Hello, hello!

Sorry I didn’t get to you yesterday; I was having technical difficulties. We had a fabulous Thursday! We were surprised to be quickly shuttled into a press conference upon arriving at the OMNI center yesterday morning. They had arranged for a TV crew and several reporters to interview us. They asked many questions about the organization and our partnership. They also asked critical questions about autism: In the states, are they educated in regular schools? Where do children with autism receive services here? Is this a real problem? Etc. It’s always interesting to see what they actually report, but their awareness level is definitely rising and they don’t seem to be as afraid to tell the truth. I’m hoping we can get a translated copy of the article.

The last day of our conference, and the conference as a whole, was a tremendous success. On the last day we had 86 people present. At the end, they delivered 82 certificates to those participants that had been present all four days. It was extraordinary. Our behavior presentation went well. I was very comfortable speaking this time and was able to be more animated and even walk around as opposed to Monday when I was afraid to leave my notes. We didn’t have much time in the afternoon to make our visual supports, but we managed to get one thing done that’s actually 6 in 1. Afterwards I trained all the teachers of Pahinets how to use the Boardmaker program USNOF purchased for them. We were able to successfully change the language to Ukrainian and now they’ll be able to make their own visuals.

We had a great debriefing session with Lubov and have already started working on ideas for next year. The head doctor joined us and we spoke in more detail about the Child Development Center. This center is incredibly important to me. This is the start of great change in the field of special education in Ukraine. If the Board approves this project and we’re able to successfully secure funding then I’ve volunteered to be the director/program manager for the Child Development Center (coordinating on behalf of USNOF). Progress is happening and it’s amazing to be apart of it.

Dianne and I were surprised at how exhausted we felt once the conference was over. We’re ready to come home and look forward to whatever R & R we can get. We had a great time visiting the baby house this morning and then doing some shopping this afternoon. The baby house always breaks my heart, but I was pleased to hear that the President of Ukraine has started a program, within the last year or so, for foster care and adoption. The government is also providing more financial support to those families that have a child with special needs and now more children are remaining with their families rather than being placed in an orphanage, therefore, the numbers are decreasing somewhat. Since this is my fourth year here I wasn’t too interested in purchasing souvenirs so I went on a hunt for wedding shoes. (They have some great shoes here)!  And I’m happy to say that on my wedding day I’ll walk down the aisle with shoes purchased in Ukraine. )

We spent a lovely evening talking to Victor over dinner. You can always count on him to make our hearts burn and practically burst with even more passion for this project. We leave Rivne early tomorrow morning and will start the long trip home. Happy Fourth of July!!!!