The Spring 2013 Edition of "me". A publication of The Hope Institute for Children and Families

1. Celebrating the lives of children
with developmental disabilities
Spring 2013
Heart of Hope
Contents You can imagine how often The Hope Institute celebrates. Every
Angels of Hope.............................. 2 day Hope children face odds to do what most people take for
Could You Be an Angel? granted – dress on their own, speak words, hold a spoon, adjust
Learning........................................ 3 to changes. Every day they succeed.
Zachary Discovers Language
Living ............................................ 4 Hope staff have more than enough hugs, smiles and high fives to
A New Life Begins for Rohan celebrate successes. When Rohan decided to set aside the shirt he had
Taking Care ................................... 5 worn daily for one year, word spread across campus within minutes.
Elizabeth Beats All Odds Staff in every corner of Hope knew this was monumental to his
Discovering Hope.......................... 6 development.
Sensory Gym Helps Mark Learn
Hope’s Children Depend on You .... 7 Celebrations mark successes. But they also mark the difficult steps
Become an Angel of Hope children take toward those successes. Struggles, even failures, are
Giving the Gift of Hope ................. 7 worth celebrating. They signify effort … and hope.
Leave a Legacy of Hope
Jamie works at Hope’s Noll Café. One day she felt frustrated and left in
Gifts at Work ................................. 8 the middle of her shift. If she were working anywhere else but Hope,
Trustee Reaches Donors Through Food
she would have risked losing her job.
“When Hope children fail, and they will at times, we want it to happen
under our watch,” says Skylar Tierney, Hope’s Vocational Services
director. “We helped Jamie learn appropriate work behavior and a
better way to address her strong emotions.”
Hope offers children like Rohan and Jamie a safe testing ground to
take risks – to try wearing a new shirt or holding a job. Hope children
have space and as much time as they need to reach for success and
“stumble” with dignity. Sometimes the most profound lessons come
from struggling. Hope children just need extra support and protection
while they learn and keep trying.
Pat Sajak, spokesperson for Hope’s Dream House Raffle, recently
visited The Hope Institute Learning Academy. He wanted to see the
place where children with and without disabilities share classrooms;
where all children learn, sometimes “stumble,” try again and succeed
together.
“Behind every child is a team of supporters, teachers and other
professionals, who provide whatever that child needs to be
successful,” Sajak says. “It was a special thing to see.
“It was a great day,” says Pat Sajak of
his visit to The Hope Institute Learning “Hope is a terrific place for children.”
Academy, where Phoenix, shown here, is
a first grader who loves school.
A publication of The Hope Institute for Children and Famil
f d Families

2. Angels of Hope
Could You Be an Angel?
Absolutely!
When you become an Angel of Hope, Our Angels help The Hope Institute
you join our most dedicated friends budget effectively for the year ahead
in helping loveable children who by ensuring state-of-the-art medical,
struggle with significant developmental educational and residential services
disabilities. for thousands of girls and boys coping
with autism, cognitive impairments and
The frequency and amount of your gifts
physical disabilities.
are completely up to you. And because
your Angels of Hope commitment As little as $5 a month can make
reduces other Hope requests for your a tremendous difference in the life
support, the impact of your generosity of a child battling developmental
will be that much greater. disabilities.
Your gift will do more good than you
could ever imagine!
Become an Angel of Hope today. It is
easy! Just fill out the reply card on page
7 and mail it with your first gift. Or,
visit www.thehopeinstitute.us to donate
online.
Thank you for being an Angel to Hope’s
children!
Chelsea is a happy, social young woman
who loves the spotlight. Chelsea’s warm
personality has won over her classmates,
who voted her Prom Queen in 2011. Each
spring, The Hope Institute’s Prom honors a
king and queen chosen by Hope students.
Former Prom Queen Elizabeth is featured
on page 5.
To refer a child
for services
offered by
The Hope Institute
or to learn more
me is a publication of The Hope Institute for Children and
Families. For inquiries or comments, please contact us at
about Hope services,
(217) 585-5119, www.thehopeinstitute.us or please call
PO Box 2817, Springfield, IL 62708-2817. 217-585-5437.
Writer/Editor: Courtney Reed
2 Spring 2013

