Preschool offers a special head start for disabled kids

JOHN A. GAVIN

FAIR LAWN - When school dismissed the other day, Michael Fondacaro was one of the first students to dart out of the door to greet his mom, Grace, urging her to watch what he had just learned.

A student at The Children's Therapy Center, which is part of the Cerebral Palsy Center of Bergen County, Michael uses a motorized wheelchair.

He is not able to walk or speak and has limited use of his hands. He communicates by pressing a switch on a computerized message board, choosing from a list of pre-recorded phrases.

But none of those disabilities stops him from being inquisitive, even displaying a sense of humor and mischievousness.

Cocking his head to the side to control the direction of the specially designed wheelchair, Michael, 5, was able to spin his chair in a tight spiral on the sidewalk, showing off to his mother some of the maneuvers he learned a few hours earlier with a physical therapist.

Michael, who has the metabolic disorder Glutaric Acidemia Type 1 and neurological damage, couldn't sit up, speak, or walk when he started at the school two years ago.

Now his reading and comprehension skills have improved so much that he will be mainstreamed as a kindergartner in the Fair Lawn public schools next year.

Each year, the private non-profit specialized school and clinic takes in disabled children ages 3 to 8 who have an assortment of neurological and orthopedic impairments.

Not every student will be able to continue to regular school, but educators said their goal is to give every child their attention to help the children maximize their potential.

"A [disabled] child needs that early intervention and early ther-apy in order to learn in school," said Carolann Garafola, executive director and principal of the center. "The thrust of our school is to help children learn in an educational setting," said Garafola, explaining how being around other children in a classroom helps develop communication skills. "If a child doesn't learn speech, they aren't going to be able to communicate in society."

A center depending partly on private and corporate donations for funding, the school is the only one of its type in Bergen County. It uses a full-time nurse and an assortment of 65 teachers, speech, physical and occupational therapists, and classroom assistants to provide almost a one-to-one ratio of students-to-professionals.

During the day, the staff serves 60 children with cerebral palsy, autism, Down syndrome, pervasive developmental delay, and other cognitive and physical disorders in five programs using the classroom as a therapeutic setting to help youngsters adjust to being around others.

In addition, 430 students from 30 school districts in North Jersey have scheduled visits to the center for therapy.

In a preschool class, students with various cognitive and physical disorders use electronic devices strapped on their wheelchairs to match animal pictures and the sounds that animal makes.

A variety of quizzes and word games with computers and voice reproduction devices are used to reinforce the class lessons.

The exercises allow teachers and therapists to evaluate a child's intelligence and skill level.

"Many of the children are unable to talk or write, but they have wonderful ideas," said Amy Zaslansky, who sets up voice reproduction devices and electronic equipment for students.

The school also uses play therapy, including pumpkin paintings, animal petting, and skating parties to help children develop cognitive and motor skills.

In a class for students with severely delayed development, specialists help youngsters function in spite of genetic disorders, severe seizures, brain damage, and respiratory problems. They learn basic cognitive skills like identifying colors and shapes and how to enjoy music.

In the 10-student class, some youngsters are of preschool age but can only function on the developmental level of infants 6 months to 18 months old.

"I feel like I'm doing something to help children who need it," said Amy Van Pamel, the teacher, whose nine assistants help make sure youngsters are properly fed, given medication, and consoled when they encounter seizures and attacks.

One of Van Pamel's students is 4½-year-old Andrew Jones, who has cystic fibrosis and a brain injury resulting from a lack of oxygen at birth His father, Bob Jones of Paramus, said his son would cry and throw tantrums whenever he was in crowds like those at a shopping mall.

He said his son has improved since entering the program, even being calm enough for neighborhood children to visit the house recently for his older brother's birthday party. Jones praises the private treatment program for helping his son relate better to other people.

"They treat the children like normal children," Jones said.

Staff Writer John A. Gavin's e-mail address is gavin@northjersey.com