I would also like to respond to the Red Deer College’s decision to discontinue the Disability and Community Studies Program, (also expressed by Lawrence Cardinal and Lily Breland)
As a parent of a disabled daughter, I too know the importance of trained professionals who truly care about our special people.
Not only does the community benefit from such a program, so does our family. Our daughter has the privilege of having a graduate from this program working with her.
It takes special people to work with special people. To have a healthy family, parents of special needs children/adults need the respite care.
Having trained professionals to take over on a regular basis allows the parents and other family members to re-group and re-charge. This also provides an opportunity for the disabled person to be taken out into the community by a trained professional, where community skills can be developed. (i.e. learning to grocery shop, handle money and ride the bus)
Our family also had the opportunity to attend the College graduation last week to see our daughter graduate from the Transitional Vocation Program. This truly is a wonderful program that gives our disabled students more specific education for living skills and employment skills.
A special thank you to Karen, Nikki, Janice and Glenda for all the work you do for the students in this program.
Red Deer is a great place to live. We are so fortunate to have programs for special students. Hats off to the employers and businesses that are willing to open their doors in order that these students can gain some work experience and employment opportunities.
Denise Bedford
Red Deer