Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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SPIRIT OF GENEROSITY Schwartz Center CEO Mary M. Hodgson. ABOVE: The Center's offerings include classes on everyday living. BELOW: The Center is one of just a few such institutions in the state outside of Boston. continued from page 58 ocean. "My love of fishing, which I learned from my father, and the search for just the right fundraiser for the Center led me to push for Fishing for a Cause," Schwartz says. "We are hoping to make this a substantial annual event, not only for the Center but for the city of New Bedford, which is the nation's number-one port for commercial fishing." At this year's event, more than 55 anglers will fish for striped bass, bluefish, and fluke in the catch-and-release tournament. The money raised will help the Center provide a range of educational, therapeutic, and social support services to children like Paris. "Since she has been at the Center, Paris has flourished again," says her mother. "She is around other children, her friends, who have disabilities, so she doesn't feel so different." Casmiro's voice swells with pride when she talks about Paris's recent performance with her friends in a play, The Rainbow Fish, at the Center. 60 "Since she has been at the Center, Paris has flourished again. She's around other children with disabilities, so she doesn't feel different." —SANDY CASMIRO Before coming to the Center, starring in a play with her friends wouldn't have been a possibility for Paris. Her new social opportunities—which also include therapeutic horseback riding with her classmates at a farm in Bridgewater and roller skating in a special chair the school found for her—are the result of the Center's extraordinary care and guidance. The Schwartz Center was started by a mother in a situation similar to Casmiro's. Agnes Raposa founded the school in 1947 because her son was born with cerebral palsy and needed constant care. She had to leave her other five children at home and take a bus to Boston four times a week for her son's doctor's appointments. Experiencing firsthand how badly Southeastern Massachusetts needed the same services, Raposa created the Cerebral Palsy Council of Greater New Bedford, which became the region's first educational and treatment organization for children with the disease. As the council's success grew, parents of children with other special needs asked for help, and now the Schwartz Center is open to clients with a range of afflictions—such as autism spec- trum disorders and developmental delays— as well as those who are medically fragile and require feeding tubes. The Center was renamed in 1971 for Dr. Isaac H. Schwartz, founding medical director of the Cerebral Palsy Council. Now guided by the steady hand of CEO Mary M. Hodgson, the Center serves 1,300 children annually, offering instruction during school hours, as well as before- and after-school programs for special-needs students who attend public schools. On average, there are eight to 10 children in each of seven classrooms, so the student-teacher ratio is nearly one-to-one. The Center's students, from newborns to 21-yearolds, have access to speech, physical, and aquatic therapy and can meet with doctors from Boston Children's Hospital and the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center during prearranged clinics. "Going to the clinics saves us time and money [compared to] going into Boston, especially because Paris has so many doctors," says Casmiro. Another hallmark of the Center is its Early Intervention Program, for newborns to 3-yearolds who have been diagnosed with a specific disorder, are delayed in reaching developmental milestones, or are at risk for developmental delays. Ben Kahrl approached the Center five years ago to find additional help for his daughter, Lily, who has global developmental disorder, which results in delays to her fine and gross motor skills. Lily entered the Early Intervention Program at age 3, receiving in-home visits and attending the school until the family moved out of the area recently. "The Center brought us from a place where we really didn't know what to expect, to a place now where at least we know that we will be able to get through the unknown for the rest of Lily's life," says Kahrl. "It gave her more skills, and it gave us the knowledge and confidence to be able to navigate the world with a special-needs child." continued on page 62 PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSH ANDRUS (HODGSON, DOOR) LEFT: BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM 058-062_BC_SP_SoG_LATESSPRING_13.indd 60 4/10/13 10:17 AM