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or infants afflicted with developmental, physiâ€" cal, or communication disabilities, timing is everyâ€" That‘s why the Kidsabiliâ€" ty Centre for Child Developâ€" ment (formerly known as the Rotary Children‘s Cenâ€" tre}) has launched a camâ€" paign with a very simple message: "Kids Can‘t Wait" The goal for this camâ€" paign is to provide the capiâ€" tal that supports the finanâ€" cial needs of the centre and therefore enables the staff to see many more children in the early stages of their development and to access the best resources available to treat their patients. KidsAbility centre kicks off ‘Kids Can‘t Wait Fundraising is almost always a difficult task, but campaign Chairman Harvey Reid is pleased to say that "Kids Can‘t Wait" is on the path to reaching its finanâ€" cial destination. _ . "The goal of KidsAbility‘s ‘Kids Can,t Wait‘ campaign this year is $£800,000," he said. "I‘m happy ta,report that we‘ve now reached 32 per cent of that goal." __ It‘s great news for famiâ€" lies who might benefit from the care provided at the Kidsability Centre, which is committed to helping chilâ€" dren improve their skills and enhance their personal development at an early age. Each year, the centre serves 4,000 children from Waterloo Region and Wellington and Dufferin Counties, but there are stilf those who are unable to receive treatment. If there was ever a young child that could demonâ€" strate the benefits of early intervention, it is threeâ€" yearâ€"old Kâ€"W campaign ambassador Ally Neumann, Cerebral Palsy. Ally and her parents, Bill and Lisa Neumann, were initially placed on the waitâ€" ing list but, thankfully, were able to begin treatment at a relatively early stage in her who suffers from Spastic "We knew there was something going on with her, but we didn‘t know Looking For a New or Preâ€"owned BMW www.bkmotorsgroup.com EXTERIOR PAINKSSTAIN SALE By Vise KHaANNA For the Chronicle SAVE 15% OFF ALL EXTERIOR PRODUCTS For a limited time , you can save 15% off our wide selection of imstock exterior products. Quantities are limited, so hurry in today for best selection of your favorite exterior products! September 15th â€" 27th diagnosed at 18 months. The doctors kind of had an idea at nine months that it might be cerebral palsy, but it‘s really hard to diagnose; every kid develops differentâ€" ly so we just had to wait and Speech language pathologist Norma Williams plays doctor with threeâ€"yearâ€"old Ally Neumann in a speech therapy session at the Kidsability Centre for Child Development. Ally is the centre‘s Kâ€"W Ambassador for the annual "Kids Can‘t Wait" camâ€" paign "We knew there could be a developmental delay because she was two months premature," Lisa added. "They said by the age of two she would probably catch up. When we got the news that she had cerebral palsy, it completely changed "It went from recuperaâ€" tion to where do we go from here because every case is "We honestly don‘t know where Ally would be if she didn‘t get into Rotary." Father of KidsAbility Kâ€"W ambassador different. No two cases are the same." So far, Ally‘s speech and motor skills are progressing at an astonishing rate, surâ€" prising both her therapists and her parents, who were at a complete loss as to how to proceed after their daughter had been diagâ€" "Our initial reaction was devastation," Lisa said. "It was a Dr. Carlisle in London who initially diagnosed her, and she saw Ally recently and said, ‘If you had asked me 18 months ago if she would walk, I‘d have said no. "And here she is, walking at three. She‘s just been Kidsabilty speech lanâ€" guage pathologist Norma "She‘s done amazingly well," she stated simply. "At a year and a half, which is when you‘d expect most children to use at least 10 words, she was having some difficulties coordinatâ€" ing the muscles around her mouth to be able to use PAGE 3 CHRONIC "We introduced sign lanâ€" guage at that point and that really helped her open up her expressive communicaâ€" tion. Speech therapy is not simply about learning to talk, it‘s about learning to communicate. So we looked at other ways to help her communicate that would reduce frustration in her "She took to the sign lanâ€" guage really well and, as she became more capable of using words, the signs were replaced. Now she‘s talking in full sentences and you,d never know that she had a Bill and Lisa are inctediâ€" bly grateful to the Rotarians and everyone at the Kidsability Centre who gave them a place to turn in dealâ€" ing with an affliction they "1 honestly don‘t know where Ally would be if she didn‘t get into Rotary," Bill said, holding back the tears. "We don‘t know how far behind she‘d be." "I doubt she‘d be walking if it wasn‘t for the intervenâ€" knew little about. tion of the Rotary Centre," Lisa added. "It‘s wait and see for kids with CP _ > "Cognitively she doesn‘t seem to be impaired, but that doesn‘t mean she won‘t have learning disabilities later on. She may have trouâ€" ble reading, her fine motor skills are very poor and that‘s going to be a problem when she reaches school. "That‘s what the occupaâ€" tional therapy is working on with her right now â€" how to use a pen, how to hold a crayon or paintbrush â€" so she can hone in on those In order to help children like Ally, not to mention those whose progress has "I doubt she‘d be walking if it wasâ€" n‘t for the interâ€" vention of the Rotary Centre." Mother of KidsAbility Kâ€"W 583 K ing St. N., Waterloo 677 Belmont Are W . Kitchener 1120Victoria St N. Kitchener 330 Gage Ave . Kitchener 245 Edinburgh Rd S _ Guelph vish kHANMNA PHOTO HDECORATING â€"â€"& DESIGN CENTRES â€"â€" "Kids like Ally need therâ€" apy early on, but with our waiting list, there‘s kids waiting four or five months for speech therapy to start," said Williams. "We like to get kids‘ problems identified early so we can start their therapy as soon as possible. "Certainly more staffing would help us get kids in earlier and do more prevenâ€" tative and early intervenâ€" tion. Also, the materials that we use for therapy are crucial to help motivate the kids to take part. The toys really open up joint attenâ€" tion where it‘s exciting for them and they want to open up and share, wanting to tell you about things and wantâ€" ing to play." _ â€" Ally‘s mom hopes people realize how important their donations to the campaign are, and that they‘re aware of what a difference they can make in a young child‘s "At this point, unfortuâ€" nately, we do have a waiting list of mere than 500 chilâ€" dren, which is not a good thing," explained Reid. "The "I think it‘s so sad that kids have to wait for these servicesâ€" it‘s just heartâ€" breaking," Lisa said. "If we didn‘t have the team from Rotary, she wouldn‘t be where she is today. The intervention was critical because she got in early problems that we have include funding from the government, and also the "As a result, one of our challenges is to try and keep ahead of our demand. The sooner we can provide these children with services, the better the end result will be gemmem, and also the that the goiden triangle is growing at such a rapid rate populationâ€"wise as a result of its strong economic the campaign, individuals can call (519) 886â€"8886 ext. 201. For more information, visit www kidsability.ca. To make a donation to (519) 772â€"1127 (519) 578 5130 (519) 576 7576 (519) $764â€"$200 ($19) 836 4731