Director’s Blog

Looking Back, Going Forward…..

publisherpic It has been a busy year for Kids Enabled and I would love to share all that has happened in 2009!

March – Our spring issue is filled with valuable information about summer camps.
April – 90 professionals and parents attended the breakfast benefit, featuring Patty Lemer, M.Ed.
April – Kids Enabled magazine wins five Gamma Awards at the Magazine of the Southeast conference!
May – How What We Eat and Where We Live Impact Learning is featured in our summer issue.
June – Kids Enabled was awarded its nonprofit 501c3 status!
September – 275 people attended the Brain Health and Nutrition Speaker Series kickoff with Kelly Dorfman, MS, LD, RD, speaking on Improving Cognition through Nutrition.
September – The fall issue highlights include The College Decision: To Go or Not to Go.
October – More than 120 people attended the Starlight Movie Matinee at Fernbank Museum.
October – The Learning Disabilities Association of Georgia Conference, Pathways to Success: Managing Life’s Transitions, was held at Sophia Academy. A highlight was the presentation of the LDAG/Kids Enabled KIDS Gift Award to a very excited Eric Sweet .
November – The LDAG/Kids Enabled 2009 Professional Impact Award Winner, Sherry Pruitt, MEd, ET/P was honored at a reception.
December – The winter issue is our last print issue distributed for now.

Wait! What?! Did I say no more print copies of Kids Enabled magazine? Yes! Kids Enabled is “Going Digital, Going Green!” in 2010. Due to the current economic environment, we have decided to suspend our print version and help the environment in the process. When the economy turns, and it will, we are planning to be back in print! We encourage you to visit us online in 2010. The same great informative articles will now be posted every two weeks. Easily searchable resources will be available and linked to offer even more information. If you haven’t checked out our Web site, please do it now and do it often. I think you will find that it will be bigger and better than before. More information on this exciting announcement can be found throughout this issue. Join our e-Newsletter mailing list, our Facebook fan page, and Twitter to be sure not to miss a single topic and stay informed in 2010.

This issue features topics related to the evaluation of children with learning differences. Once we become aware that something is “not right,” testing is needed to obtain a diagnosis. In the article Psycho-educational Testing: A Primer, Dr. Penny Hays explains the process of testing and what to expect. The article, Parent Advocate: Building Your Child’s Support Team, written by Debbie Dobbs, examines how to build the best support team for your child and family once a diagnosis is given. The 2009 Kids Enabled Private School Survey provides a list of school choices outside the public school setting if that is the route you choose.

In the classroom, there are certain subjects that prove to be more challenging for some students than other subjects. In their article, I Hate Math: Why Many Students Struggle, Allen Broyles and Tom Pittard explain why math is so difficult for some kids with learning differences, especially kids with language processing disorders.

Sometimes, we need to think outside of the typical classroom environment to find programs that will help our child succeed. Tracey Buot, in the Social Skills article, All the World’s a Stage, offers drama as a way to foster the skills of creativity and self-expression which can help children excel academically and socially.

Finally, our Success Story features Mark Hall who does make his world and work on stage. Mark struggled in school due to his learning differences but found a career that highlighted his strengths and is now well-known in the Christian rock music community! Read his story of encouragement and hope.

All of these great articles will be available online as well. We at Kids Enabled are very excited about our new adventure into the world of cyberspace! But we need you to help us keep growing! In order to continue to provide the quality articles, resources, events and programs, we need more members in the Kids Enabled community. Whether you help with a donation as a Charter Member, become a volunteer, attend KE hosted events, join our many social networking outlets or provide encouraging remarks through e-mails, you are supporting the mission of Kids Enabled and we thank you!

We look forward to another jam packed year in 2010!

Warm Regards,

Beth McGaw, Publisher