top of page

Upcoming Events And News

Weekend getaway is for moms of special needs children

By Heather Rivers,

Woodstock Sentinel-ReviewThursday, March 1, 2012 4:10 PM EST

 

Getaway planned for mothers of children with special needs.

 

They are just like regular moms but on a much larger scale.

“We deal with the same things regular moms do but multiple it by

it times 100,” said Teresa Luciani, a mother of a child with special needs.

Luciani, whose daughter Ella Luciani is intellectually delayed, said she

found ways to help her cope through The Common Thread,

a parent-run Woodstock group for parents of children with

special needs. The group meets the third Wednesday of the month

at Bethany Lutheran Church. “I always used to ask myself, why me?

Why my daughter? Did I do something wrong?”

Luciani said. “When I started going to these meetings I realized it’s not

me, I didn’t do something wrong. “They get it, they understand it.” Patti Harmer, who has two sons with ADHD, said after her mother died a few years ago she became “very overwhelmed. Besides dealing with her death, continually advocating for her special needs child, and dealing with behaviours was taking its toll on her wellbeing. “I found having a child with special needs is physically, mentally and emotionally draining at times,” she said. After reading a story in the Sentinel-Review about a weekend away for mothers of children with special needs a few years ago, Harmer decided she needed to go. “I was kind of shy, I didn’t know anybody,” she said. “But I felt I needed outside support and to connect with others that could understand me.” This year’s getaway weekend takes place from April 27 to April 29, and takes place at Camp Tanner in Embro. The cost is only $50, and organizer Diana Alves said those who can’t afford can come as well. “We don’t turn anybody away,” she said. “Some of the people falling through the cracks, we want them to come and meet us and share their story. Get support and get connected.” She said the group is open to any parent with a special needs child, visible or otherwise.

 

“Our group supports all disabilities, learning disabilities and children in the process of getting a diagnosis,” she said. Alves said the weekend is a chance for parents to focus on themselves. “The underlying thing is that these women need a rest and they come to this place for two nights,” Alves said. “It may be they only two nights sleep they get.” For more information contact Patti Harmer at patriciaharmer@hotmail.com or 519-532-9648 or Diana Alves at balves@odyssey.on.ca or call 519-425-4092.

bottom of page