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1 Since its inception in 2007, what changes and progress has the Marian Hope Center made, and how did the center get its name? Since 2007, we have added several different therapy classes to our organization, which include play groups; play classes for 2- and 3-year-olds; and preschool classes for 3- to 5-year-olds, which are heavily staffed with special education teachers and paraprofessionals. One thing that sets the center apart is that we’re really working on the individual goals within the context of the class. The whole purpose of the class was integrating the children and taking what they learned in classes so they can be more functional in their community. We’re a very collaborative organization. Marian Hope (Knight) is my daughter; she goes by Hope. Marian was my grandmother’s name, and she was my inspiration.
2 The Marian Hope Center recently sponsored its third annual Breakfast for Hope event. What is the purpose of the event, and what messages did the center aim to send? Our purpose of the event is to spread word of our organization. Our whole mission is to integrate children in the community, so we want to get the word in the community that we can help the children become integrated. We do have integration programs where we’re trying to get into dentist offices, grocery stores, churches and other areas, trying to get the word about the epidemic of children with special needs.
3 What role does speech therapy offer for autistic children? What kind of environment does the center’s integrative therapy group offer? For example, we might have one child with mild autism, one child with severe autism, one child with mild learning disabilities, and then two children who are typical and don’t have developmental problems. We organize the curriculum around the needs of the children in the class. Autism significantly affects the speech-language area of the brain, so autistic children have problems understanding language. It’s a very broad term, but there’s always a component of language. One child’s goals might be different than another child’s goal, so that’s why the Marian Hope Center is geared toward a particular child’s needs.
4 I saw several links on the center’s Facebook profile about gluten-free recipes and restaurants that offer gluten-free products. What role do gluten- and casein-free products play in autistic children’s diets? (Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. Casein is a protein found in dairy, including cow’s milk and goat’s milk products. Children with autism, according to some specialists, may have gastrointestinal difficulties digesting these proteins.) A lot of our families who have children with autism choose to do these diets. Over the past two decades, there has been a lot of research of people doing the gluten- and casein-free diets that have had amazing success. We share ideas of how to help the picky eaters eat better foods. We strongly support healthy lifestyles and trying to change diets that might not be the most nutritious.
5 What volunteer opportunities are available with the Marian Hope Center, and what do you hope volunteers will learn from children with special needs? We have several opportunities. We are having projects, everything from building shelves to helping with landscaping to giving an extra set of hands with our classes. They change your life, and I don’t even have a child with special needs. Working with children who have special needs for 13 years has made me who I am, and I think they’ve changed my life more than I’ve changed theirs’.
– Adrianne DeWeese
1 Since its inception in 2007, what changes and progress has the Marian Hope Center made, and how did the center get its name? Since 2007, we have added several different therapy classes to our organization, which include play groups; play classes for 2- and 3-year-olds; and preschool classes for 3- to 5-year-olds, which are heavily staffed with special education teachers and paraprofessionals. One thing that sets the center apart is that we’re really working on the individual goals within the context of the class. The whole purpose of the class was integrating the children and taking what they learned in classes so they can be more functional in their community. We’re a very collaborative organization. Marian Hope (Knight) is my daughter; she goes by Hope. Marian was my grandmother’s name, and she was my inspiration.
2 The Marian Hope Center recently sponsored its third annual Breakfast for Hope event. What is the purpose of the event, and what messages did the center aim to send? Our purpose of the event is to spread word of our organization. Our whole mission is to integrate children in the community, so we want to get the word in the community that we can help the children become integrated. We do have integration programs where we’re trying to get into dentist offices, grocery stores, churches and other areas, trying to get the word about the epidemic of children with special needs.
3 What role does speech therapy offer for autistic children? What kind of environment does the center’s integrative therapy group offer? For example, we might have one child with mild autism, one child with severe autism, one child with mild learning disabilities, and then two children who are typical and don’t have developmental problems. We organize the curriculum around the needs of the children in the class. Autism significantly affects the speech-language area of the brain, so autistic children have problems understanding language. It’s a very broad term, but there’s always a component of language. One child’s goals might be different than another child’s goal, so that’s why the Marian Hope Center is geared toward a particular child’s needs.
4 I saw several links on the center’s Facebook profile about gluten-free recipes and restaurants that offer gluten-free products. What role do gluten- and casein-free products play in autistic children’s diets? (Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. Casein is a protein found in dairy, including cow’s milk and goat’s milk products. Children with autism, according to some specialists, may have gastrointestinal difficulties digesting these proteins.) A lot of our families who have children with autism choose to do these diets. Over the past two decades, there has been a lot of research of people doing the gluten- and casein-free diets that have had amazing success. We share ideas of how to help the picky eaters eat better foods. We strongly support healthy lifestyles and trying to change diets that might not be the most nutritious.
5 What volunteer opportunities are available with the Marian Hope Center, and what do you hope volunteers will learn from children with special needs? We have several opportunities. We are having projects, everything from building shelves to helping with landscaping to giving an extra set of hands with our classes. They change your life, and I don’t even have a child with special needs. Working with children who have special needs for 13 years has made me who I am, and I think they’ve changed my life more than I’ve changed theirs’.
– Adrianne DeWeese
