowledge that there are wonderful people in the Cape Girardeau area. Katie and all the other children with special needs were accepted by the teachers, parents and children at the center. Even those who had reservations saw almost immediately the benefits of having children of varying abilities in the same class. Wonderful things happened in each of the classrooms. Children with disabilities grew socially in ways they would never have done had they be segregated. Children without disabilities showed so much compassion and kindness toward their disabled peers. Acceptance was the rule. It was truly magic. It is so sad that we weren't given the chance to let it continue, but instead were given two weeks to find other suitable placement for our children.

I want to take this time to thank the wonderful staff at the Child Development Center for accepting my child and all the kids with special needs with open arms. They are a superb group of people who truly care about the children in their care. I would also like to thank the other children and parents for making my dream for my daughter come true. Not once was I made to feel my child didn't belong with theirs. Last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank the people of the Cape Girardeau area for the wonderful outpouring of support they have shown our center and our children. It has restored my belief that this center was the start of something good in our area. I hope that in the near future we will have another inclusive child development center in place. I pray this will be a place parents can call when they learn their child has special needs and will be told, "Please bring your child in. We would love to meet her."

SHARON VAN DE VEN

Leopold