Client and Family Opportunities
Since A Small Miracle, Inc. is owned and operated by the mother of a child with autism, our agency is especially sensitive to the concerns of our client families. We understand that children with special needs may not have the same opportunities for recreation, parties, and special events that other children do. We make every effort to provide additional fun opportunities for our clients, such as those described below:
We have therapeutic horseback riding programs at four different stables located throughout the areas in which we provide services. We provide riding sessions at no cost to our clients. Most children with special needs love horseback riding – and benefit on many different levels from this enjoyable activity.
We also encourage client participation in the NC Special Olympics, and because Special Olympics provides such great opportunities for our clients, we are proud to be both a corporate level sponsor for the Special Olympics of North Carolina and the Presenting Sponsor for the State Equestrian Championship.
ASM's Inflatable Dog
Since we understand that many of our clients do not have the same opportunities to attend parties as normal children do, we host annual parties and invite our client families to participate in an afternoon of fun at an animal farm with catered food, games, horseback riding and other activities. In fact, we recently purchased our own inflatable "bouncy dog" since children love these "bouncy castles" so much!
Santa and Pete
Since many of our clients don’t stand in line patiently, every December we have Santa make a visit to each office so that our clients have an opportunity to have their photo taken, receive a present, and visit with Santa at no charge to the family.
Our clients also enjoy recreational activities at the YMCA, including swimming (provided through our company membership) and Parents’ Night Out activities. (The YMCA benefits vary from office to office.)
We also understand that families with special needs individuals need additional assistance and resources, some of which are listed below:
Our agency has a lending library with more than 400 books, research journals, and video and audiotapes on autism and other disabilities. These library materials are available for use by client families and our employees as well. Our lending library materials may be viewed by title or by author. If you are unable to view these documents in your browser, please visit our help page.
We offer networking opportunities with other parents, information on doctors, dentists and medical specialists, and website information on a variety of helpful topics.
To further accommodate client and client family needs, we also provide overnight services for parents who must travel on business or who may need a little break away from the stress at home.
In addition to the CAP-MR/DD Individual/Caregiver Training and Education services we provide to our client families, we schedule guest speakers who are experts in their respective fields to provide two-to-three hour training sessions and invite our client family members, team members, teachers, and other professionals to attend. We also videotape these sessions for later use by parents who cannot attend due to schedule conflicts. Recent topics at these training sessions include:
- Behavior Management Overview
- Introducing and Updating Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS)
- Behavior Modification Strategies for Maladaptive Behaviors
- Relationship Development Intervention
- Gluten and Casein Free Diets - The Enormous Impact that Diet can have on your Child’s Behavior
For more information about the Client and Family extras available in your
area, please click on the office location nearest you: Raleigh, Greenville, Goldsboro, and Fayetteville.