Phone: (870)-336-3012 Toll Free (888)-360-9654
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If you have used TCFEF services before, please take our survey!
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What does the Center for Exceptional Familes Do?
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Knowledgeable Parent Mentors
Our mentors are parents of children with disabilities. They have life and work experiences plus training that make them uniquely qualified to help parents and schools work together to improve outcomes for children with disabilities.
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Information
We provide information for caregivers of children with disabilities like resources, presentations, workshops, and other materials. We also connect with schools and other community organizations.
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Family Fun
TCFEF is proud to present Sensory Cinema in Jonesboro, which allows caregivers, and children and adults with disabilities to watch movies in a sensory friendly environment. We hope to expand this program to more cities.
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Pomp and Circumstances always makes me cry. The first few notes bring on a flood of tears and trigger my emotions. Whether it’s being played on a giant screen in a movie theater or by a high school band in a local gymnasium. I cry buckets of tears every time I hear it. Graduation means change. The daily routines we loved so much are ending. The familiar is now gone and the unfamiliar is taking its place. We must begin again, forge new paths and create new routines. ‘A new normal’, as some say.
My son's graduation experience is still fresh in my mind. He graduated at 18, choosing not to stay in school until the age of 21. He was done and made his desires abundantly clear. As he crossed the stage, he stopped to read every line in his diploma. Once satisfied that he had completed the course, he tucked the diploma holder under his arm and exited the stage. Once home he gathered every shred of school material he could find: notebooks, drawings, daily conversation logs. He gathered it all and created an enormous bonfire with it. He was absolutely FOR SURE done with it. There was nothing left. His actions then speak volumes to me still.
Change is hard. Its exhausting and it’s scary. It’s required, though. Change can also bring new growth. If we embrace the new path and consider it an adventure we might find joy along the way. Consider the path your graduating senior is about to take. Make a bonfire if you need to, to get rid of the past so you can look forward to the future. Help them embrace the joy in the next journey.
Good luck to all our seniors!
-Shelby Knight
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News from your Parent Mentors
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CF is an inherited genetic disease resulting in lung infections and digestive disruptions. More than 30,000 children and adults in the US live with CF. There are approximately 1,000 new cases diagnosed annually. Thankfully with research and intervention, the life expectancy of an individual with CF has increased to age 44 (2017).
Currently, we do not have a cure but many effective treatments are available.
Most students who have been diagnosed with CF are being served with either 504 plan or as Other Health Impaired on an IEP. Find out more by: CLICKING HERE
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According to the NIMH, nearly 1 in 5 people live with a mental health disorder. And if a child or adult has a disability, they are 5 times more likely to also have a mental health disorder according to the CDC.
-From The Mental Health of People with Disabilities. Under IDEA, schools can provide 504 or IEP services for students with and without disabilities who are diagnosed with a mental health disorder that interferes with their ability to be safe, learn, and function at school. Learn more about that by CLICKING HERE.
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May is Military Spouse month! I am a military spouse with the privilege of traveling with my late husband as he served for 23 years. There were challenges with every move like ever changing floor plans, employment, financial struggles, mental health, making friends, and feeling like a single mom taking care of our kids when my husband was out in the field. But being a military spouse and mother to a child with a disability has given me great experiences that allow me to advocate for children with disabilities and military families and educate people to what they experience. Follow the link to learn more about celebrating Military Spouse Appreciation Day on May 6th: CLICK HERE
May is not only Military Spouse Month but Teacher Appreciation. Arkansas has a wonderful honor that the Teacher of the Year is Mrs. Jessica Saum. Mrs. Saum is a Special Education Teacher for the Cabot School District as well as a Military Spouse. She will be taking some time off to travel around the State sharing her experience as a Special Education Teacher and spotlighting her life as a Military Spouse. Watch her interview with THV11 by Clicking Here
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With so many great things going on in May, don't forget that Mother's Day is Sunday, May 8th! From our Executive Director to our Parent Mentors to our Board Members, many of us are mothers of children with disabilities. Some of us are mothers with disabilities. We want you to know that we hear you, see you, and understand many of the successes and challenges you experience raising children with disabilities and/or having a disability yourself. Our goal is to help improve the lives of children and adults with disabilities and part of how we do that is to lend a listening ear, open mind, and shoulder to lean on. It is so important to have a circle of support and we have the privilege to be part of your circle.
Happy Mother's Day from everyone at The Center for Exceptional Families!
The following is a link to some Mother's Day Freebies and Deals to Celebrate: CLICK HERE
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National Foster Care Month
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Become an Educational Surrogate Parent
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Can't foster or adopt but would you like to help children in foster care or who do not have a guardian? Have experience in advocacy, law, education, social work, etc.? Contact your local school district to see if they need volunteers for Educational Surrogate Parents to attend IEPs and/or help make educational decisions for children with disabilities who do not have a guardian.
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Arkansas Mental Health Resources
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