“There are no guarantees in life, except that everyone faces struggles. This is how we learn (and grow). Some face struggles from the moment they are born. They are the most special of all people, requiring the most care and compassion and reminding us that love is the sole purpose of life.”– Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
These are our Hidden Angels – teaching all of us life’s most valuable lessons.
Baycrest Apotex
New Research
The Hidden Angel Foundation is proud to support and contribute to the research and work being done around the use of Multi Sensory Stimulation for premature infants within the Neonatal Research Laboratory at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The Neonatal Research Lab at Brigham and Women’s Hospital offers preterm infants the maternal auditory and tactile vibroacoustic stimulation needed to develop properly. The ultimate goal of this research project is to improve developmental outcomes in extremely premature infants through the unique application of multisensory stimulation while in the hospital bed. A total of 25 preterm infants will participate in this study over a 2 year period. BWH will specifically target infants born very prematurely between 25 – 32 weeks gestation as this patient population has the highest risk for developmental problems.
Thanks to the Hidden Angel Foundation, the infants will be exposed to audio recording of their own mother’s voice, heartbeat, and music transmitted to the infant’s incubator via vibroacoustic technology. Vibroacoustic platforms have been developed by HAF to help stimulate individuals with neurological challenges. BWH hypothesizes that this bedside technology will provide infants with a more womb-like environment to grow, providing them with both the audio and vibrational stimulation they need in order to develop normally. This research will collect critically important data that will shed more light about the importance of multisensory stimulation in extremely premature infants and may increase their potential for normal development.
Your professional and monetary support has been extremely valuable to our clinical work in the neonatal ICU as we develop pioneering techniques to enhance the survivorship and health outcomes of very premature and critically ill babies. At Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, we became focused on the importance of sensory stimulation in the neonatal period and its potential impact on enhancing neurological development. At this time we turned to Bud and Sandra (and the Christopher Douglas Hidden Angel Foundation) in an effort to learn from the many years that they have devoted to this approach. The foundation has been more than generous in sharing their many years of experience and their innovative techniques as well as assisted the funding of our essential research in this area. Their selfless contribution of time, expertise and funding will lead to a positive outcome in the development of premature children throughout the United States and Canada. Considering growing evidence in this field, it is clear that the use of sensory stimulation in sick babies and children with disabilities should deserve much more attention. I believe that with true leaders such as Sandra and Bud, this filed will grow to a new level.
– Amir Lahav, ScD PhD, Dept. of Newborn Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Harvard Medical School.
Donate
Imagine a child watching their peers running, playing, and enjoying a sunny day while they sit in a wheelchair. Isn’t it our responsibility to help that child to feel included? Imagine what it must be like for individuals with special needs. How much would you pay to be able to interact with your surroundings?
RSM Richter Charity Golf Classic raises $160,000
Proceeds will go towards the Christopher Douglas Hidden Angel Foundation
Toronto, Ontario June 28, 2011 – On Wednesday June 15th, RSM Richter hosted their 14th annual Charity Golf Classic at Rattlesnake Point Golf Club.
The tournament was in support of the Christopher Douglas Hidden Angel Foundation (CDHAF); an organization focused on improving the quality of life for children and adults who are neurologically challenged by using sensory stimulation through the design and creation of Multi Sensory Environment facilities (MSE). The recipients of an MSE facility this year will include the Reena Foundation, Baycrest, and two Toronto area schools that serve children with special needs.
RSM Richter is proud to announce that with the support and dedication of many sponsors, this year’s golf tournament has raised $160,000 for CDHAF.
RSM Richter would like to thank our platinum sponsor Kirchner Private Capital Group as well as the many other generous sponsors of the tournament.
Over the past fourteen years, the RSM Richter Charity Golf Classic has raised over $1.3 in support of health related causes across Ontario.
RSM Richter LLP is the 9th largest independent accounting and business advisory firm in Canada. We are committed to supporting our community and donate to more than 80 Canadian non-profit organizations supporting areas such as education, healthcare the environment and the arts.
For more information, please contact:
Jennifer A. Nascimben
416.932.8300 ext. 6401
jnascimben@rsmrichter.com
www.rsmrichter.com
Birmingham center helps people with special needs find calming stimuli in new multisensory room
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Soothing tubes of bubbling water gradually change colors from blue to white to green.
Addie Salamone, 21 months, navigates her way through the white padded room at her own pace, enjoying the lights, soft music and new discoveries, such as a lighted blue egg she cups in her hands.
Her parents, Caleb and Brandy Salamone, drive from Cleveland in Blount County to Birmingham at least once a week so Addie can experience the new multisensory environment at United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham on Oslo Circle.
The special room has many purposes. It was designed to promote neurological activity and encourage relaxation in children and adults with special needs. Therapists working with the UCP are discovering it can be used for physical therapy, speech therapy, stress relief or simply bringing joy to a child overwhelmed by the world outside.
For Addie — a baby who wasn’t crawling by her first birthday, when many children take their first steps — it is a room where she can relax and learn to walk. She took four steps in the room this week, Brandy Salamone said. And she has started saying more words.
The multisensory environment is the first of its kind in Birmingham, said Sandra Fornes, co-founder of the Christopher Douglas Hidden Angel Foundation, which has built more than 35 of these rooms across North America.
The rooms are very popular in Europe but not well known in the United States, she said. European research has found that a multisensory environment can relieve stress, anxiety and pain for children and adults with disabilities such as autism, brain injury and mental illness, Fornes said.
