"Free Friday Night Live" at Imagine Children's Museum

Great news for parents: Imagine Children's Museum in Everett, "Best Museum for Kids" by Nickelodeon Parent's Picks and Seattle Magazine is now featuring FREE admission 5:30-9:00pm the 3rd Friday of every month. For more information about the museum, click HERE.

Gross Motor Movement with Fun Activites can Stimulate Language Production

Gross motor movement, coupled with fun activities, can help language production for children who have verbal communication challenges. The home video below (featuring a Clear Speech client interacting with his sister) shows a young child’s first attempts at verbalizing when prompted with the promise of a highly-motivating, exciting activity. It can be very encouraging for a child to be rewarded for their attempts at language, even if their pronunciation is far from typical. It’s often very difficult for children with communication challenges to form sounds and words; focusing on meaningful play acts as a reinforcement and helps create a desire to keep trying and, ultimately, to be successful.

Challenge Air for Kids and Friends

Did you know that Challenge Air for Kids & Friends, a non-profit organization, provides special opportunities for children with disabilities and their two special guests to fly in a small private plane for a 30 minute flight around areas of Puget Sound?

Once a year, the Castle & Cook Hangar at Paine Field in Everett is tranformed into a carnival-like atmosphere where participants and their families can enjoy themselves before and after their special flight.

Private pilots offer their skills and use of their small aircraft so children with disablities can experience the freedom of flight.

Participants can forget the challenges of their disability as they gain a new perspective when they soar through the skies.

As quoted from the Challenge Air website: "Any child or youth living with a physical disability or life-threatening illness may pre-register for the program. Here is a list of qualifying examples: Spinal Cord Injury Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Multiple Sclerosis, Downs Syndrome, Spina Bifida, Autism, Cancer, Leukemia, Sight/Hearing Impaired, and others."

Visit the Challenge Air for Kids and Friends website for more information for becoming a participant, pilot, or volunteer. http://challengeair.com/