Imagine for a moment that you’re nearing retirement when, suddenly, an adult child dies, leaving you with four children to raise. That’s the situation in which Dorothy Henderson found herself in 2003. She participates in the SEDOL Foundation-sponsored “Grandparents Raising Children” group, and one of those four children is her grandson Hevin, a student at SEDOL for the last 6 years.

Dorothy says “Grandparents Raising Children” is “like family.” She related a story of another woman in the group who had just assumed responsibility for her daughter’s children. “She was devastated, overwhelmed, saying, ‘what on earth am I going to do?’ We embraced her and helped her through it. And the friendships we make here are carried over outside the group.”

Jonas Hughes has found a special place and refuge for himself at SEDOL’s Gages Lake School: the library, funded in large part by the SEDOL Foundation in support of their “literacy-rich classrooms” initiative.

A SEDOL student since first grade, Jonas says, “a book is special because when you read it, you can imagine you’re in a new place… that’s so much fun!”

Another bright spot in Jonas’ day is spending time with his high school mentor. The Warren High School mentor program is another SEDOL Foundation initiative, pairing SEDOL students with high school students interested in providing friendship, guidance, and support. Jonas says his mentor is “really nice, really kind, and has helped me through some hard times.”

Preparing students who are capable to make a successful transition to work and more independent living is a critical SEDOL objective. Bobby Borgula has worked at the VA Hospital during the school year and at Great America in the summer. The SEDOL Foundation supplies transportation and supports the services of a “job coach” who works with him on customer service, teamwork, and other transferable job skills.

Bobby loves his work, and gaining skills and navigating a work environment has helped him mature and made real the prospect of holding a job as an adult. Having real world responsibilities and feeling productive has also provided a major boost to his self-esteem.

Bobby also belongs to CUFF (“Connecting & Uniting for Friendship”), an after-school Foundation-sponsored activity that brings together high-functioning autistic and Asperger’s kids. Bobby says, “that’s where most of my friends are,” which makes sense since young adults with his handicap have difficulty interacting with peers and developing friendships. Bobby’s mom, Patti, says that “watching him interact with other CUFF kids is a revelation! I’m so relieved they can make this connection.”

José Carillo has been at John Powers School since 2002, beginning at age 3. He’s profoundly deaf, but received cochlear implants at age 5. His mother Evelia has been training in sign language since José began at Powers. Her two hearing daughters are also learning to sign and, together, Evelia and José are teaching José’s father to sign.

The SEDOL Foundation supports beginner, intermediate, and advanced sign language classes (once each week, 8-week sessions), as well as funding language facilitators like Gabriella Martinez. These classes are open to the student, parents, and siblings.

Evelia said that the training has significantly reduced José’s stress and frustration, and made it possible for his entire family to communicate with him. Classes at Powers are only taught in English, making Gabriella’s presence an important one for the whole family.

More than 400 children in SEDOL’s care have been identified with partial or complete hearing loss. The cost of hearing aids – typically $1,500 to $6,000 – is prohibitive for most families. However, through a generous grant made by a Foundation board member and his Lake Forest family, the “Help Them to Hear” fund provides assistance to the many families that don’t qualify for state funds.

The Lynch family found themselves in such a situation. Margot was born with total deafness in one ear and progressive hearing loss in her “good” ear. A child’s ability to acquire auditory information affects the development of verbal and reading skills, as well as academic and social progress. “Help Them to Hear” has given Margot full access to the world of sounds, supplying her with an FM wireless device consisting of a transmitter which picks up sound and sends it up to 100 yards via radio waves to a tiny receiver connected to Margot’s hearing aid. The system can carry the voice of her mother or a teacher, music or the audio from a computer or television.

Margot’s mom, Kris, says that “words cannot express the difference it has made… when she puts the earpiece in, the expression on her face changes, it’s like she wakes up to the world!”