• Radar
  • 7 Day Forecast
  • Live Weather Video

WEEK Weather

Radar
69 °F
OVERCAST
WIND : S
6 mph
HUMIDITY : 72 %
October 13, 2008
More Weather
  • News
  • Weather
  • Sports
  • Features
  • YouNewsTV
  • Programming
  • Community
  • Inside WEEK
  • Contact Us
  • YouNewsTV Prep Sports
  • Local & Regional
  • US & World
  • Business
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • Technology
  • Political
  • Closings
  • News Links
  • Traffic

United Way Funds Help Special Education Program

Tools

  • Save
  • E-mail
  • Print
  • YouNewsTV™
  • Most Popular
  • RSS Feed
  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
United Way Funds Help Special Education Program

By Emily West

Story Published: May 16, 2008 at 11:02 AM CDT

Story Updated: May 16, 2008 at 8:10 PM CDT

For students with visual impairments, going to school can be a challenge. The Heart of Illinois United Way funds programs for people with disabilities.

Multimedia

  • Watch The Video

Related Content

  • Heart Of Illinois United Way
  • TCRC
  • Peoria School District 150

Four-year-old Mary walks the halls at Thomas Jefferson Primary School in Peoria. Her mom, Julia, said, "Mary is in preschool. She is visually impaired, has cerebral palsy and has some cognitive problems. Those three things make things difficult for Mary, but she's a beautiful little girl."

Mary recently moved with her family from Boston, so to help get acquainted with the school, she works in the halls with Rose Halpin, a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist with the Tazewell County Resource Center.

Halpin said, "I'm part of a team. She is learning about the school. We've marked some spots throughout the halls."

Mary's mom says she was worried about the transition to the Peoria school, but she says it is going smoothly because of this program.

"Orientation and mobility is so important for a kid like Mary. Because she needs to learn how to use all her available senses to navigate her school environment. That's something we take for granted."

"Heart of Illinois United Way does funding for us, working with hundreds of children in the Heart of Illinois Area. It's necessary for us to keep that program going."

After two months of working with Mary, her mom says she sees improvements.

"She's doing great. She's kind of amazed me. When she comes in, she knows we're in the classroom and we're in the principal's office. We're still working on avoiding people. She's already learned a new skill. One of her biggest goals is communication. She was learning communication. She was learning how to shake her head yes and no, since she started school two months ago, she learned to shake her head no. And that's a big thing for us."

View Oldest Comments First

Saturday, May 17 at 12:07 PM barry morse wrote ...

FREE HELP FOR THE EDUCATIONALLY CHALLENGED www.theeasyessay.com is a free site that has had excellent results in teaching the learning disabled how to better communicate.

Add a comment

Name:

Comment: 500 Characters Left

Comments are moderated and will not appear on this story until after they have been reviewed and deemed appropriate for posting.

WEEK News 25 and its affiliated companies are not responsible for the content of comments posted or for anything arising out of use of the above comments or other interaction among the users. We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so or to monitor any Public Forum.

Most Popular

  • Flying Boat Kills Motorcyclist
    Watch Video
  • Soldier Fighting Two Battles
    Watch Video
  • Crash Kills Father & Injures Children
    Watch Video
  • Bark at the Park
    Watch Video
  • It's Pumpkin Time!
    Watch Video
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

Alexander Travel

When your journey from a dream to a great story includes us, you travel better.

On Demand

  • All Video All Video
  • News 25 @ Your Desk News 25 @ Your Desk
    Watch Video
  • RSS Feeds RSS Feeds
  • News 25 Notifier News 25 Notifier
  • Mobile Edition Mobile Edition

Stock Quotes

What's On TonightFull Schedule

7:00
Chuck
8:00
Heroes
9:00
My Own Worst Enemy
Local Business Dir

Most Popular

  • Flying Boat Kills Motorcyclist
    Watch Video
  • Soldier Fighting Two Battles
    Watch Video
  • Crash Kills Father & Injures Children
    Watch Video
  • Bark at the Park
    Watch Video
  • It's Pumpkin Time!
    Watch Video
  • Rezko on Illinois Corruption
    Watch Video
  • Two Fires One Lesson
    Watch Video
  • Friday Night Football
    Watch Video
  • Voter Registration Deadline Tuesday
    Watch Video
  • Chris Spahn Benefit
    Watch Video

Poll

Do Political Debates Help You Decide Who to Vote For?

  • Yes, I wait until I see and hear the candidates before I make a choice
  • No, I know whom I’m voting for
  • I watch to see if someone messes up
Copyright © 2008
WEEK, a Granite Broadcasting Station
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
NBC
Powered by Broadcast Interactive Media.