3. Learning
Language Opens Zachar y’s World
Zachary is learning the word toothbrush in speech therapy. He has autism and
significant cognitive impairment that make speaking a tremendous challenge.
Zachary is working on bathroom-related relate to others. In just one year, that child
words. Besides trying to say toothbrush, has been replaced by one who seeks social
he is imitating using one. He is not interaction. Learning language is helping
goofing around. Zachary is learning. him get there.
“Imitation is the beginning of language He is learning social rules that go along with
development,” says Emily Postelmans, words and meanings – making eye contact
Hope speech pathologist. “Infants coo and and taking turns. He is learning to play with
mimic their parents’ mouth movements. friends and follow directions.
Hope children make the same efforts to
“Language is changing Zachary’s life
imitate. They just happen to be bigger.”
path,” Emily says. “If he can answer basic
Emily holds up a picture of a toilet and questions and express what he needs and
says the word. Zachary watches Emily’s wants, he’ll be able to live in the community,
mouth and then tries to say toilet. The have a job and actively participate in the
more he imitates her language the more world.
Zachary connects with what the word
“He is well on his way to getting there.”
means.
“Our work with Zachary is
programming a map in his
brain that connects words to
action,” Emily says. “Words
are meaningless unless
you can attach them to
something. ‘The’ is not an
important word for Zachary
but ‘bathroom’ is.”
In his everyday life, knowing
the word toilet will enable
12-year-old Zachary to tell
others what he needs.
“He is discovering that when
he says a word, something
happens,” Emily says. “He
used to grab my hand
and take me to what he
wanted or make one syllable
sounds.”
Zachary also did not make
eye contact or know how to
Zachary’s face lights up when he plays basketball in Hope’s
gymnasium. He loves to toss the ball in the air as high as he can.
me magazine 3

4. Living
New Clothes Open Door to New Life for Rohan
Rohan lives by rules uniquely his. He does not eat meals on Saturdays. He gets
on the bus only after someone touches his foot to the first step. School is where
he drinks milk.
This is how autism affects 16-year- While staff offered him other wardrobe
old Rohan. The job of Hope staff is to choices, wearing them was solely
understand his rules and help him alter Rohan’s decision.
them or work within their confines.
One day, he put on a new shirt. That
Their first task was to enable Rohan to
day, he began to build a new life.
change his clothes.
Rohan’s dismissal of his tattered
“When we met Rohan, he had worn
clothes tells his parents, Ranjan and
the same clothes, down to underwear
Jaya, that Hope is giving him what they
and socks, for one year,” says Renea
could not – a safe place to be his own
Hartsock, a Hope qualified intellectual
person. At home they had felt helpless
disability professional. “He had made
to protect him when he got “stuck” in
a decision and could not be coaxed or
his rules.
fooled into wearing anything different.”
“Rohan is a gentle soul,” Jaya says.
Patience and trust helped free Rohan
“But he also has the strength of six
from his need to control his clothing.
elephants. If he didn’t want to leave the
grocery store, it took five police
officers to get him home. If
he wanted to go somewhere,
he’d open the door and start
running.”
With Hope’s structured routine,
Rohan has less need to put
controls on his life. At the
community home he shares
with five boys, Rohan helps with
laundry and dishes; at school
he is reading and learning long
division; and in his free time
he loves to hula hoop and play
soccer.
“At Hope, Rohan is discovering
who he is,” Ranjan and Jaya
say. “It’s exactly what we
dreamt of for our son.”
Rohan, sporting one of his many
new outfits, shows off with the
hula hoop, a unique talent among
his friends at Hope.
4 Spring 2013

