January 2019 TLC E-Newsletter

A Message from the Executive Director

The weather is cold outside, but the TLC Family is staying warm and busy! It takes an active and involved community to improve lives and expand possibilities. We are so impressed by the organizations we partner with -- they are truly exemplary and leading-edge. From our new collaborations to our long-established relationships, we are fortunate to work together to serve others. We would like to use this newsletter to highlight a few of our partnerships. Here’s to a year of new connections, strengthened relationships, and mutual growth! Patricia A. Ritter, PhD Executive Director, The Treatment and Learning Centers

The Katherine Thomas School

The high school program has been delighted to partner with Best Buddies from Quince Orchard High School for the second year. The program fosters one-to-one friendships between high school students with and without special needs. KTS students and their individual buddies keep in contact on a weekly basis, either in person or electronically, and all members participate together in a monthly group activity. So far this year, the participants have enjoyed getting to know you activities, making thankfulness posters and reflecting on what they are thankful for, and building gingerbread houses. They are about to have an exciting bowling event this month and all are looking forward to baking with a professional baker at a later session. The Best Buddies program helps everyone share interests and experiences and form meaningful relationships with their peers in the community.

Over the past 10+ years, the lower-middle school hosts students from the Bethesda-based Norwood School ( a coeducational independent school for students in grades K-8) through "Gym Buddies," a community service program. KTS students look forward to the days Norwood students come to the school!   Norwood students visit KTS six times throughout their school year. Norwood students assist Wendy Epstein, Physical Education Teacher, with PE classes and also help with pragmatics classes. Gym Buddies provides a 1:1 ratio of students to volunteers/staff, and facilitates opportunities for our students to play safely in larger group games as well as role modeling for sportsmanship.

KTS is grateful for our partnership with ArtStream, Inc.  to provide KTS students and the greater Montgomery County special needs community various theatre opportunities.

The Family Hearing Center

The Family Hearing Center has happily provided support to the residents of Ingleside at King Farm for at least two years. Ingleside at King Farm is a vibrant and innovative environment, and we feel lucky to be connected and share our expertise with the community. The Director of the Family Hearing Center, Susan Yaffe-Oziel, runs a monthly support group for residents to discuss their hearing loss experiences and bond; hearing loss can be isolating, and it is Susan’s goal to help residents communicate with their fellow community members in a positive, supportive, and educational environment.

The Family Hearing Center has been an active and proud community member of Asbury Methodist Village in Gaithersburg, MD for the past couple of years in many capacities. The Family Hearing Center has an Audiology Office at Asbury, providing residents expert and convenient hearing testing and hearing aid services. The Family Hearing Center also provides Employee Hearing Screenings. The Director of the Family Hearing Center presents relevant and timely hearing lectures for residents and employees, and recently gave a television interview about hearing loss and services available to Asbury residents. Like her role at Ingleside at King Farm, Susan Yaffe-Oziel runs a monthly support group for residents to eliminate hearing loss stigmas, bond over a shared experience and/or support each other, and become educated about various audiology issues.

Outpatient Services

The outpatient Occupational Therapy (OT) department have had ongoing collaborations with Geneva Day School for the past 10 years. Geneva Day School is an award-winning school, and TLC is proud to serve their community. We provide OT screenings onsite at Geneva every Fall to determine whether a child is meeting developmental milestones and if they need support from an OT in the areas of fine and gross motor skills as well as sensory processing. Professional workshops have been presented to the teaching staff on numerous occasions for topics including "Red Flags in Fine Motor Development," "Sensory Processing in the Classroom," and "The Importance of Crossing the Midline." Ongoing and informal collaboration occurs when students from Geneva receive services through our outpatient OT department as clinicians and teachers work to best support the child for classroom success!

Badlands Playspace is an awesome, unique 30,000 square foot nature-inspired play space and interactive environment in Rockville that provides opportunities for children ages 2-13. The outpatient occupational therapy department has recently begun collaborations with Badlands to provide their staff with training so that they can better provide learning experiences for children with special needs. We appreciate how receptive and open Badlands is to ensure that every child, with every ability and need, that walks through their door gets treated appropriately and has a positive experience. Future opportunities for Sensory Friendly events at Badlands together with TLC are also in the works!

The Outcomes Service

CVS Health has been an important Community Partner for the TLC Outcomes Service. Stacey Butler, the CVS Regional Learning Center Manager and her team have gone out of their way to provide training opportunities and business advice to us. Stacey has volunteered many hours as a longstanding member of the TLC Outcomes Business Advisory Board. We appreciate her time and her advice over the years. She has been a strong support for us and those we serve. TLC Outcomes has a Maryland Division of Rehabilitation Services (DORS) Pre-employment training summer program for transitioning youth. CVS has partnered with us in offering retail training to these students. This intensive 4-week program has grown with much success and we need to thank CVS for that. CVS has also partnered with The Katherine Thomas School (KTS) providing internship opportunities for the high school students. CVS is a leader in the business community working with many organizations and individuals to promote employment for people with disabilities. They have connected TLC with leaders in other states on creative employment training programs for adults with disabilities. We are privileged to have CVS as our Community Partner and would like to offer our special thanks to Stacey Butler, and the Regional Learning Center Coordinators, for their collaboration. We sincerely appreciate all you do for us.

Winter/Spring Programs

There is still time to sign up for one or more of our many Fall Programs at TLC! Check out some of the options:  Therapeutic Interaction Group Date: Ongoing Ages: 2.5-6 Day/Times: Groups will be Tuesday/Thursday morning 8:45-11:15 and Wednesday 1:00-3:30 Sign up: Call Lisa Torvik 301.424.5200 x306 Social & Emotional Skills Groups Date: Wednesdays Ages: Elementary to Early Middle School Time: 5:30 to 6:30 pm Location: Gaither Rd Office Sign up: MESmith@ttlc.org, 301.424.5200, ext. 226 ArtStream: Improv for Comedy and Storytelling Date: March 4 - April 29 Days: Mondays Time: 3:45p.m. - 5:15p.m. Instructors: Sessions are led by trained theater professionals with the help of additional staff and volunteers Location: The Katherine Thomas School Register: Click Here Call Lisa Torvik for more info, 301.424.5200 x306