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January 4, 2009

Reaching out, lending support

Toni Hopper

DUNCAN — Imagine being a parent of a child with a disability and not knowing where to turn just to ask basic questions. Two local women know that sometimes it can also feel like a lonely task.

Kim Clement and Paula Rich are hoping to help area parents of children with disabilities connect and network. The two women have formed “We’re More Alike Than Different” a support group that has a focus on families with children with disabilities.

“We want to stress it’s a very positive environment,” Clement said.

The emphasis is on a child’s ability more than a disability, said Clement, who is a busy mother with four children. Her third daughter, Beth, 6 1/2, is a child with plenty of abilities, and Down Syndrome.

Clement said that when her daughter was born, she and husband Brian, had plenty of support from family and friends, but really didn’t know who to reach out to for just general support.

“I have a mentor, in Norman,” she said. “It’s been helpful, but it’d be better if we had more here.”

With the newly-formed support group in Stephens County, Clement and Rich both hope to offer more resources to local families than what the Clements had six years ago.

Rich is an occupational therapist with Duncan Regional Hospital’s Health Education Center and in her 13 years, she’s seen many families needing this exact type of network system.

“While working with children and their need for therapy over the past 13 years, I recognized a need for a support group for these families,” Rich said. “When Kim approached me about her own interest in a support group, I saw the opportunity and took immediate action.”

It’s interesting to note that the two women have known each other in a professional capacity for about four years. The moment Clement approached Rich was one of those “ah-ha, click” moments.

“With the help of DRH’s marketing and education department, we held our first meeting two weeks later. We didn’t want to waste any time. We were excited and couldn’t wait to get it started.

“Our main goals are to provide each other with positive encouragement and support, to find solutions to day to day challenges, provide resources, contacts and Web sites to expand our knowledge base,” Rich noted.

Since the group was formed, there have been two meetings. Clement said she’s already noticed a positive difference.

Her oldest daughter, Makayla, 9, even attends the meetings and has really gotten involved.

When Beth was born, Clement said it made her family more aware of many things. “We don’t see her as having a disability, we just see her as Beth.”

Yet, there are challenges.

“These parents have a different set of challenges and our role is to find solutions and provide them with the tools,” Rich said.

A meeting consists of a speaker and informal discussion and can last around two hours. The next meeting is set for Monday and features Dawn Price from the Stephens County Health Department. She will talk about Parent-Child Intervention Training. A flyer provided by Rich and Clement indicates the program will help parents improve discipline techniques.

In February, Sharon Davis, a licensed professional counselor who will talk about stress management techniques.

There is free child care available with a RSVP for those who know they will be attending the meeting. The daycare is provided by therapists who have experience in dealing with children with disabilities so that parents can enjoy the meetings without worry.

Rich said the meetings will help parents improve their advocacy skills to deal with home, school and community issues. It also will provide a mentoring program for parent-to-parent support based on the disability issue and and providing community outreach programs to increase public awareness.

Clement is Southwest Regional Coordinator for Oklahoma Family Network and said that she also is working to get the word out about the home support waiver available for medical supply expenses.

“But it’s a four to five year waiting list,” she said. That’s the kind of information that the group can help provide. At this point, Rich said there are still many families that can benefit in attending the monthly meetings. Clement said only about a dozen families have taken advantage of the free support group and hopes the numbers quickly increase.

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