Parent Mentor Wood County

Looking for a fun, supportive, and inclusive recreational activity? TOPSoccer is a free soccer program for children and adults with intellectual, emotional, or physical disabilities. Participants build social skills, teamwork, perseverance, and confidence while enjoying soccer alongside volunteer buddies and peers in a welcoming environment.

The 2026–2027 season begins June 14 and includes outdoor sessions at Schneider Park and indoor sessions at TOCA Dome. All sessions are held from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.

To learn more or join the mailing list, email [email protected]. ⚽️

This year's theme is Creating Pathways to Community Connections and Employment for Students with Complex Support Needs. Transition doesn’t have to feel overwhelming or limiting. It can be a launchpad. This year’s virtual conference is all about what’s possible when we raise expectations, rethink systems, and focus on what students can do – not what they can’t. This conference is designed for anyone who supports students with complex support needs as they prepare for life after school.

2026 Virtual Transition Conference - TransCen, Inc Join colleagues from across the country for this one-day Transition Conference, as we address key questions and chart a path towards re-thinking what quality transition services can look like for individuals with disabilitiies.

Are you worried about your child running away from you or wandering away from home?

This class is designed for caregivers of children with developmental delays or disabilities, including autism.

Learn strategies to reduce the risk of elopement, make your home safer, and help if your child should become lost.

Tuesday, June 2
5:30-7:00pm
Online using Zoom
FREE! Registration is required. See registration link in comments.

Questions:
[email protected]
513-636-2158

To the Mom of a Senior with Special Needs:

Graduation may look a little different than the posts you are scrolling through and you may feel unrelatable, but Momma, you fought a hard fight to get your child where they are today.

While your feed is flooded with typical highlight reels, dorm shopping hauls, and college acceptance letters, your reality might look entirely different. And that can feel incredibly lonely.

To the moms whose seniors aren't packing up for a university, but are instead transitioning into a specialized adult program, taking a gap year to focus on therapies, or proudly preparing to stay right at home with you—your graduate’s milestone is massive.

Our kids didn't just study for finals; they fought for inclusion, worked through sensory overloads, conquered physical barriers, and mastered life skills that aren't tested on an SAT.

And you? You weren't just a parent. You were the advocate, the therapist, the IEP warrior, and the safe harbor.

So if you are looking at all the "typical" posts today and feeling left out, please hear this: You are not alone. Your journey is beautiful, your child's hard work counts, and your fierce, unending love got them to the finish line.

Let’s celebrate the graduates who forge their own paths, and the incredible mamas who walk right beside them.

If you are a special needs mom celebrating a senior this year, please know you’re not alone.

To register: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/txedd9r?source_id=044596b1-26c4-42ae-9fd6-b50962fdfed6&source_type=em&c=BZ-_qxtI50Aj-esbInNp1HUqMuAaqp0lp9JHu720sRZ2j6gfEk4Kng==&source_id=e75a3548-35c5-4549-825a-cf52f339cf9f&source_type=em&c=E2ImDZ7jie74lpXBEJlGMFXNhaBHQnyihN7FPP0mvl2DlYBAOIrjRg==

Happy Mothers Day💖🌷

I want you to know that everything you do matters.

Many of you quietly balance the grief and joy of raising a child with a disability.

When you crawl into bed at night, aching from your temples to your toes, know that you have done enough.

Your child is safe and so loved.

There may have been no progress made with toileting, feeding therapy, or communication today and that is okay.

You may have found yourself recently in a specialist’s office or a pharmacy line, wondering how on earth you landed here: waiting on a little orange bottle that you never imagined your child would rely on to tolerate this world.

Most days are exhausting and thankless and I want you to know that your child appreciates you, they need you, and they love you beyond measure.

You need to know that.

Your child may not be able to express this, some of you may have never even heard your child call you “Mom”. But they know you are Mom.🖤

I want you to know that you are not alone.

When your patience has been depleted.

When you watch your child struggle to find their way in a world that wasn’t quite built to seamlessly include them.

Know that there are so many of us with you.

We feel the grief, too. We understand that it is NEVER about who your child is, but rather grief for their STRUGGLE.

We are in the race, too. The one against time {our own mortality} to support our child in building the most independent and fulfilling life possible.

We have felt the lows and celebrated the victories, too. We know the fear and the worry you wrestle with daily, and the immense pride you feel over the slightest progress.

Let’s bask in achievements and forget about regressions.

Even if only for one day.

Let your hope be stronger than your fears. With so many unknowns in the future, know that it’s going to get better.

I know this because we will grow stronger.

We will continue to learn, to advocate, to protect, and make certain our children know their worth and just how very much they are loved.

I am so thankful for this sisterhood of resilient mothers today and every day.

Xo, Lauren