Connecting people to resources to help all children live limitless.
Parent Perspectives ... Autism
by Danni Bloom
Every individual with a disability has their own strengths and challenges. In an effort to increase awareness, understanding, and acceptance, I would like to share a little about our autism journey.
In October of 2000, at the age of two and a half, our son Christian was diagnosed with autism. His father and I felt completely alone and frightened. We didn't know what to do, but we knew we needed to figure it out fast. We scoured the Internet for information and resources and ordered books about autism. We began an in-home autism treatment program right away and got him enrolled in early intervention services (speech therapy, OT, PT, sensory integration, music, etc.). We exposed him to as much as we could, taking note of what worked and what didn't work.
Since 2000, Christian has made great strides and we believe it was due to an early diagnosis and because we dived right in to getting him the help he needed. He continues to learn and he continues to have challenges, but we will never give up.
Having a child with a disability can be overwhelming and scary, but your child is still your child, no matter the diagnosis or label doctors assign.
My advice to parents would be to trust your gut instincts, read everything you can about how to help your child and start helping them with their challenges right away. Be your child's best advocate and then teach your child to become a self-advocate. Don't set limits and never give up.
Christian Bloom
The Bloom Family
Danni is a board member for Limitless Purpose and serves as the Director of Policy and Outreach for The Arc of South Carolina. In her role with The Arc, she works to provides recources for families including this online directory of resources: https://www.arcsc.org/scdisabilityresourcedirectory
An Overview of the Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990. The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.
The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. The ADA is divided into five titles (or sections) that relate to different areas of public life.
Click here to learn more, thanks to the ADA National Network.
Anxiety in People Who Learn and Think Differently
Many people have anxiety at some point in their lives—including kids. But people who learn and think differently are more likely to have anxiety than other people. Read the Article
COVID-19 & Down Syndrome
I’ve seen many questions online about our children with Down‘s syndrome and whether they’re more susceptible to this virus. Who better to share Information than Dr. Brian Skotko, director of the Down Syndrome Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. Thanks once again to Dr. Skotko for providing information that matter to our family and many others. Read the Article
Parks and Programs
Greenville County Parks Recreation & Tourism offers a variety of parks and programs, including Camp Spearhead for children and adults with special needs. Click here - to learn more.
The Horry County Parks and Recreation Department offers programs and facilities to promote the mental, physical and social well-being of those in the community. It maintains more than 30 public parks and 27 boat landings throughout the county as well as 22 beach accesses Beach. Wheelchairs available by reservation for many Horry County beach accesses. Call 843-381-8000 Monday through Friday 8 am – 5 pm or send an email to beachwheelchair@horrycounty.org to reserve at least two days in advance.
The Irmo Chapin Recreation Commission offers a wide variety of programs and activities for both youth and adults including athletics, health and wellness, education, senior services, after school programs, Therapeutic Recreation, summer camps and special events. Leo's Landing inclusive playground is located at Saluda Shoals Park.
The Lexington County Recreation & Aging Commission is offer a variety of programs. Click here - to learn more.
The Richland County Recreation Department had an Adaptive Recreation Department Beyond offers summer camp as well as day and evening programs to a wide-range of people. It works closely with families with children with special needs and offer several programs to promote socialization, teamwork and personal development. click here to learn more.
Rock Hill's Parks Recreation & Tourism department offers a variety of programs and park settings plus special events and volunteer opportunities. Miracle Park, located at 105 Eden Terrace, is an inclusive park for people of all ages and abilities to enjoy play structures, ball fields and a variety of programmed activities.
The South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism operates and manages South Carolina's 47 state parks. To learn more, visit their website at southcarolinaparks.com
