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What is KIDZ?
KIDZ is a group of parents with special needs children who have joined together to provide support and information for other parents with special needs children regardless of how minor or severe the disability.
What are the goals of KIDZ?
First, and foremost, is to provide support for you and your family. Notice our slogan says “for KIDZ and families with special needs.” When one of your children is diagnosed with some form of disability, it affects your whole family, not just that child. Therefore, you are a family with special needs.
KIDZ has occasional organized meetings for families to meet and have a good time together. This is a great opportunity to learn from other parents as well as letting your children play with other kids with similar challenges. The siblings of your disabled child also benefit because they are able to connect with the other siblings of disabled children. A sibling of a disabled child deals with a whole extra set of emotions and situations that only another sibling in a similar situation can understand. Remember, you are a special needs family.
KIDZ publishes an occasional newsletter in order to notify everyone about guest speakers and other special events such as cookouts and play days.
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Another goal of KIDZ is to distribute brochures about our group to local pediatricians, hospitals, obstetricians, ECI, and others for them to give out to parents. The intent of this outreach is to be a positive first point of contact with parents whose child has been diagnosed with a disability.
How can I be involved in KIDZ?
There is no fee involved in becoming a member of KIDZ. You are always welcome to come to the monthly meetings and special events. If you’d like to receive the KIDZ newsletter, just let us know and we will put you on our mailing list. We also have many other exciting ideas and projects that are in the developmental stages that we would love to have you be a part of.
If you receive our newsletter through ECI or some other organization, you can help us reduce postage costs by indicating this. We will keep your information on file in case we send out any special mailings.
Another area of involvement that we would like to encourage you to participate in is our KIDZ Support Line. The KIDZ Support Line is a way to connect families with similar diagnosis. This is a great way to bring another family under your wing and help them with encouragement or just an ear to listen. If you are interested in allowing a new special needs family to contact you or would like to contact a family for advice, please contact us.
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