Teaching Patience

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February 18, 2013

Sister Suzette Mary Fisher, a member of Toledo’s Sisters of Notre Dame, has just been elected as chair of National
Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Affiliate Network. In addition to her duties with this organization, Fisher also leads Double Arc, a Toledo-area organization whose mission is to provide support, education and social services to families impacted by Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorders (FASDs).
The Call
Fisher was inspired to continue her FASD work after hearing a speech by FASD expert Ken Jones in 1993, and has been a passionate advocate for those impacted by the condition ever since. A member of her order since 1963, Fisher felt called to a religious life at an early age.
“From the time I was in 2nd grade, I had a sense that was what I was
supposed to do, that God was calling me. I left home at 14 and became an aspirant at Notre Dame Academy,” Fisher said. The Fremont native took formal vows in 1969, and has been active with Double Arc since its inception.
“We started in 1992, primarily looking at school systems with children and behaviors we didn’t know what to do with. We looked for individuals to help us find experts who could tell us what was going on with these children and what we could do for them” she explained.
Studying the issues
“We started studying the issue as much as possible and began presenting information about it to educators, social service providers and began doing workshops about FAS and FAS disorders” she added.
Fisher describes FASD as primarily involving behavioral problems.
“Children with FASD need constant supervision. They’re pretty irritable. They don’t connect cause and effect. They do not understand consequences. They are more difficult to manage in public. Not easy to manage at home, either,” she said. “They do not understand stranger danger. They tend to act chronologically younger than their age.
Fisher advises parents whose children may interact with those with FASDs to teach patience.
Encouraging understanding
“I would hope that a parent would encourage them to understand their classmate who may have FAS may have some difficulty in the classroom, but that they should be supportive of the other child, befriend them and try to be a good example for the child with FASD. They shouldn’t tease or bully them,” she said. “Children with FASD sometimes have meltdowns. When other kids don’t understand, they may push buttons and try to get that reaction” Fisher added.
Fisher cautions pregnant women that there is no safe amount of alcohol to drink during pregnancy.
For more information about FASD, call Double Arc at (419) 479-3060 (ex 1 or 2) or visit https://www.doublearc.org.

Tell Martha It Takes More Than Windex!

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Mary Helen Darah

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February 18, 2013

In a rare moment of solitude I found something miraculous, an empty couch and the TV remote in plain sight. I immediately sat down and enjoyed my moment of power. I quickly flipped past MTV, The Disney Channel and headed to The Martha Stewart Show. The woman does not understand my life. Does she really expect me to gather eggs from my coop out back while waiting for the dough to rise for stoneground wheat bread to accompany the three blend juice she just squeezed between her thighs? Oh, this is even better, tips on the proper way to remove a pesky water stain from a marble surface. Amateur!
I would like to see her get red hot candies and hardened frosting out of collie fur. As long as I can remember my family has lived through clean up challenges that have gone way beyond Windex and elbow grease. My poor mother was forced to contend with my brother who at the age of three discovered a black Sharpie marker. Why he chose to darken his private “anatomy” is still a mystery. My Mom being from a family of female offspring thought it was going to fall off and needed the reassurance of numerous pediatricians to convince her otherwise.
Trickle down DNA reared its ugly head when my eldest child pulled an “Uncle Jim” and found my permanent markers. She however, had a greater variety of hues at her disposal. While I attempted to secure a festive bow around the neck of an unwilling pooch, she was busy decorating her sister’s face before the annual holiday photo.
In the well-known children’s book, Harold had his purple crayon; in our house Helena had a Bic black ink pen. It started off so innocently. She wanted to show me what a big girl she was by using the writing instrument to scribble her “name” on notebook paper. Always, one to think outside the box, or in this case the lined paper, her pen made a pilgrimage up the side of the off white leather couch until she happened upon the flat seat cushion that would become her canvas. It was difficult to get angry when the subject matter was yours truly dressed in a pretty princess dress complete with dangly earrings. I can now share with Martha, Soft Scrub with bleach, and hairspray are amazing at removing ink from leather.
It is my personal belief that an operator’s permit should be required before purchasing Chapstick. First this unknown substance that I’m certain is a molecule away from something illegal, somehow snuck into the dryer. I would love to know what Martha would recommend for melted lip balm on fuzzy pjs. The creative middle child discovered that colored Chapstick placed between the spaces of a wicker nightstand is a great way to make a rainbow. It does not appear anywhere in the “Parenting 101 Manual” that you could be spending 2.4 hours picking a waxy substance out of small crevices with a toothpick.
Martha has returned from a commercial break and is stating with great authority the importance of “pretty towels”. I have only known one woman who has successfully maintained “pretty towels”. I can understand why after seeing the look in her eyes when asked what would happen if someone defaced her latest. It was hanging in her guest bathroom like a museum piece. I naively splurged on pretty towels. One met a premature demise after being bleached from acne face wash and other met its ending with the end of a dog. Enough said.
Before Martha expounds on the virtues of making homemade candles, as we know this family has its wax issues, I am flipping to the Animal Planet. At least I will feel relieved that someone else’s pet is misbehaving more than mine.