5. Taking Care
Elizabeth Beats Medical Odds and Lives a Happy Life
Elizabeth, at 22, is not supposed to be alive. Seizures in her infancy damaged her
brain. Doctors told her mom, Rhonda, that Elizabeth would die before age five.
“How does a mother live with that?” medication while the frequency of her
Rhonda asks. “She had 30 seizures a seizures diminished.
day. After one, she never spoke words
Then Elizabeth was elected Prom
again. To stop another, she had to be
Queen.
put into a drug-induced coma.
“I cried when I saw her in her prom
“Every time it happened, I thought it
dress holding a rose,” Rhonda says.
was the end.”
“Elizabeth got to do something that
Elizabeth was only five months when girls without disabilities get to do. I was
she had a grand mal seizure that led so proud.”
to discovery of tumors on her brain,
Elizabeth recently transitioned
an eye and a kidney caused by a rare
successfully to a home for adults with
condition called Tuberous Sclerosis.
disabilities, which convinces Rhonda
That seizure was the beginning of
she made the right decision when she
Rhonda’s desperate search for a cure …
called Hope.
but she found none.
“I didn’t give up my daughter that day,”
Rhonda resolved to give her daughter
she says. “I gave her the opportunity to
a good life but she struggled. She tried
be someone special.
with little success to teach Elizabeth
to feed and dress herself. The family “And she is.”
rarely left the house. When her
son began sacrificing his life to
help care for his sister, Rhonda
realized something had to
change to benefit both children.
“I called Hope but I almost
backed out,” she says.
“Elizabeth was only 10. I felt like
I was giving up my daughter.”
Hope therapists determined
Elizabeth needed 45 seconds
to process new information.
When given this time, Elizabeth
started building new skills. Soon
she was sitting calmly, following
instructions, using utensils and
dressing herself with some
help. Hope nurses tracked
her seizures and reduced her
Elizabeth, who doctors said would not be alive today, worked for 10 years at Hope to develop skills
that would enable her to live in a community group home in adulthood. She achieved her goal.
me magazine 5

6. Discovering Hope
Sensory Gym Helps Mark Prepare to Learn
Mark throws his body into the ball pit and rolls over the balls. Then he gets out
and jumps in again. Mark is in The Hope Institute Learning Academy’s sensory
gym and his play is therapy.
Mark is a first grader with autism. His Mark’s physical work in the sensory
brain has a hard time understanding gym, established by Chicago
how his body should move. When he Blackhawks Charities, helps him be
jumps into the ball pit his muscles feel attentive and focus on classroom work.
deep pressure, which helps his brain His teacher, Mrs. McKinney, notices
recognize those muscles and learn to a difference in his readiness to learn
control them. when he returns from the gym.
“Whether Mark is crawling through a “He is smiling, calm and ready to
tunnel or holding a ball, his muscle focus,” she says. “He finishes his
action tells his brain to get organized assignments independently and asks
for other movements,” says Dr. Belinda for more.
Anderson, the school’s occupational
“He’s become a phenomenal student,”
therapist. “His brain says, ‘I am pushing
she adds.
with my legs. I can do other things with
my body now. I can sit in a chair. I can Like the sensory gym, Mrs. McKinney’s
hold a pencil.’” teaching methods help Mark’s brain
understand what needs to be done.
Mark cannot speak words and he learns
best visually. His classroom work starts
on the left side of his desk and ends on
the right. When he sorts silverware, for
example, he can see how much work
remains by looking at the pieces on his
left.
He also relies on a picture schedule,
which tells him in pictures exactly what
will happen in his day.
“Like the sensory gym, visualizing his
day puts him at ease,” she says. “When
he arrives it’s the first thing he looks
at.”
Mark’s face lights up when his schedule
tells him it is sensory gym time. He
heads straight for the ball pit.
Mark challenges his muscles in the sensory
gym with support from Dr. Belinda Anderson,
Hope occupational therapist.
6 Spring 2013

