Parent Resources - Fort St John Child Development Centre

CDC Success Stories - Audio format - MP3

Calvin

The Child Development Centre has been part of Calvin Boyd’s life since he was three months old. At that time he was officially diagnosed as having Cri-du-chat syndrome. It took three months for the testing to be done to confirm this rare disorder. It is a serious disorder with problems ranging from severe mental delay, to lung problems, to serious gross motor delays.

When any child is born there is a realization of just how much effort has to be put into bringing up that child, but when the child has a disability all those jobs become goals to reach and not necessarily a ‘given’. The jobs are tougher, take longer to accomplish, and there are more of them. When the child is ‘ordinary’ most of the progress they make is expected and taken for granted. Generally, children walk about twelve months, start talking about two, and can ride a bike about five. When the child is ‘extra-ordinary’ every one of those achievements is not a given but a success hard fought and won by many people. Many hands make light work and that phrase applies to the people at the CDC. They become part of your family and help to shoulder the burden of work.

After Calvin was diagnosed, the Infant Development Worker, Barb Daley, began coming to Karen and Cam’s house every week and helping Calvin in any way she could. There were many unknowns with Calvin’s diagnosis. Karen and Cam had to go through each day not knowing what it would bring, but they always try to look at the small successes. That is what Barb did for them. Small things that would be normally overlooked were praised and cheered. Small things like holding a toy in one hand, while grabbing for another toy with the other hand were cause for smiles. Barb showed Karen and Cam every little milestone and that helped them to take one day at a time, one skill at a time, one smile at a time.

Miranda

All through my pregnancy I prayed for my baby to be healthy mentally and physically but it was not to be. On April 19 I gave birth to Miranda and felt in my heart something was wrong even though nothing was said right away. So when the doctor told me that Miranda had Down syndrome, I hung my head and let out a small laugh because of the irony of it all. I always felt it, but didn’t really believe it could happen to me.

Then the seriousness of it weighed so heavy on my soul it was hard to breathe, hard to sit there and keep cool while I listened to the doctor. It was such a horrible thing to be so upset in front of a stranger. All I wanted to do was sink into the bed and die. I felt like my daughter had died. But I had to sit there and listen like a responsible adult parent. I felt so alone with this burden of knowledge. The doctor talked on, but I wasn’t really listening. I was thinking of my daughter’s life being torn from her. The fact that there was no real chance of any normalcy for her, or marriage, or career. Could she even be potty trained? Could I be a person that could look after an adult invalid? My whole life seemed to being sucked up in a vacuum of disease.

Then the doctor said, “But you can take her home.”
With that statement I was jerked back to life, and thought, “Well of course I’m going to take her home! How could he think anything else?

I began to think more clinical and wanted to know more about the disease. But where would I go and what kind of help or services were there for this kind of a situation?

I had to wait for no longer than a few minutes before a nurse came in and told me that an Infant Development Program worker from the our local Child Development Centre was coming in to see me.

When Wendy arrived that day she did more for me then anybody else did when it came to relieving grief and burden.

She came in with a smile, walked over to my bed, grabbed my hand and said peacefully, “Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful little girl. Down syndrome is a serious problem but it is manageable and the CDC has many different services available to help Miranda meet her full potential.”

After she left, I breathed a sigh of relief and felt some hope instead of fear. I have the CDC to thank for showing me that. They came to me that day, so quickly with hope, facts, and the most important thing being the offer of real help.

Victoria

So you live in a town, about the size of Fort St. John, in Newfoundland called Deer Lake. You have an Autistic daughter that is 2 ½. She is severely speech delayed, needs physiotherapy, occupational therapy and a behavioral specialist. The nearest city is Cornerbrook, which is an hour drive away.

The system was providing some support to Victoria, but was it enough? When was the attention given that each area of developmental delay demanded? How about support for the family. Having a child with special needs puts a strain on the families, and this area has to be addressed for the sake of the child. Where could the Nichols find someone to look after their children while they went out to supper on their wedding anniversary? Where was the preschool that helps the extra-ordinary child grow and have successes? Where could the Nichols go for all this?

The answer is the Fort St. John Child Development Centre. When Victoria moved here with her Mom, Dad and brother, she became part of the Centre’s family as well. They arrived on a Friday, June 20th and called the Centre the next Monday. By Tuesday Corinne was talking to Terry Beard, the Family Services Co-coordinator, and it was arranged to have Victoria assessed. By January, Victoria was receiving Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Respite, going to Preschool, and Corinne was able to talk about her concerns with the Family Services Co-coordinator. Victoria was now receiving the care she needed and deserved.

A couple of years later, Victoria is in Kindergarten and doing very well. Many people find it hard to believe that she was completely non-verbal when she was 2 ½ because now she is able to communicate her needs very effectively. Actually, Victoria has blossomed in all areas of her life and this can be attributed to a lot of hard work on the part of her parents, Corinne and Gary, the staff at the Centre, and the teachers at Finch Elementary School.