Local Teen advocates for child abuse awareness

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Digital Media

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February 18, 2013

In Lucas County alone, there are over 1900 reported cases of child abuse each year. Every day in the U.S., four children die from abuse. In fall, 2007, with these alarming statistics in mind, ten-year-old Abbey Pawlak, began a grass-roots campaign to end child abuse. The Sylvania resident gathered 20 donated pumpkins from local farmers, painted them blue, and sold them to friends, family and neighbors, raising $565 for Toledo’s
Family and Child Abuse Prevention Center. This year the Blue Pumpkin Campaign held a charity volleyball game, raising over $2000 dollars for The Center [and also hosted a dinner].
Local ceramics artist Kristen Baldeschwiler supported Abbey’s cause by making blue pumpkin brooches as part of Pawlak’s efforts to make blue pumpkins a Halloween staple that brings awareness to child abuse. “Child abuse prevention is a cause I’m extremely happy to support. It’s extremely rewarding as an artist to give back to the community, to be supportive of, and to have my work affiliated with, such an important cause,” Baldeschwiler explained. During the Blue Pumpkin’s annual dinner 75% of the brooches sold.
The Blue Pumpkin Campaign is committed to engage both children and adults in order to build awareness about abuse, neglect and its prevention in our community.
For more information about The Blue Pumpkin Campaign or the blue pumpkin brooches see www.bluepumpkin.org or www.etsy.com/shop/keystoneclayandbead.

SETT for Success

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Digital Media

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February 18, 2013

When we started out, prevention had no face. We are a part of the foundation that proves prevention works. When they come here, they get hope… inspired.” Executive director, Charles Muhammad, said of his organization SETT. SETT stands for Self Expression Teen Theatre, a troupe of teen actors who also function as peer educators and counselors. SETT was started in 1986,recruits members come from Toledo area schools through open auditions participants range from 11-17 years old, and represent a wide spectrum of backgrounds. Every member of the troupe goes through intensive training, covering not only performing arts but also human biology, psychology, self-defense, community resources, and goal-setting that lead to the types of knowledge and skills individuals must acquire in order to take charge of their lives creatively. The performance usually lasts about 45 minutes and includes 10 skits that depict real life situations for teens, such as: teen pregnancy, pressure to have sex, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, difficulties communicating with parents or peers, acquaintance rape, isolation, alienation and suicide. While some are humorous, others depict deep pain, fear or confusion. After each performance the teens welcome comments and questions from the audience. For more info visit www.settoledo.com
or call Charles Muhammad 419-242-2255.

Encouraging character

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Christy Penka

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February 18, 2013

Encouraging character
Development of strong character in young people is one of the biggest challenges
parents and educators face today. The Knight Academy will present a free program on character development for students, parents and teachers on Thursday, November 4, at Gladieux Meadows. The program will feature, Dr. Hal Urban a nationally acclaimed speaker on the subject of character development and former teacher.
Urban is said to have a love for life and a special knack for bringing out the best in people, as well as delivering uplifting messages to teachers, parents and children. “This will be a great opportunity for people to gain insight from his compelling stories as he takes them on a journey into how life can be when we develop the true goodness that is inherent in all of us, “ said Tom Baker, The Knight Academy’s Executive Director.
Reservations are required. For more info visit www.theknightacademy.org
or call 419-720-4444.

Students helping kids stay healthy

By

Matt Desmond

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February 18, 2013

High school students looking for a challenge, and who want to help keep their fellow young people healthy and happy, are invited to enter Promedica’s third annual Fields of Green scholarship contest. The program asks teams of students to come up with their own ideas to improve nutrition in elementary schools and promote physical fitness, with the goal of reducing childhood obesity. As many as one in three children under nineteen can be classified as overweight or obese, and this situation poses substantial public health risks in the coming decades.
“The statistics are alarming,” states Promedica CEO Randy Oostra, “and it’s going to require organizations, schools and parents working together to tackle this epidemic.” This year’s scholarship contest challenges students to create an affordable breakfast program for elementary schools, with at least ten different meals which exceed USDA nutritional recommendations. Each member of the winning team will receive a $5000 scholarship, and their winning proposal will become a pilot program at local schools next year.
The scholarship contest is open to students from grades 10-12. Entries must be received by December 1; the winners will be announced in January. See www.promedica.org/fieldsofgreen for more information.