7. Hope’s Children Depend on You
Support Our Special Boys and Girls by Making a Gift Today
Thank you for inviting me to become an Angel of Hope by offering The Hope Institute my committed financial support.
❑ I accept your invitation and will do my best to give a gift of $_________ ❑ Monthly ❑ Every other month ❑ Quarterly
❑ I prefer to charge my gift to The Hope Institute and have filled out the credit card information below.
❑ I prefer not to make a commitment, but offer my support today with a gift of ❑ $25 ❑ $15 ❑ $_________.
❑ Please charge $_________________ to my credit card on a one-time basis. I have filled out the credit card information below.
Credit Card Information:
❑ Please charge my ❑ Visa ❑ MasterCard ❑ American Express
Account Number: – – – Expiration Date: ______/______
Printed name as it appears on your card: _______________________________________________________________________
Signature: ___________________________________________________Cell phone/telephone: ___________________________
Email: __________________________________________________________________________________________________
Would you like to become an Ambassador of Hope?
❑ Please contact me about becoming an Ambassador of Hope.
Create a Legacy of Hope for the Children of The Hope Institute
❑ I have remembered The Hope Institute in my will.
Thank you for your generous tax-deductible gift. Please make checks payable to The Hope Institute.
Please remove reply at perforation, fold and enclose it with your gift in the envelope provided. Thank you!
Giving the Gift of Hope
Create a Legacy of Hope
When you remember The Hope Institute in your will or estate plans, you create a
lasting legacy of hope for children who need so much.
A bequest to The Hope Institute for Children and Families is a wonderful way to
remember the special needs of Hope’s boys and girls far into the future. And it is a
most meaningful way for you to be remembered.
We wish to acknowledge the generosity of the following friends who have made
bequests in their estate plans to benefit the future of Hope’s children:
Sandra Atlas Bass and Edythe & Sol G. Atlas Fund The Francis and Gertrude Levett Foundation
Clara Bobowik Angelina Maldarelli
Helen W. Davis Vincenza Militano
Dominick F. De Nardo Evelyn and John Morrison Charitable Fund
Edgar Family Good Samaritan Fund Hilda Padgett Trust
Peggy J. Egbers George A. Simms
Raymond H. Ethier Trust Elodie Sollman
Hortense J. Garry Anthony P Sortisio, Sr.
.
Lillian P Heimler
. Tobin Family Trust
Flora Paxton Hickman Foundation Edna Wiegand
Renee Hill Trust
For more information about how to include The Hope Institute in your estate plans,
please call Tom LeClair at (217) 585-5119.
me magazine 7

8. NON PROFIT
The US POSTAGE
Hfor Children and Families
OPE INSTITUTE PAID
SOUTH SUBURBAN, IL
PERMIT NO 799
15 East Hazel Dell Lane
PO Box 2817
Springfield, IL 62708-2817
Gifts At Work
Trustee Shares Cuisine and Talents to Benefit Hope
Kevin Boehm loves food. He is in the right business as founder of Boka Restaurant
Group and co-owner of Girl & The Goat in Chicago, which boasts Chef Stephanie
Izard, former Top Chef winner. Amidst the demands of running eight top-rated
restaurants, Kevin also devotes himself to Hope.
“When I became a Trustee, I didn’t think I teacher in Hope’s principal chair.
had much time to give,” Kevin says. “I was
involved with numerous charities until I “Mr. Hathaway brought school to life for me,”
realized I could make a greater impact by Kevin reminisces. “I’ve never forgotten that. Now
focusing on one. I chose Hope and now I he’s doing the same for children with special
can’t see my life without it.” needs.”
Hope has never been far from Kevin, who Kevin supports Hope by reaching others’ hearts
grew up alongside with great food. He opens his restaurants for
the school in his Trustee meetings, gives away dinners to raise
hometown. When money for Hope and brings world-class chefs to
he visited campus Hope’s Celebrity Chef annual event.
as an adult, he was He also tells everyone he meets about the boys
thrilled to find his and girls of Hope. “Any friend of mine becomes
favorite public school a friend of Hope’s,” Kevin says. “That’s my
mission for Hope children.”
Trustee Kevin Boehm opens the doors of his top-rated restaurants, including the
nationally known Girl & The Goat, to make friends and raise funds for Hope.