Salem Observer : Salem, children

Salem program helps children with disabilities

Salem Editor — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 19:20:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

As Joey Goulet, 5, swam toward one end of a swimming pool, his swimming partner, Zack Martin, 16, offered words of encouragement.

“Come on buddy, keep going,” said Zack as he, too, moved closer to the end of the pool. “You’re going to beat me, pal.”

Joey is a participant in Different Strokes, a swimming program at the Salem Boys & Girls Club.

Developed for children ages 3 to 8 who can’t participate in regular swimming lessons, it gives participants a chance to learn to swim – or at least enjoy the water – once a week with help from a teenage partner.

“The progress some of these kids have made in the water is incredible,” said Missy Rowell, the club’s aquatics director, as she watched Joey during the program’s Friday, Oct. 12, session.

When Joey, who is developmentally disabled, joined the program last spring, he wouldn’t swim without two things – a flotation device called a bubble that was strapped around him, and a long foam flotation toy known as a noodle.

Thanks to his experience in the program and swimming lessons he took over the summer, Joey recently swam halfway down the pool without one of the flotation devices and is now jumping into the pool by himself.

There are currently about 10 Different Strokes participants and they include children with Down Syndrome, developmental delays, autism, chromosome disorders and cerebral palsy.

“We run the gamut,” Rowell said.

Most of the teen volunteers are members of the Keystone Club, the Salem Boys & Girls Club’s teen leadership program.

The participants have varying levels of ability. Some cling to their partners. Some move about freely. One severely disabled girl must be held up in the water.

“It’s great for them both physically and socially,” said Rowell. “And it’s great for the teens. They’re learning more about the different disabilities.”

The current session is running only five weeks, but Rowell intends to run it in eight-week sessions. She charges a low fee, and hopes to secure grant money to help cover costs.

It’s a program that has proved to be popular. There is a waiting list of kids who want to participate.

As his mother Peggy watched him, Jonathan Plourde, 6, jumped into the pool and grabbed hold of a noodle.

The Methuen, Mass., boy has Asperger Syndrome, a form of autism. Kids with AS have difficulty with social interaction.

Plourde said that during a vacation, she saw some emerging swimming skills in her son. She hopes Jonathan will develop skills so that he can eventually be part of a swimming team.

“I like these types of programs,” Plourde said. “I think it will be very important to him.”

Stacy Burns likes the program, too. Her son, Ryann, 6, has speech delay and sensory issues. This is Ryann’s second experience with the program and he is benefitting from the one-on-one assistance.

“It’s been a great experience for them,” said Stacy. “There’s not a lot of programs out there for kids with special needs.”

Along with Keith Beal, 13, Ryann played with toys in the water and was beginning to learn how to do the backstroke.

“He’s learning how to swim and it helps to have his partner helping him and guiding him,” said Stacy.

Then she added with a smile: “They always listen to someone other than their parents.”

Grandparents go back to school in Salem

Salem Editor — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 19:52:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

Sitting behind his grandson, 7-year-old Parker Webb, Enio DiPietro watched the boy work on a sheet about telling time.

Later, DiPietro shared with Parker’s second-grade class and other guests in the room that he and his grandson enjoy cooking together.

It was part of “Grandparents Day – 2007” at Barron School in Salem.

During the morning of Thursday, Sept. 27, students in grades 1 through 5 welcomed their grandparents to their classrooms. It’s an annual event at the school.

“It’s so meaningful to the grandparents to spend some quality time here,” said Principal Anthony DiNardo, adding that the event allows them to see some of the positive things going on inside the school.

Janice Laliberte of Salem came to visit her 7-year-old son, Zachary. He had called her the previous Monday night and invited her to come.

“It was so cute,” Laliberte recalled as she waited for school to start.

Ned and Sylvia Leone came from Methuen, Mass., to see two of their grandchildren, John Leone, a fourth-grader, and Lucia Leone, who is in second grade.

“When they see us, they light up,” Sylvia said.

In teacher Kathy Gibney’s classroom, where Parker is a student, the grandparents got a look at their grandchildren’s school work.

“Kids, you can take some books out of your desk and show your grandparents what kind of math we do,” Gibney told her class.

A few minutes earlier, the students asked the grandparents what school was like when they were children.

Some of the answers seemed to surprise them. They didn’t use backpacks, the grandparents told them, and
many of them did not eat at school but instead went home for lunch.

Ryan Quinlan wanted to know if the grandparents rode a bus to school. Many replied that they walked instead.

What games did they like to play, another student asked. Jump rope and hopscotch were popular, they were told.

What did the grandparents learn in school when they were kids? The answers: the usual subjects like math and spelling, but also how to listen and how to behave.

The grandparents were also invited to talk about a particular hobby they enjoyed.

Mary Ann Manning of Salem told the class that she and grandson Joshua Manning, 7, have fun painting together. She likes to use watercolors and acrylics.

Manning showed two paintings and said another painting hangs in the dining room at Joshua’s home.

Later, as DiPietro, and his wife, Dorothy, left the school, they carried homemade cards that Parker had made for them.

“I love you so much, I am so happy you came,” their grandson had written in each card.

Woman charged with leaving kids in car

Salem Editor — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 17:57:00 GMT

BY MATT HERSH

Salem police charged a Haverhill, Mass., woman with child endangerment after her two young children were found alone in a parked car.

Mary-Anne Beaudoin, 27, left her two children, ages 2 and 6, in the car with the windows up while she shopped at Wal-Mart on North Broadway, police officials said.

Another shopper who was walking through the parking lot noticed the two children. The shopper called police and fire officials, reporting that one child seemed to be unconscious.

When police and fire officials arrived, they opened the car doors and found that the two children had been asleep. Both were uninjured, but the car was hot and humid.

Deputy Police Chief William Ganley said the length of time the children were in the car is not known, but Beaudoin said she had only been in the store for a minute.

“This was obviously not a good judgment call on her part,” Ganley said. “It’s one thing to leave an older child in a car but in this heat, you’re not even supposed to leave a dog in your car. This was a very bad decision.”

Beaudoin was issued a summons and released at the scene. She is scheduled to appear in Salem District Court on Sept. 10.

“We’ll be contacting the social service agencies about this,” Ganley said.