Families of Children Under Stress

Summer camps & Children's activities focus offers a highly rated, adapted summer day camp program for Children with various types of disabilities. Focus day camp staff includes special educators, paraprofessionals, nurses, and music therapists to ensure the care that each camper needs is provided. In 2023, focus offered eight weeks of camp hollywood, an in-person summer day camp program, in locations across metro atlanta. 220 campers participated in the camp hollywood summer day camp program in 2023. Campers enjoyed arts, crafts, cooking, science, recreation, and music therapy based on popular Children's movie themes. In surveys conducted after camp, 98% of parents rated that they were extremely satisfied with staff attentiveness to their child's needs. The focus adaptive swim team (fast fins) is the only recreational swim league of its kind in the metro atlanta area, specifically designed for Children with developmental and physical disabilities at various levels of proficiency. In 2023, fast fins held two, eight-week sessions in five metro atlanta settings with 52 swimmers participating in the fall session and 62 swimmers participating in the spring session. Parents of swimmers reported that their Children developed skills in the water and improved their overall fitness. Focus also provided the extra special saturday respite program in 2023, providing specialized childcare for Children with disabilities and medically complex conditions ages 1-12 years old. This program also provided parents and caregivers with an important break from their regular childcare duties. In 2023, 46 Children participated in the extra special saturday respite program. Teen & young adult activities focus organizes a social group for teens and young adults (tyas) with disabilities to help build independence and friendships. In 2023, 144 participants developed strong social connections and meaningful relationships with one another as they took part in monthly activities such as bowling, baseball, yoga, and more. The mercer university doctor of physical therapy program also partners with focus in tya activities for service learning, enhancing the experience for those involved. Focus teens and young adults with disabilities also attended focus' 6-day, 5-night outdoor camp held at camp twin lakes in july. 100% of campers reported improving their feelings of belonging by attending camp and reported they would like to return to focus camp. Focus also provided a fall weekend camp in october 2023, where many tyas experienced their first night away from home and family.

Family activities and retreats because Families who have Children with disabilities often find it difficult to participate in community activities, focus sponsors wheelchair accessible, family-friendly activities each year. In 2023, focus held nine family activities for its network and connected 2,073 family members with others at focus family activities and camps. Focus Families attended days at six flags over Georgia, the Georgia aquarium, and the atlanta botanical gardens. Other community events included a costume party and barbeque with the knights of columbus at holy cross church, and a holiday party hosted by focus and lekotek in december. Focus ensures that the Families who attend its family events have a welcoming and memorable experience tailored to the abilities and needs of their Children. Camp twin lakes was the site of two focus family retreats in 2023, one in april and another in august. Children with disabilities and their Families spent 3-days and 2-nights participating in archery, rock climbing, and bike riding with adapted equipment specifically designed for Children with disabilities. Families rode in paddle boats, went fishing and swimming, played field sports, and were able to visit the camp twin lakes working farm. Families also enjoyed community building activities. In surveys taken after each retreat, more than of Families reported that they felt more confident to face challenges at home as a result of attending family camp.

Grants and loans of medical equipment focus provides grants towards the purchase of prescribed medical equipment for Children in need that medicaid and private insurance will not cover. Supportive seating and/or therapeutic strollers help Children who do not sit or walk independently interact with their peers and their community. Many Children also need modifications and/or specialized equipment to go upstairs (stair lifts), get out of bed, or get into a van (wheelchair accessible vehicle modification). The focus equipment review committee comprised of physicians, nurses, physical therapists, and social workers, reviews applications quarterly from Families. The committee considers the physical and medical needs of the child as well as the Families' income and resources to approve or deny the application. In 2023, focus spent 112,091 to purchase critical equipment for Children with medical complexities. A large portion of that sum was for permanent grants, such as the modification of a vehicle to make it wheelchair accessible. The remainder included purchase of equipment, such as feeding chairs or therapeutic strollers, which Children will outgrow and return to the "loaned equipment library." In follow-up assessments, parents rated the provision of the needed equipment by focus as "life-changing" in terms of functionality and mobility.

Parent and family support and information focus continues to use its informative and mobile-friendly website (www.focus-ga.org) to provide resources to Families. Focus is also active on social media and interacts with parents and friends on facebook, instagram, and linkedin @focuskidsga. Focus posts photos from events as well as posts conveying the impact its programs have on participants. It also hosts a dozen "closed" (not open to the public) facebook pages for parents in support groups, either by location or need, so that they can communicate privately at any time. During 2023, focus coordinated and provided 20 educational workshops for parents on topics related to raising a child with a disability. These workshops were recorded and are archived on the focus website (www.focus- ga.org) for Families to watch at any time. Workshop topics included early intervention, special education, being a sibling to those with disabilities, guardianship, wills and trusts, and more. The focus annual educational conference was held in-person in january 2023. The education conference connects parents to resources and allows them to build and expand their community by meeting others parenting a child with a disability. Over 100 parents attended the 2023 annual education conference, and all conference workshops were recorded and archived on the focus website. Speakers included physicians, speech-language pathologists, social workers, attorneys, educational experts, and more. Focus coordinates parent support groups, as well as a group for bereaved focus parents. The trained parent volunteer leaders of these groups guide participants in conversation as they network with others. Support groups in 2023 were held in-person in 10 locations around the greater metro atlanta area, and one group was held virtually to reduce barriers to participation. Parents report that talking with others helped them manage their emotions and build community while parenting a child with a disability. Focus delivered its periodic newsletter, the viewfinder, electronically to more than 8,000 contacts in 2023, which included Families, professionals, and friends. Parents shared that reading viewfinder newsletters is one of their favorite ways to find commonalities with other focus Families. Focus maintains community volunteers on call to visit Families when Children are hospitalized at Children's healthcare of atlanta hospitals for surgery or illness. Staff and volunteers brought gifts, sent notes of encouragement, and made visits to 38 Families in need in 2023. Focus also hosted monthly dinners for parents of Children in the technology-dependent intensive care unit (ticu) at scottish rite and visited with Families there. Focus also stocked the "snack cart" in the ticu to provide support and encouragement during a difficult time. Focus provided gifts and grocery certificates to 69 Families of Children with disabilities in need during the holidays. Partners fulfilling family wish list items included all saints episcopal church, st. elias antiochian orthodox church, and cooper carry, as well as several individual focus friends and donors.