Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children

Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children

INSIGHTS Volume 38 | Summer 2014

Dear Friends:

Welcome to the Summer 2014 edition of the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children’s newsletter, Insights! We can’t thank you enough for taking this opportunity to learn more about our organization and the special students we serve.

As always, the summer edition of Insights features an article about the ultimate student success - graduation. For members of the senior class, it also marks the end of their education at the School for Blind Children; it can be an emotional and momentous occasion. We celebrate Natasha, Samantha, Sean and Laicy and all of the hard work and perseverance it took to get to this pinnacle moment.

Our graduates this year have succeeded despite long odds, as their family members and our devoted staff will attest. Family involvement is a critical ingredient for children to be successful in school. Studies show that family engagement promotes many benefits for students including higher achievement and better social skills and behavior. That is why parents, grandparents, siblings and other members of the community play an integral part in the comprehensive educational process at the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children.

Community members, like the Pitt Engineering students, featured on page 7, who are designing computer applications to aid our students’ learning and development, are making a real difference in our boys’ and girls’ lives. And of course, without the generous support of our donors and volunteers, our vision of comprehensive supports and services for students with visual impairment could not be realized.

I hope you read with interest this issue of the Insights, and should you like to join us in making real our vision of a bright future for our students -- and make your mark on a remarkable institution --

I invite you to contact me at 412-621-0100 or email: .

Cordially,

Todd S. Reeves

Superintendent

MISSION Statement:

The Mission of the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children is to be a leading educational facility and Outreach provider. The School offers a full range of exceptional individualized special education services fostering maximum independence for students with visual impairment, including blindness and other challenges, and provides support and resources to families and the community.

Board of Trustees:

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

L. Van V. Dauler, Jr., President

Laura B. Gutnick, Vice President

Todd S. Reeves, Secretary

Susan McAleer, Treasurer

H. Scott Cunningham

Joel M. Helmrich

Joseph A. Massaro III

TRUSTEES

Albert W. Biglan, M.D.

Gabrielle R. Bonhomme, M.D.

Thomas A. Karet

Harry G. Kilvanick

Alan Lantzy, M.D.

Maryjean Lovett

James K. Martin

Carole Miner Schuman

Jennifer A. Shuckrow

Joseph C. Wassermann

HONORARY TRUSTEE

Ellen C. Walton
Congratulations Class of 2014

NATASHA BROWN

Daughter of Ms. Valarie Hamer

of Verona, Pennsylvania—Allegheny County

With ambition and determination, Natasha thrived at School where she enjoyed participating on the adapted Beep Soccer and Baseball teams. Often acting as a mentor to other students, Natasha excelled in her braille comprehension and communication skills. Described by her staff members as inquisitive, motivated and helpful, her many on-campus vocational duties include working as a cashier at the Lion’s Den, cleaning the Parent Guest Suite and working at the School’s Print and Copy Shop. Natasha says, “I’ll miss swimming at school because it makes me feel so good and all my friends, especially Sammie, Sean and Patrick who I’ve known since preschool.” In her leisure time, Natasha enjoys practicing her karate and listening to her favorite radio station. After graduation, Natasha will attend the Blind and Vision Rehabilitation Services Employment Transition program and Achieva’s Supported Employment Program. Natasha will continue living in a supervised apartment setting through Mercy Health System.

SAMANTHA DE LA RIVA

Granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Domiano

of Leechburg, Pennsylvania—Westmoreland County

With a sparkle in her eyes and a beautiful smile, Samantha is a great friend to her classmates and enjoys going on field trips and participating in group activities. Her educational team is especially proud of her progress using a “yes – no” blink response to communicate and her work as a greeter at the Lion’s Den, our school store. February 2014’s Student Success of the Month award winner, Sammie loves laughing during morning joke time, dressing up for Halloween and hanging out with her best friend Jake. One of Sammie’s favorite new activities is using her iPad to enhance her visual attending skills. Described as cooperative and hard working, Samantha recently donated her hair to the charity Locks of Love which provides hairpieces to children suffering from long-term medical hair loss. After graduation, Samantha plans to attend the LAVI: Learning Adventures for the Visually Impaired adult day program, operated by the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children, and live at home with her family.

