From April 2-11, eleven SLDC staffers were in Ireland to share information with educators and parents eager to help their special education students. They have returned safely to the US and are back hard at work at SLDC.

Well hope you all got back safely and the journey wasnt too bad.  I would just like to thank you again for the bottom of my heart for all you have done for so many Irish Families during the last week.  I really feel you have made a difference to many many lives. I was so proud to be part of such a great event.  I hope the hectic schedule I set out wasn't too much for you all.  There was a lot to fit in, during such a short space of time!  You all worked so hard to make this event such a great success, and I hope you enjoyed the Irish experience.  You exceeded our expectations, I really hope that your visit to Ireland exceeded yours.
 
Love always
Jean x

See below for the daily updates as SLDC was presenting in Ireland.

Comments from parents who attended SLDC's presentation of

Hi Jean,

I just wanted to write and say Thank you for organizing the SLDC trip to Ireland. It was just brilliant. I came away feeling so much more informed and and upbeat about being able to help my little girl. The workshops were really informative and the people pretty amazing. I was able to ask questions and got them answered which was even better and makes a nice change. I would love one day to bring my Family over to SLDC as I think it would be a place that would be of benefit to my 3 kids but for now at least I got to get a feel of the place and what they are about. I also came away wondering why we can't create something similar in Ireland? Anyway that's another day's work.You'll probably never really know the help you gave so many parents and how appreciated it is but from me and my little girl Jane, Thank you!!

I attended your week long conference in Ennis last week! It was fantastic! I learned loads. The SLDC were brilliant. Some ideas I can implement at home OT, Swimming, Behavioral, Speech etc. They were great fun too. Thanks again to the Clare Crusaders & the Irish parents who went to SLDC for bringing this to Ireland ...and thanks to the SLDC for the great lectures, great notes and energetic personalities that both educated and at times entertained us too. Forever grateful 

   After years of Irish families coming to SLDC to find appropriate services for their special needs students, a team of SLDC staff members has headed to Ireland to present workshops, seminars and demonstrations for parents, educators and therapists. 
   Jean Maguire, mother of the most recent Irish student at SLDC, returned to Ireland and rallied the members, friends and supporters of the Clare Crusaders to raise funds to bring a slate of SLDC staff members to Ireland to share information and resources.

TEAM IRELAND: (l to r) Ben Rogriguez, David Cavanaugh, Trish Pfeiffer, Gina Prado, Gretchen Reynolds, Malena Clements, Dawn O'Connor, Sally McClelland. Not pictured: Jerry Lindquist, Sara Jones, Evelyn Del Rosario.

How will you spend your spring break? For 11 SLDC staff members, the destination is Ireland, but there won’t be much vacationing . . . this will be a working trip.

Speech and Language Development Center, which, at times, struggles for recognition in its own Southern California backyard, has something of an international reputation – especially in Ireland.

SLDC has specifically helped nine Irish families who have children with special needs.

The first were the Lehanes. Then, the Lynchs, the Mullarkeys, the Dodds, the Redferns, the O’Malleys, the Careys, the Rattigans and mos

See SLDC Staff self-introductions on YouTube

t recently the McGuires . 

The Maguire family, visited SLDC last year. Jean and Barry Maguire, who had heard about SLDC through another Irish family, the Lynchs, thought that SLDC might help their son, Daniel. While Daniel attended SLDC, his sister and brother enrolled in SLDC’s Jolin reverse-inclusion program. It was here the Maguires became friends with Jolin Preschool Supervisor Malena Clements.

“We often talked about the need for parent education and professional networking in Ireland,” said Clements. “Little did I know Jean Maguire would do something about it.”

Download a copy of the program brochure   "Advanced Approaches for Caring for Children with Special Needs"

But when Jean Maguire returned to Ireland, she got busy. She contacted the Clare Crusaders. They, in turn, helped fund the upcoming educational exchange.

The Clare Crusaders was formed in 2005 by Howard Flannery to help children with special needs in the areas of Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Down syndrome, and a variety of other conditions. It has a clinic in Barefield, County Clare, Ireland, with six therapists providing speech therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy to 120 children - free of charge.

The Clare Crusaders staff agreed to host Advanced Approaches for Caring for Children with Special Needs from April 6 – 9, 2010. Thanks to the Clare Crusaders children’s charity, 11 SLDC staff members will present a series of workshops to parents and teachers of children with special needs. Topics include: living with a child with special needs, vocabulary development and communication, how to manage behavior at home and in the classroom, sensory processing, reading and homework skills, and teaching social communication skills.

“We look forward to seeing how we can fit our ideas and methods into the Irish culture and educational system,” said Clements.

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