Advocates call for special needs programs
August 6, 2008
By Emily Keller
When Natalie Brodeur’s son, Austin, turns 21, she wants to make sure he does more than play country music and sports in the garage.
Austin Brodeur, who has Down syndrome, is nearing the age when many young people with special needs transition away from school-based activities and get more involved in community activities.
However, that has been a challenge to find in Sammamish, Natalie Brodeur said. While the community is extremely supportive of people with special needs, there are limited opportunities for social activities.
“The biggest challenge seems to come when your child is in young adulthood, when all the other kids have gone off to college and your child is at home,” said Brodeur, a speech language pathologist at Beaver Lake Middle School. “School stops for children with special needs at 21. There’s no social venue for young adults with special needs,” she added.
And for people like 20-year-old Austin Brodeur, who do not drive, there are also limited means of public transportation when those events do occur.
Brodeur attributes the shortfalls to Sammamish being such a new city.
Rose Finnegan, past president and board member of Life Enrichment Options, a non-profit organization in Issaquah that supports people with developmental disabilities, also points out that while there are no recreational facilities for people with developmental disabilities in Sammamish, there are none for typically developing people either.
As a result, Sammamish residents are heavily involved with Life Enrichment Options and make up about half of its board of directors.
“The mentality there is to be very welcoming,” Finnegan said about Sammamish.
The Sammamish Rotary Club has helped raise money for the organization through derby races and other events, Finnegan said.
“The Sammamish Rotary has been very supportive of our organization. They really follow our mission,” said Finnegan.
Brodeur said the city would benefit by having a center modeled after the Issaquah Community Center, which integrates programs for people with special needs and typically developing people and also holds a Saturday club for people with special needs.
“We have found this community to be incredibly supportive on a personal level. I don’t think it’s the personal level that’s getting in the way,” Brodeur said. “It’s the social aspect, though, that’s the biggest hole, I think.”
Brodeur said the north side of the city is especially in need of services, since residents in the south can travel to Issaquah.
The city’s Department of Parks and Recreation has also been working to make its parks and trails more accessible to people with disabilities and special needs. (See related story Page 7) But the department points out that since the city inherited many of its parks from King County, it will take some time to make them all accessible.
Brodeur said that while the city could do a better job catering to people with special needs, doing so is a challenge everywhere.
“It’s a struggle for all families and all cities,” she said. “I don’t know that there’s anyone doing it better than we are.”
Reporter Emily Keller can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or ekeller@isspress.com.
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I feel we have the same problem in Pierce County, too. Most of the programs for developmentally challenged are for those who are OVER 18. There is a HUGE gap for what’s available for those who are in the age range of 13-17.