USD Magazine, Spring 2004

ALMANAC

FAM I Ly New USD Center Helps Parents Cope With Special Needs

impairments or learning dis– abilities such as Attention Deficit Disorder. All were des– perate for help. "What these conditions have in common is they impact the child's ability to function," says Baron. "I felt we had the resources at USD to bring together something of great value to these families." Baron's solution is the Center for Families of Children with Special Needs, a unique collabo– ration among USD's professional schools and community agen– cies that provides a single entry point for families to identify and access the resources they need to cope with and adapt to their child's needs. Baron began designing the center three years ago, and today ir encompasses programs from the schools of education, law and nursing. "The center is congruent

by Michael R. Haskins N ancy Cornelius was at her wit's end. She no longer knew how to help her daughter, Amy, who was born with CHARGE Association, a pattern of birrh defects affecting vision, hearing, growth and the heart. When rhe condition led to behavioral problems that special edu– cation teachers could no longer handle, Cornelius almost lost hope. For rhe first rime, she considered placing her 17-year-old daughter in a special needs facility. Cornelius is nor alone. Just in San Diego County, more than 6,000 new families each year are confronted with rhe challenge of car– ing for a child with a disability. Many become lost in a maze of bureaucratic agencies, red tape and paperwork. Most don't receive or even know about the range of information

and services available to help them deal with the needs of their child. Even if they did, try– ing to access those services ofren is a frustrat– ing and time-consuming task. Wouldn't it be great, then, if there was a one-stop shop where parents could find our about and make contact with organizations designed to help chem with issues of educa– tion, health care, counseling and treatment? Thar's the question posed by Moises Baron, director of USD 's counseling center. As a pediatric psychologist, Baron saw coundess families face the daunting cask of figuring out how to help children with spe– cial needs. Some faced mental or physical disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome. Others dealt with physical disabilities or chronic illnesses like cancer or diabetes. And many cackled emotional

with USD's mission of service to the com– munity; it mobilizes our professional schools to help with counseling, legal advocacy and health services," Baron says. "USD is com– ing together as an organization to serve fam– ilies, and at the same rime is training profes– sionals in education, law and health care." The center is allied with the Exceptional Family Resource Center, a network of five offices in San Diego and Imperial counties. The EFRC fields close to 13,000 inquiries a year, many of which now are funneled to USD, where professors and students rake on the cases. The nursing school's pediatric nurse practitioner program offers health con– sultations, interns from rhe School of Education's marriage and fami ly therapy pro– gram provide family counseling, and the law school's new Special Education Legal Clinic,

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