Help autistic orphans in Romania get an education

Dear Friends,

What a joy it was to be in Barlad during the last weeks in September! Our CEO, Laura Larkin, myself, and our newest Board member, Kyle Arney,  were thrilled to be back with our special kids and team. We were especially thrilled to be joined by another volunteer, Luisa, who has been by our side in helping the children since the early days when we first opened the doors to Delia's Center for Special Needs Kids. It was amazing to share the work of The Delia Foundation with Luisa and the kids were so happy to have her spend time reading, singing and dancing with them!  Our autistic children who are non-verbal and have a love of music could not wait to dance. It is always heartwarming as these children have a tough time interacting with their peers but when we turn on the music, the barriers melt away!

As the school year kicks off, we are so proud of kids who are now able to attend school. It has been slow but steady progress with our youngest learners whom we work so hard with in order to lay the foundation for them to have a chance at being in a mainstream school. Our speech and language therapist, Iuliana, continually works hard with them and we now have children who never spoke before who are now speaking a little and, importantly, learning to communicate their needs. Gabi, our young child educator, has made wonderful inroads in improving the behavior of many of the children. When they come to us, the level of frustration is often so high and families and foster families don't know how to help the kids regulate their behavior so these children literally only know how to communicate by screaming. With time, patience, and love, we have seen so many positive changes. Our oldest children with autism are teens (15 and 16-years old) and these girls have had to contend with stigmatism and isolation in the classroom, as well as teachers who don't know how to educate them according to their needs. Carmen, our social worker, focuses, on homework help, basic education and socialization activities. While these teens are in a classroom (one a special school for kids with severe disabilities and the other a high school for music and art), neither have basic math skills typical for elementary and beginning middle school students.

Below are some photos to share and yes, please notice our new amazing space!

As always, if you want to chat or have any questions, please email me at lauren@deliafoundation.org

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Best,

Lauren Fishbach

U.S. Board President, Co-Founder, Delia's Center for Special Needs Kids

And special thank you from

Laura Larkin, CEO and Co-Founder

David Conway, Co-Founder and Trustee, Association of Delia's Friends UK