Parents hope to form school for disabled children
Saturday, August 21, 2004 (19:46:59)

Posted by sylvia

The State 08/07/2004

ROCK HILL, S.C. - A group of parents hope to raise enough money from grants to start a private school where children with disabilities can learn academic skills while receiving physical therapy.

Parents hope a home-schooling cooperative at Carolina Pediatric Therapy in Rock Hill would give their children a place to learn and heal.

Parents would help out in the classroom to reduce costs and apply for government grants to cover remaining costs. The school would accept payment from both private insurance and Medicaid.

"Most of these parents are so burned out," said Leslie Mace, co-founder of Carolina Pediatric Therapy. "They are home alone all day, running to doctors' appointments with no one to talk to. I want a resource center for parents and kids. I want support groups."

Mace's son, 11-year-old Andrew, has Asperger syndrome, a communication disorder with characteristics similar to autism. Andrew didn't speak until he was 4, didn't make eye contact and had no understanding of social cues.

"I lived in denial for five years," Mace said. "I was angry with God. I was angry with my husband."

Mace helped found Carolina Pediatric Therapy in 2002 after convincing her son's physical therapist, who planned a move from Charlotte, N.C., to Rock Hill, to open the center in South Carolina.

Mace and therapist Diane Gabanyik founded the center in Tega Cay with 11 families in March 2002. The center is now located in downtown Rock Hill and serves about 300 children.

It offers occupational, physical and speech and language therapy as well as psychological testing and counseling, tutoring and a therapeutic riding program.

Parents hope to expand the tutoring program to full-blown classrooms where children can learn academic skills without the pressure of the standardized testing required in public schools, Mace said.

"If my child needs to sit on the floor to learn to concentrate, he'll sit on the floor," Mace said. "Chewing gum helps to calm some disabled kids because the mouth is the most focused part of the body. Most schools are anti-gum."

Tutor Joy Johnson said she envisions a classroom where children can get their required physical therapy with their math and biology and social interaction while planting a garden.