Dear Friends,
Happy spring! As you’ll read below, CMEE has plenty going on this season! As part of our effort to make all families welcome at the Museum, CMEE is planning to adapt its “Get Creative” programs so that they are also accessible to families with special needs. Our pilot program takes place in celebration of “Earth Day” on Saturday, April 21 when children can make their very own bird feeders. Special education staff will be on hand to help facilitate the program.
There’s an enormous need for arts and cultural organizations in the East End to serve children with special needs. A recent study by the American Academy of Pediatrics reported that 1 in 6 children have a developmental disability. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, autism rates have increased particularly quickly, jumping 78 percent over the previous five years and requiring more health and education services.
Thanks to the advice of Kim Covell from the Flying Point Foundation for Autism, CMEE is adapting its current programming to serve everyone rather than creating a separate program just for children with special needs. We’re also grateful to Cynthia McKelvey and the East End Special Education Parent Teacher Organization for the work they’re doing to connect families with special education resources.
Ensuring that everybody’s welcome at CMEE is central to our mission “to enrich the lives of children and families and strengthen the East End community by promoting learning through play.” If you have a recommendation for increasing access to CMEE, please email or call me at the Museum.
I hope to see you soon at CMEE!
Sincerely,
Stephen Long
Executive Director