BY JENNIFER CROWLEY
Sarah Salamone’s daughter Brinley might only be three years-old but has already made it clear that she’s interested in socializing – without her mom. Her growing desire for independence is certainly age appropriate for the pre-schooler; the fact that she has Down syndrome doesn’t change this.
Parents of children with developmental disabilities face unique challenges on top of ‘normal’ parenting quandaries. Engaging the right specialists, finding the most appropriate school setting and then balancing this all with the demands of work and siblings is a lot for these families to face. As their disabled children mature, they, like other young people, want to feel included. But being in a different school or class, or having special transportation requirements can make it difficult to both find and take advantage of social opportunities.
This is where the TIES program comes in. Together Including Every Student (TIES) was developed in 1997 in order to promote the participation of students and young adults ages 8-21 who have developmental disabilities in inclusive, organized extracurricular/community activities through the support of trained student volunteers.
Currently over ten school districts in Monroe Country offer TIES. Earlier this year Salamone introduced the program to Wheatland-Chili where it has been embraced enthusiastically. Salamone also serves as the liaison between TIES and the district.
“I would like everyone to know how important inclusion is. Hanging out with friends and partaking in an activity is the most natural thing we can do. If we can help facilitate that for our participants, the program will be a huge success in my eyes,” said Salamone.
While TIES offers opportunities for developmentally disabled children and young adults to explore recreational interests and have fun with peers, the benefits to student volunteers (those in 8th-12th grade) are just as compelling. Through TIES, peer volunteers learn how to support participants according to their individual needs, gain a better understanding of disabilities and diversity, and make a positive difference in a peer’s life.
Any events overseen by a responsible adult or leader are eligible for a TIES volunteer and participant to attend. Dances, sporting events, recreational programs and even meals are examples of outings that would be good opportunities for a TIES pair-up. In fact earlier this year a TIES peer volunteer brought a program participant to the “In The Heights” musical production at the Wheatland-Chili High School. According to Salamone, TIES is also happy to support event participation outside of Scottsville. She stressed that if a nearby town such as Henrietta or Chili has an event of interest to a participant, TIES would work to help make the activity happen.
Today the TIES program is funded by the New York State Office for People with Development Disabilities (OPWDD). As such participants must be eligible to receive services through OPWDD. Starting in the 2018-2019 school year however, the program will be funded through the school budget. Once that change happens TIES will be able to accept participants with a wider range of disabilities or needs including physical challenges. Today Wheatland-Chili has 12 peer volunteers but is actively seeking more to fully support the needs of any/all participants. In addition to background/reference checks, volunteers attend a 45-minute training session at their school; the overall time commitment is based on the volunteer’s schedule. To learn more about volunteering or the program in general, please contact Sarah Salamone at 585-645-3929 or ssalamone@starbridgeinc.org.
TIES was featured at the April 12th Wheatland-Chili Mental Health and Special Education Information Night. Other organizations presenting that evening included Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES, Adult Career and Continuing Education Services-Vocational Rehabilitation (ACCES-VR), the OPWDD, the Monroe County Office of Mental Health and Gigi’s Playhouse (a Down syndrome achievement center). If you have a child or young adult that may be in need of services for a developmental or other disability, the OPWDD is a good starting point and can be reached at 1-(866) 946-9733 or (585) 461-8500.
