Making Connections! Families Learn about Resources Available to Students with Disability
Searching through websites and social media for camps and extra-curricular activities perfect for your student can be very time-consuming.
Thanks to a recent Cobb Schools event for students with disability, some parents can check that time-consuming task off their list.
Cobb parent Sabrina Lowery has come to the annual community resource fair for students with disabilities multiple years, and she is never disappointed.
“Each year, I try to find an organization for my son, and this time, he was engaged, and he actually found an organization that he wants to follow up with. It was one of the camps, and it’s more of the outdoor activities. They do forestry and soap making. Anything outdoors is the way for him,” Ms. Lowery explained.
Her son Caleb shared his information with the camp in hopes that he could attend.
“Having just one takeaway out of all the groups, I’m happy for him. It’s overwhelming to navigate the resources,” Ms. Lowery added. “They saved us a step as a parent.”
Derwin Davis also appreciated what he learned at the District event.
“I’m thankful that Cobb County put together a wonderful collaboration of resources and let us know what’s available within our reach to make sure that we have an inclusive approach to educating our children.”
As Mr. Davis browsed the available activities and camps, his son spun and danced around the halls of the Cobb Innovation and Technology Academy (CITA), where the event took place.
Thankfully, the vendors helped make the resource fair fun and inviting for their young guests so their parents could concentrate on making plans.
Parents were not the only ones who attended the resource fair. Teachers like Samantha Forrest gathered information to share with their students’ families who could not attend.
“A lot of our parents weren’t able to come. It’s hard during the work week to kind of make that work. So, I told the parents I would be here getting information on resources and things like that for them,” the Campbell High School educator explained.
Ms. Forrest knows her school families love finding community resources and summer programs that work for their students.
“I’m excited to share with my parents,” Ms. Forrest added. “I think it’s amazing. It’s not easy to Google things and find resources for our kids. It’s important for [our students] to be included and for them to have opportunities like this. So having this where everything’s localized, and they can come and learn about all the different resources is really important, and I love it.”
For families who were not able to attend the resource fair, these are some of the vendors who have opportunities for students with disabilities:
Ability to Groove | CK Danceworks | Gigi’s Playhouse | Songs for Kids |
Acworth Horizon | Cobb County Aquatics | Great Prospects | Southern Museum |
Aerie Experience | Cobb County Public Library | Hand Hoof Heart | Special Needs Kids Day at the Lake |
Alliance Theatre | Cobb County Special Olympics | Illuminarium | Special Pops Tennis |
Alternative Baseball Org | Cobb Parks Cultural Affairs | Inneractions | Speed for Need |
Atlanta Braves | Cobb County Therapeutic Recreation | Kennesaw P&R | State Farm Arena |
Atlanta Dance Central | College Football Hall of Fame | Lekotek | Studio Movie Grill |
Autism Improvised | Erin’s Hope | McClesky YMCA Sports | Tellus |
BlazeSports America | Extra Special People | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | The STEAM Generation |
Booth museum | Georgia Aquarium | Puppetry Arts | Therabeat |
Breakthrough | Georgia Ballet | Shine Sports | Upward Basketball Challenger |
BSDT Taekwon-do | Georgia Golf | Six Flags/White Water | Way2Play |
Children’s Museum of Atlanta | Georgia Symphony | Sloomoo Institute | Zoo Atlanta |