THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 17, 1995 TAG: 9511170255
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
Harris Fischer sat in his mother's lap as she turned the pages of the picture book and asked, ``What does the cow say?''
``Moo-o-o,'' replied Harris, grinning the way most any 2 1/2-year-old would do.
But Harris, who has Down syndrome, is not like most toddlers. Each accomplishment is the result of repeated effort by his parents, the therapists who work with him twice a week and the teachers in his reverse mainstreamed preschool class.
Since he was 2 months old, Harris has received early intervention services at the Children's Center, an agency partially funded by the United Way. Without the help provided by the facility, it's likely Harris would not be able to do many of the things he can do today, said his mother, Anne Fischer.
She and her husband, George, know there's no realistic way to measure their son's progress. But she's convinced that the Children's Center has given Harris the best start possible.
``The Children's Center sets the standard for how early intervention is done, at least in this area, and probably in the state,'' said Fischer, a member of the Center's board of directors.
The non-profit agency started in October 1983 as an off-shoot of Edmarc, a hospice program that originated at the Suffolk Presbyterian Church. The Children's Center now serves nearly 500 families in western Tidewater from sites in Franklin and Suffolk.
In Franklin, a new $1.25 million facility - the Texie Camp Marks Children's Center - is expected to open on Campbell Avenue in January, replacing cramped quarters downtown and in Hunterdale.
Until last spring, Suffolk programs operated out of Magnolia Methodist Church.
But the Children's Center needed a home of its own. Thanks to help from the United Way, the agency was able to buy and renovate a former office building on Executive Court, just off Wilroy Road near the U.S. Route 58 Bypass.
``United Way funds were not the only monies,'' Fischer said, ``but they helped tip the hat.''
The new facility has allowed the center to expand its services to other children like Harris as well as offer mainstreamed day-care.
The Suffolk building and renovation cost $450,000, said Barbara Mease, executive director of the Children's Center.
The Center's total operating budget is $1.5 million. Next year, the agency expects to get $40,000 from the United Way organizations in Franklin and South Hampton Roads, Mease said.
The agency works with children with all types of disabilities - Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, speech and motor delays, hearing impairments and other problems.
The earlier the intervention, the better the chance of overcoming a problem or limiting its severity, Fischer said.
``For every $1 spent on early intervention, that means $6 saved down the road,'' she said.
Disabled children also learn from normal children in the mainstreamed day care program.
``By being in an inclusive environment, they are able to model their behavior,'' said Fischer, who plans to take her 2-month-old daughter, Anna, to the Children's Center for day care when she is older.
The staff also offers support groups and guidance for families.
``There's a group of people to help you plan, to give you alternatives,'' Fischer said.
They teach parents how to select appropriate toys, how to feed their children nutritious foods and other valuable lessons.
But the most important aspect is the help the staff provides for the children, Fischer said.
``I really don't know what I would have done if I hadn't had the opportunity to take him to the Children's Center,'' she said.
The Fischers plan to remain involved in the Children's Center even after Harris progresses through school.
``We support the program, not because of Harris, but because of all the other children who will be born with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, spina bifida,'' she said. ``And there will be others. Lots of them.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MICHAEL KESTNER, The Virginian-Pilot
Two-year-old Harris Fischer plays with his mother, Anne Fischer.
Harris, who has Down syndrome, has received early intervention
services from the Children's Center since he was 2 months old. The
center is partially funded by the United Way and operates out of
Franklin and Suffolk.
by CNB