A very special place for those in Carlow with special needs

1/21/2002 - By: Suzanne Pender

FROM EVERY classroom in Holy Angels Day Care Centre, Strawhall Industrial Estate, Carlow, the sound of happy laughter emanates. Children busily having fun yet progressing enormously under an ethos of understanding and warmth.

It’s all a far cry from the horrendous visions of Romanian children with special needs in dilapidated orphanages, or the Ireland of old where children with disabilities were isolated from society. Holy Angels Day Care Centre is simply worlds apart.

At the centre, children are encouraged to participate, progress and enjoy the homely feeling the centre exudes.

Established in 1978 by Sr Columba in the base-ment rooms of Carlow’s old district hospital, the centre was established to provide a service to the children of the county with special needs.

Up to that point, young children with special needs really had no alternative within the county and their progression largely fell onto their unprepared parents.

Sr Colomba was invaluable to the centre at the outset and remained a tireless presence in a voluntary capacity at the centre until 1991. Other people who helped establish Holy Angels were nurses Maud Lacey and Doris Day who both retired in the early 90s.

In 1991, Geraldine Connell became the first manager of the Holy Angels as the centre moved further under the umbrella of the health board. Currently, the centre also has two additional nurses, two hydrotherapy staff, six care workers and two drivers, all creating a busy and active atmo-sphere within the centre.

Geraldine is quick to point out however that the Holy Angels simply wouldn’t function without the constant support of FÁS and the 13 people who work on community employment schemes.

The Holy Angels currently has 17 children in the school, aged between two and six years. The school covers the entire county with two buses on the road constantly to collect and return the children every day.

Such is the huge demand on their services that there is a waiting list due to the lack of space but Geraldine is confident that this delay is shortening all the time.

“We are mainly funded through the health board up to approximately 80%, then we fundraise for the additional 20%,” explains Geraldine.

“Funding is improving all the time however and I couldn’t fault the health board but hopefully sometime it will get to 100%.

“There is a big drain on our resources so fundraising is very important. We fundraise through our flag day and the ladies mini marathon.”

The centre is divided into four distinct groups based on the age of the children, from the tiny tots and busy beavers to the jumping jacks and the alphabet land group, who are ready to move onto to “big” school.

The special needs of all the children at the school vary but all do have a learning disability, which requires special learning practices.

Body awareness is encouraged through individual physiotherapy or swimming while speech and language is also a central aspect. Personal development whether learning a new skill or improving communication skills is also part of the programme.

Geraldine is a firm believer in early intervention and the enormous difference this can make to a child.

“The younger we get them, the better progress they make, I see that all the time,” she enthused.

One thing that’s immediately apparent at the Holy Angels is the wonderful attachment staff have to the children and vice versa. For the children, the Holy Angels is really a home away from home.

In every classroom The Nationalist visited, staff really knew how to bring the best out of every child and the deep affection and understanding felt was immediately apparent.

Beaming smiles and a wonderful sense of relaxation was felt with the opening of every door in every classroom.

“We become very attached to them all. They are wonderful children and they become very much part of the place,” Geraldine smiles.

The Holy Angels Day Care Centre never rests on its laurels, however, and there are plans to look into the possibility of establishing a respite facility under the auspices of the Holy Angels within the county.

“There isn’t a respite facility at the moment in the county and there’s a huge demand among families, who don’t want residential care but may want short breaks from time to time for particular reasons,” Geraldine explains.

“That is something we will be examining in the future.”

Geraldine is extremely grateful to the Carlow public for the continuing support and assistance.

“Everyone is very good to us. Recently people have been dropping up with buckets of coins as part of our recent fundraiser and it’s very much appreciated,” she added.