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Camp Wabanalso teachesaverage kidsBy BOB SAUNDERS Stiff WriterSANFORD — At Camp Waban in South Sanford, preschoolers get day care with a difference.“People always associated Camp Waban with care for the handicapped, says Developmental Day Care Program director Sanara Pelletier.“But in our program, we have both handicapped and so-called normal children, she says, “and it seems to work out to the advantage of all the children.”In addition to receiving state and federal funding to care for handicapped children of preschool age, the program is also able to take in students without handicaps whose parents' income qualifies under federal guidelines.The result is a day care program serving 26 preschoolers from York County, 15 ofthem handicapped and the rest average children.For the handicapped children, she says, the program is a prelude to what they'll face when they begin to attend publicschools.Current theory among policymakers in the Maine Department of Educational and Cultural Services leans toward “main-streaming — educating handicapped children along with average children whenever possible, she says.In addition, she says, integration of handicapped and non-handicapped children provides “good role models for the handicapped kids. They aren’t pushed into a corner with no chance to interactwith average children.”For the average kids, says Mrs. Pelletier, the experience of integrated day care may help alleviate the recoil reaction of many non-handicapped adults when they are in the presence of handicapped people.“The average kids ask questions — why one of the children can’t talk or walk, for example — and we explain. The kids seem to accept the explanations, and understand the handicaps, she says.“And they're helpful We have one boy who can’t tie his shoes, for example. He doesn’t have the fine motor skills necessary. The other kids helD. It’s verv simple,” she adds.For anyone interested in finding out more about how the program works, Mrs. Pelletier spys, an open house is being held Tuesday night (tonight) from 6:30 to 9 atthe camp, located on Route 4 in South SanfordThe program, which started almost 10 years ago and operates from 8 a.m. to 36 mm, 50 weeks out of the year, has always een integrated, says Mrs Pelletier.During the day, there are three sections operating: the preschool and primary skills sections, which are integrated, and the special needs section to deal with specific childrens' handicapsMembers of the staff include five professionals with backgrounds in education, speech therapy, and special education, as well as eight aides from Massabesic and Sanford high schools and interns from the University of Maine at Portland-Gorham.Colors and shapesand pattern in this block game — one of the preschool skills they learn at Camp Waban’s in-
Newspaper Details
Biddeford Kennebunk Wells Journal Tribune
Biddeford, Maine, US
Tue, Nov 15, 1977
Page 10
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 23 Apr 2021
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