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C8 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, August 8, 2001 1 0 1 1 U p p e r M id d le H o a d E a s t ' Uf»tM»«a t t a k v i l l t t S h o t it iiit t ) C e n li- « ` Arts & Entertainment Oakville Beaver A&E Editor: Carol Baldwin 845-3824 (Ext. 254); Fax: 337-5567; E-mail: baldwin@haftonsearch.com (9 0 S ) 3 3 7 -8 S 2 Z Yellow Brick Road led to self-expression Self-awareness is encouraged for disabled students through drama By Kathryn Wade SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER T he McNeill household was a little nois ier than usual this spring. Son Scott, 14, who is disabled and can't talk, was practising his roar for his role as the Cowardly Lion in the Erinoak Children's Treat ment Centre production of The Wizard o f Oz in June. "Every week he would let us hear his differ ent roars, and show us his Cowardly Lion moves," said his mother, Norma. "He always came home from drama practice with a smile on his face." That sm ile was im portant to O akville's McNeill family, including Scott's sisters Julia, 10 and Regan, 8. It meant that Scott - who walks with difficulty, has poor vision, and can't use words or even sign language because o f his dis abilities - had found a way to express himself. "He had not been feeling well," explains Norma. "He was tired and was showing signs of discomfort such as facial grimacing and drool ing. But as soon as he went to drama, that Allison Donally as the Tin Man, Catherine Vertolli as Scarecrow and Oakville's Scott McNeill as the Cowardly Lion strutted their stuff stopped completely. He walked with a sprightly in Erinoak Children's Treatment Centre production of The Wizard o f Oz in June. gait down the hall to drama, and was never too "Scott's energy brought the character out," explains the children the power to change or reconstruct events tired to go." Stmad. "He was so inspired by the character that vari for themselves. One of the Munchkins, who would not Danielle Carter-Stmad, who runs the drama program ous sounds, especially the roar, came out. Lots of com share her feelings with the others, even in circle when at Erinoak, says that Scott is a perfect example of the munication was happening, although it was non-ver- we passed around Mr. Happy, grew to being one of the impact that drama can have on people with disabilities. bal." leaders in the group by expressing herself through DramaWorks, a 10-week program designed to help The 11 children in the Erinoak spring program used dance. And the girl who played Dorothy already loved people with special needs explore their experiences and pantomime, improvisation, creative movement and the to express herself, but came up with some of the most themselves through drama, helps children like Scott atre games to develop communication, group dynamics dramatic moves I've ever seen." learn to express themselves and communicate in their and social skills. Erinoak, a leading children's treatment centre, pro own ways. "Drama is a wonderful tool," says Stmad. "It gives vides care and treatment for children with physical, developmental and communication challenges living in Halton and Peel regions. Sensitized to the chal lenges that growing up with a disability brings, Eri noak staff have developed programs to support young people and their parents on the road to adulthood. "There's a huge gap in social and recreational activ ities for adolescents with disabilities," explains Eri noak CEO, Linda Rothney. "As with many of our activities,' the drama group began in response to com ments from parents, who would like their children to have the opportunities that other teens have." "Doing anything with a disabled child becomes a major event," says Norma. "I had to investigate special swim diapers to take Scott swimming. Even getting into a church pew is sometimes a nightmare. I thought that things would get easier as he got older, but there are even fewer services, and fewer opportunities for him to be just `one o f the guys.' "As a parent, I appreciated Scott being able to do something that he is interested in and that he could share with his sisters," she explains. "Scott sees his sisters go to music classes and dance lessons. He attends their dance and piano recitals. With the drama group, we watched him. He got to shine." Stmad says that Erinoak is very supportive of the drama program and recently received an Ontario Tril lium Foundation grant in the amount o f $375,000 to fund a Transitions to Adulthood Program and a Drama Program. O f that five-year grant, $54,123 will cover a range o f drama activities that may be accessed by chil dren with special needs in both Halton and Peel Regions. She is also hoping to offer the DramaWorks pro gram to younger children at Erinoak. "M ost of the time, people are helping these children and they struggle daily to keep up," Stmad says. "At the end of the production, the children were ecstatic, giving each other high-fives and hugs. They had a chance to be stars, be the professionals, and be in the limelight. Everyone came to see them and they fully enjoyed it." Erinoak is currently making a difference in the lives o f close to 6,000 children and young adults in Peel and Halton Regions, with the challenges of various chron ic conditions, such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, mus cular dystrophy, traumatic injury, and so on. Erinoak also provides preschool speech and lan guage services to young children in both regions and manages a preschool autism program for 300 children in Halton, Peel, Waterloo, Wellington, Dufferin. An infant hearing screening program will soon be launched in these regions as well. For more information about Erinoak programs, con tact the Family Support Services Department at 905820-7111, ext. 2303. - r WHEN: Friday, September 7th from 10:00am to 6:00pm and Saturday, Septem ber 8 th from 10:00am to 6:00pm. r T h e W HERE: Metro Toronto Convention Centre North Building, conveniently located in downtown Toronto at 255 Front Street West, beside the CN Tower T o ronto St a r Don't miss Canada's largest Retirement Living Forum! Meet Exhibitors offering products and services for your lifestyle including information on Housing, Health, Finance, Travel, Insurance, Entertainment and more! Enjoy FREE sem inars, w orkshops an d presen ta tions covering a variety o f topics at this year's Fall Show. R etirem ent H ousing Forum is p rese n ted by For ever Young colum nist P.J. Wade. O u r retire m en t housing ex p e rt will p rese n t daily semi nars o n choosing th e rig h t retirem en t housing op tio n s for yourself o r your parents. 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