FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: Sunday, November 21, 2004 (Miami Herald)
CONTACT: Debbie Abrams
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HOLIDAY MOVIE
SPECIAL-NEEDS KIDS GET OWN SCREEENING
In an enchanting twist of fate, special-needs kids get a VIP viewing of the new holiday movie, The Polar Express.
BY YVONNE CAREY
Special to The Herald
Coordinating schedules and preferences when taking the whole family out to a movie can be challenging under ordinary circumstances. But when you are the parent of a special-needs child, the activity is almost impossible.
Last weekend, however, the Family Club from Dimensions Therapy Center in Davie, which provides speech, occupational and computer-based therapies for children with special needs, hosted a special private screening of the new computer-animated holiday movie The Polar Express.
Private screenings are not a luxury, said Valerie Herskowitz, director of the center. They are a necessity. The first thing she asks of the theater is to lower the volume, which can disturb children with sensory problems.
''Basically, we can't take our kids to the movies, ever, until this event,'' said Herskowitz, whose son, Blake, 13, is autistic. ``We'd be kicked out of the theater. They make funny noises that are loud and they sometimes have to get up and run around a bit.''
More than 100 people attended the fourth annual event, which, for the first time, was sponsored by a major corporation. By a stroke of luck, Herskowitz's brother-in-law is Jack Rapke, producer of The Polar Express. He and his company, Imagemovers, got Warner Bros. to rent out an entire theater at Sawgrass Mills Regal 23 Cinema in Sunrise.
Beth Cleary, principal of the special education program at Paladin Academy in Pembroke Pines, attended the event and said it was the best thing for parents who may not know how to handle their special-needs child in public.
The movie, adapted from author Chris Van Allsburg's much-loved book about a pre-adolescent boy who begins to doubt the existence of Santa Claus, is full of lessons about kindness and determination.
Cooper City resident Lina Gil-McCool said her family, which has two special-needs kids, Alexis, 3, and Nathan, 13, always uses this event to ring in the holidays.
''This is our day together to begin our holiday season. We come to the show, then go shopping, and have dinner out. It's special for us,'' she said.
Herskowitz also has started a night out for Mothers of Special Needs Individuals (MOSI), which provides a night off for mothers. Last month, the group went out for dinner and manicures.
Dimensions Therapy Center is at 12545 Orange Dr., Davie. For information, call 1-800-997-7332 or 954-236-9415. |
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