SEAN TOMASIAK

Son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Tomasiak

of Donora, Pennsylvania—Washington County

According to his proud instructor, Sean is very goodhearted and is an easy going student who was a pleasure to have in class. The lone bachelor of this year’s graduating class, Sean enjoyed recreation and leisure time with his friends and exploring the Instructional Vision Center at WPSBC. Like many young men his age, Sean likes to listen to music and play games on his iPad, which he controls using a switch interface. Although he is unable to communicate traditionally, Sean uses his beautiful brown eyes to convey attention, distress and interest. A fan of the television show, “Duck Dynasty,” Sean is very close with this mother and his fellow Class of 2014 friend, Natasha, who has an uncanny knack of helping to calm him down. Upon graduation, Sean plans to continue his connection with WPSBC by attending the LAVI: Learning Adventures for the Visually Impaired adult day program and reside at home with his family.

LAICY ZELENKY

Daughter of Mr. Randy Zelenky of Grassflat, Pennsylvania
and Ms. Carina Demi of Clearfield, Pennsylvania—Clearfield County

Described by staff members as a quick learner who is extremely independent, Laicy is a music aficionado who enjoys listening to a wide variety of genres. Her favorite classes are gym and swimming and like many girls her age she loves getting her nails painted and hair done. On campus, Laicy contributes widely to the School community by working at the Lion’s Den as a pricing clerk, helping water plants in the classroom and cleaning up after snack time. She excelled in Student Apartment class, showing impressive work ethic while washing dishes and doing laundry. Her favorite recreational activities include bouncing on an exercise ball, yoga, riding the adapted bicycle and playing the keyboard where she shows amazing intuitive talent. Laicy’s impressive progress communicating and expressing herself have helped her reach new levels of maturity and independence. After graduation, Laicy plans to attend the Skills of Central Pennsylvania Adult Training Day program and reside at home with her family.

All Aboard The Grandparent Express

Strengthening An Important Connection

“Every time a child is born, a grandparent is born too,” said Arthur Kornhaber, grandparenting guru and retired child psychiatrist.Grandparents play a significant role in children’s lives; as a caregiver, mentor, pal, or pamperer. Recognizing that grandparents of children with special needs deserve special support, the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children established the Grandparent Express program sixteen years ago. Often lacking direct access to the resources available to their adult children - doctors, teachers, therapists and other families of children with disabilities - grandparents can also benefit from information about the nature of their grandchild’s disability, education or progress.

The Grandparent Express program is organized by a staff committee of six individuals and reflects WPSBC’s commitment of providing support and resources to families of our students. Now one of the most popular annual family support programs offered by the School, the events are part fun and sociability, part food and entertainment, and part information and education. “I love coming here each year,” said Bonnie Smalls, grandmother of seven-year-old student Shane Kelly. “It’s wonderful to get to talk with all of the other grandparents, meet the incredible staff and to see Shane’s progress from year to year.”

For each meeting of the Grandparent Express, participants are thematically transported to a different location. They’ve been to Mexico, Italy and New Orleans to name a few. This year, a record-breaking nearly 100 grandparents registered to attend the April 30, 2014 program, which was billed as “A Run for the Roses” and inspired by the Kentucky Derby.

The grandparents started their morning by “gathering in the paddock” with refreshments and a light breakfast. After a chance to catch up with friends and socialize with other grandparents, the attendees were “off to the races” to visit their grandchild’s classroom. “The staff loves to show off to the grandparents, proudly touting students’ progress,” explains Mary Bowser, a case manager who is part of the Grandparent Express planning committee.

The morning concluded with a presentation called “The Triple Crown – CVI Phases I, II & III” by Outreach Director and CVI Project Leader Beth Ramella. The session’s topic addressed the approximately 70% of our enrolled students with Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI), a neurological disorder that affects the visual pathways to the brain. Our grandparents were given practical information about the diagnosis and helpful hints about how to encourage their grandchildren’s development.

