The News Tribune logo

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Put On Your Creative Teaching CAP: Local Mom Helps Special Needs Kids

If you are a parent of special needs child, you know the life drill. There are the multitude of doctor’s appointments, hours of research, support groups, online chat groups, seminars and special classes, up time, down time, small triumphs, big set-backs, pure joy, pure frustration, hope, and worry—all related to your child’s situation. If your child attends school (public or private) there are the scores of IEP meetings and other meetings, mountains of paperwork, and being a constant and fearless advocate. If your child is a homeschooler, there’s the teaching, sharing, exploring, learning, and planning. Throw in perhaps, a marriage, other kids, external family, friends, community, and a paying job, well that adds even more to life’s complexity. But these parents get the job done, no matter what’s thrown at them with bone-tiring hard work, unwavering determination, and a can-do attitude despite the odds.

Now meet Puget Sound resident Anne Scroggs.

Anne is the mother of an adult autistic and cognitively impaired son. Anne walked the path of what I described above with strength and tenacity. When her son was a child, Anne became increasingly frustrated with her son’s lack of progress in school. So, she pulled him out of school to home school. And it was at that point, that Anne took an unknowing journey to the spectacular. Using all her tools in her parental and educational toolbox, mixed with love and a big dash of creativity, Anne created her own curriculum and learning tools for her child to increase his vocabulary and language skills. It worked wonders.

Anne didn’t stop there. She kept learning, working, and striving to refine and develop her teaching tools. Hence, Creative Teaching CAP was born. Based on Anne’s early foundations of curriculum products and with a team of compassionate and caring fellow visionaries, a company, but more importantly an opportunity, was born.
And that opportunity has reached our very own South Sound. Tacoma Special Education teacher Kalissa Hovey incorporates the tool in her classroom with marked success. To read more from Ms. Hovey and last month’s press release, click HERE (and then click on the website’s press release icon).

After researching these products myself and seeing some additional materials, my take is this: they are durable, colorful, interesting, easy, and organized. If you are interested in these products or more on this company, check out the website HERE.

Congrats to the folks at Creative Teaching CAP for a job well done!

3 comments:

Stephanie Frieze said...

Thank you for the inspiring story, Kim. Did you know that there is a Home Schooling conference in Puyallup Friday and Saturday? My daughter-in-law is going on the reccomendation of other home-schooling parents.

Lorraine Hart said...

There is no creature more tenacious than a parent on a mission! Hats off to Anne Scroggs...this is wonderful.

Hats off to you too Kim for tirelessly searching your resources. Lox

Kim Thompson said...

Thanks ladies! You are both so sweet. Stephanie, yes, I was aware of the conference, but we have plans all weekend that could not be adjusted. I am looking forward to report from my compatriots!