Children control the environment. Sensors detect a child’s speech, movements and breathing, and music builds up momentum based on the excitement of the child. Colors change based on the child’s reaction. Different stations offer different neurological stimulation, such as lights that flash in patterns and a section of wall with a variety of textures on its surface.
And everything can be altered for the specific needs of each child, said Marliese Delgado, a physical therapist working with Addie.
“Stress makes it more difficult to learn,” Delgado said. “This is a very soothing environment.”
For some children, the world outside can be anything but soothing and relaxing. The UCP shared the story of Xavier Kurre, 3, who has cortical vision impairment and autism.
Tension tamer
A simple trip to the store for the Oak Mountain toddler can be overwhelming with too much noise and lights, said his mother, Nancy Kurre.
Xavier recently used the multisensory room at UCP.
“As soon as he walked in the room, you could see the tension in his body melt away which brought tears to my eyes,” Kurre told the UCP for its prepared information. “Xavier is non-verbal, but you could see the transformation in him. This room allows him to relax and experience his environment when he can’t do that in the real world.”
The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Occupational Therapy in the School of Health Professions will conduct research with some of the children using the special room this fall, said Jan Rowe, interim chairwoman.
She said she hopes the research will determine the impact and effectiveness of the environment on children with all kinds of ability levels.
Fornes said she predicts more multisensory environments will be built in Alabama, especially since the Christopher Douglas Hidden Angel Foundation moved from Florida to Gadsden.
But the rooms do not come cheap. The multisensory environment at the UCP cost about $35,000, she said. And staff must be trained to use the rooms properly.
Families like the Salamones appreciate the result of all the effort and expense.
“It is a blessing to have these caring people and this technology,” Brandy Salamone said as she watched Addie. “Hopefully, she will be walking this summer.”
Source: Birmingham News (al.com)
Scully The World Show – The Hidden Angel
Bob presents this special on ‘The Hidden Angel’ Christopher Douglas. Christopher Douglas Hidden Angel Foundation offers Multi-Sensory Environments (MSEs) so that disabled individuals can stimulate brain activity and better engage with the world around them. Watch Video
Children with disabilities are taking control: first multi sensory environment in Birmingham, thanks to the Christopher Douglas Hidden Angel Foundation
May 10, 2011 Birmingham, Ala. – A trip to the store or the library is never simple for three-year-old Xavier Kurre. The Oak Mountain toddler has cortical vision impairment and autism which makes a “simple” trip out of the home very tense and over stimulating for him.
“His emotions are over the top when we are out in public,” said Nancy Kurre, Xavier’s mother. “There’s too much noise or lights and he can be very happy one minute or sad the next.”
But that changed the first time he entered the new multi sensory environment (MSE) at the United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham (UCP).
“As soon as he walked in the room, you could see the tension in his body melt away which brought tears to my eyes,” said Nancy. “Xavier is non-verbal, but you could see the transformation in him. This room allows him to relax and experience his environment when he can’t do that in the real world.”
The MSEs are designed to promote neurological activity and to encourage relaxation by blocking out noise, controlling the space, temperature and lighting. The white padded room has tubes of water bubbling that changes colors when the child reacts. A huge padded cube can also change color depending on what side is up when the child flips it. Music builds up momentum from the excitement from the child.
“The room is all controlled by the child not a therapist,” said Gary Edwards, CEO of UCP of Greater Birmingham. “It’s amazing to see a child with disabilities who has never smiled in their life and then beam from ear to ear and giggle once they experience the MSE. We’ve even seen children begin to talk, watch negative behavior disappear and heard about reductions in medication.”
The MSE at UCP is the first one in Birmingham and was designed, built, and donated to UCP by the Christopher Douglas Hidden Angel Foundation. The rooms are not as widely known in the United States compared to Europe where it was first developed.
“The Europeans research shows the MSE relieves stress, anxiety and pain for children and adults with disabilities such as autism, brain injury, mental illness and challenging behaviors,” said Sandra Fornes, co-founder of the Christopher Douglas Hidden Angel Foundation. “All the schools in Germany and a majority in Poland have a MSE.”
UCP will be holding a grand opening of the MSE for the public on Thursday, May 26 from 4- 6 p.m. (120 Oslo Circle, Administration Building). From 1-3 p.m., teachers will be given tours and educated about the benefits of the room.
Photo Opportunity
There are two different angles for a photo op:
- Get teacher reaction from 1-3 p.m.
- Interview mother Nancy Kurre with Xavier in the room 4- 6 p.m.
- Representatives from UCP, Christopher Douglas Hidden Angel Foundation and UAB Department of Occupational Therapy will be able for interviews
About Christopher Douglas Hidden Angel Foundation
The Christopher Douglas Hidden Angel Foundation (CDHAF) mission is to enrich the lives, health, and social well-being of people who are neurologically challenged through the use of multi sensory stimulation with the aim to enable productivity, inclusion, independence, and self-determination. Multi Sensory Environments are shown to dramatically improve the quality of life for these individuals and are used in education, therapy, and recreation.
To date CDHAF has build and donated over 35 Multi Sensory Environments serving over 5000 people with disabilities.
Making the sensory make sense
The following article was published in SEN Magazine the UK’s leading magazine for special educational needs.
EGF Polk County DAC
EGF Polk County DAC
East Grand Forks, MI USA
2011
Colisano Children’s Hospital
Colisano Children’s Hospital
Syracuse, NY USA
2011
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