When Pam Hense’s youngest son Erik was born with special needs, she wasn’t sure where to turn when he reached school age. She wasn’t sure if her son could attend the district elementary school. Nor did she have any past experience or exposure to what school would look like for a child with Erik’s challenges.
“It’s a different parenting journey when you have a child who’s born with special needs,” says Hense, who is co-president of the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Learning Differences Association (LFLBLDA), along side Tracy Barrett and Vicki Stach. “It can be very lonely and isolating when you have a child who can’t follow the traditional path most children take.”
For Hense, it was the sense of community and support she found when she joined the LFLBLDA that significantly changed things for her.
“It was so reassuring to join a group that had experience with the resources we were going to need. They knew doctors; they knew counselors; and they knew how things worked once your child reached school age,” she says. “And everyone was more than willing to share their stories with me as we all collectively figured things out.”
The LFLBLDA is a nonprofit organization where parents, educators, and professionals come together to support, educate, and provide resources for children in every school throughout the community, including Lake Forest and Lake Bluff public schools, The School of Saint Mary, and Lake Forest Country Day School. They believe that every child learns differently and is able to be successful given the right tools and opportunities.
The Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Learning Differences Association hosts Spring Marché at The Lake Forest Club on April 26—a day of shopping to benefit the lives of all students in all of the community’s schools. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR
Since its founding in 1988, LFLBLDA has awarded more than $370,000 in “Make a Difference” grants. For 2017-2018, the association awarded $25,000 in grants that included an extensive catalogue of leveled reading books for Cherokee, Everett, and Sheridan Elementary Schools; equipment for a sensory suite at Lake Forest Country Day School, similar to the sensory suites awarded in past years to Deer Path Middle School and Lake Bluff Middle School; and a MobilityWorks wheelchair lift kit for one of the new vans at Lake Forest High School. The organization also grants programs that raise awareness, compassion, and understanding between students with obvious learning challenges and those without. “We aim to change not only the learning method for these LD students, but also the perception within the community of those that appear ‘different,’” she adds.
“I think of ourselves as these little warriors,” says Hense of the organization. “We don’t have big dollars, but what we do have goes to support a broad array of children in the community, those with and without special needs. I want our entire community to know we are fighting to make the entire school experience better for all children who struggle, not just our own. We are here to listen, offer our experience, and help guide parents new to this journey to successfully navigate through the process.”
The LFLBLDA board has done extensive research on learning differences and has concluded that nearly 25 percent of the local student population has a learning challenge.
“This number was staggering to me when I heard it because for an issue that touches so many lives, people still act as if there is a stigma attached to learning differently,” she explains. “My personal goal is to eliminate this stigma. We all learn differently. There should be no embarrassment experienced by the family nor any shame felt by the student. We need to do away with stereotypes and embrace the uniqueness and potential of each child. We want the children and their parents to know that these kids are smart, talented, and resourceful.”
Every other year, the LFLBLDA hosts Spring Marché, a day of shopping, raffle items, and lunch where all proceeds go to fund the LFLBLDA’s “Make A Difference” grant program. This year the event will take place on Thursday, April 26, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Lake Forest Club.
“Spring Marche will be a great time to shop for Mother’s Day gifts or find something for the graduate in your life,” Hense says. “Your support of this event will change lives.”
To learn more about LFLBLDA or to purchase tickets on line to Spring Marché, visit lflblda.com.
