Katie Wade SELU Spring 2015

 Purpose: To support families of children with disabilities through special play activity sessions and loaning out of toys.  Lekotek of Southeastern Louisiana University is currently the first and only Lekotek facility in the country hosted by a university.  For course SPED 442, I helped organize a Lekotek play session with a young child with a disability

 Once given the name and information of a mother of a child with a disability, my partner & I contacted her via to set up the play session.  We planned the session according to the child’s preferences in daily routine (prior to his regularly scheduled nap) and play preferences  We chose stackable toys and toys that played music, after learning the child’s preferences

 2 years old  Male  Down syndrome  White  Middle class family  Receives speech and physical therapy

 Learned the child loved to knock things down  Learned the child loved throwing things into a “goal”  Learned the child loved to dance Photos: SELU.edu

 Initially, I worried about how I would be able to handle playing with a child with Down syndrome.  Now, I realize there was nothing to be worried about. The child played just like any other toddler. He had some delays, but they were just that, delays. He was not very different from other 2-year-olds I’ve worked with.  This session reinforced what I have learned, that disability does not mean handicap.

 This assignment has added to my study of families with disabilities by providing me with real life experience with one such family  It has made me more aware of how a family of a child with a disability functions on a daily basis, and the struggles they may encounter

 I hope to be able to coordinate and attend more Lekotek play sessions in the future.  My partner and I were the first students to arrange a Lekotek session, and I hope that we, along with the family we worked with, will continue with raise awareness in the community that this place exists and for families to come and benefit from what Lekotek has to offer

 I love the mission of Lekotek and the idea that development can be attained through play. I also think that the toy-lending program is a tremendous resource for families  I am grateful for this course and this assignment because it has opened my eyes to so many aspects of being in a family of a child with a disability, of which many people never even consider