Following the presentation, guests were invited for a “Taste of the Derby” lunch, featuring faux mint juleps, pecan pie and beef brisket. An art show displaying a piece of art from each of our students was available to view as well. Finally, the grandparents were encouraged to take part in the “Run for the Money” and visit the school’s on-campus general store, the Lion’s Den, where they could purchase School logo supplies and other gifts. Odds are everyone was a winner that day, with both grandparents and their precious grandkids benefitting from the day of special programming. “This program is so needed,” explained a grateful Glenn Whittle, grandfather of nine-year-old student Daniel. “The fellowship with the other grandparents is so important; we know we are not alone.”

Game Changer:

New iPad Apps Developed by Pitt Students Make an Impact on WPSBC Students

While many college students play apps on their iPads, three University of Pittsburgh students have spent time creating apps to benefit the boys and girls of the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children.

Alexandra Delazio, Adam Smoulder, and Nick Zervoudis are freshman honor students in the Engineering for Applications for Society Class, which is designed as a “service learning” opportunity. The unique class offers students a chance to learn and develop skills necessary to succeed as an engineer by solving a real problem of value to a local community organization.

WPSBC Speech Language Pathologists Deb Coletta and Jen Ellenberg noted that most commercially available iPad apps are not accessible or user-friendly for our students with vision impairment and multiple disabilities, a problem worth addressing by the Pitt Engineering students. More than just fun and games, the iPad can be used as a tool for educators and students in promoting a wide range of skills and development. So the Pitt students took on the challenge to develop apps specially tailored for our pupils, like sixteen-year-old Courtney Bongiorno who had never been able to play iPad instructional games like her peers.“These students’ work has changed Courtney’s life,” explained Coletta. “She engages for over an hour on the iPad now, smiling and giggling.”

By using high contrast images, slowing down the speed of the instructional game and making the apps compatible for use with a Bluetooth switch, students like Courtney can access appropriate games that promote literacy, math skills and more.

In total, the trio developed five new apps that feature silly characters and sounds that are extremely appealing to WPSBC students. They wrote the stories, provided the narration, drew the artwork and recorded instruments as part of this special project, which they seemed to thoroughly enjoy. “It was a lot of fun working on this, but being able to see the students use our app and empowering them is incredible,” said Delazio.

After presenting the new apps to the School’s Speech Language Pathologists, Delazio, Smoulder and Zervoudis helped install them on School iPads for our students’ use. The hope is to someday make the games available for the general public to benefit more young folks with challenges like our students face.

The collaboration was meaningful for all involved, teaching the Pitt students lessons above and beyond what they can learn in a textbook. “I think we made a mark on them as much as they made a mark on us,” said Coletta.

Because of the support of people like you,
each of our students is a success story.

Every day, our staff members face new challenges identifying effective ways to help each student we serve develop and mature. Their work is made more efficient because of the resources made available from the community. Contributions are used to purchase the latest adaptive equipment and supplies. Having these tools helps our imaginative teachers prepare instructional programs, which open doors for youngsters with severe disabilities.

Currently, 185 students are attending our School on a full-time basis. The girls and boys who attend the School face many obstacles in acquiring an education. A typical enrolled student is legally blind and is disabled further by conditions such as cerebral palsy, developmental delay and other profound health impairments. Hundreds of other children with visual impairment from infancy to young adulthood from throughout western Pennsylvania are benefiting from our Outreach Programs.

In order to operate this extraordinary facility and to provide the level of services our students and their families have come to expect, we depend on you. Thank you for your consideration and interest in helping to educate an exceptional group of deserving children.

2014Summer Events Calendar

JUNE

4: Preschool/Kindergarten Promotion Ceremony

5: Senior Recognition

6: Last Day of 2013/14 School Year

JULY

4-7: Office Closed for Independence Day

14-25: Extended School Year Program

30: Family Day at WPSBC

AUGUST

25: First Day of 2014/15 School Year

SEPTEMBER

13: Kiwanis Conference Golf Outing at Ponderosa Hills

14: “Cruisin’ for Causes” at Mercer Raceway Park to Benefit WPSBC

Insights is published twice a year by the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children. The School is a non-profit, private chartered school approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. For information about the School, to arrange a tour or for a speaker, call 412-621-0100.

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Mission Statement: The Mission of the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children is to be a leading educational facility and Outreach provider. The School offers a full range of exceptional individualized special education services fostering maximum independence for students with visual impairment, including blindness and other challenges, and provides support and resources to families and the community.