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2009 THSC State Convention

and Family Conference

 August 6-8, 2009

The Woodlands, Texas

The Woodlands Waterway Marriott

Special Buddies Program

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is this just some kind of babysitting?

A: No. We will be providing a regular program, including Bible lessons, music, arts and crafts, and fellowship.

Q: What formats will be provided? Will all of the children be in one big room, regardless of age and ability?

A: This answer depends to some degree on the individual needs of the children who register. In its original form, the plan is as follows:

Inclusion model – Children ages 4 to 12 who are able to participate in small group activities with Children's Ministries of Texas but cannot handle the large group setting will go to CMT small groups and come to a SBP room for supplemental programming when the small group goes to large-group sessions.

Self-contained/Reverse Inclusion model – Children with special needs who are best served apart from the CMT program will be in one of the SBP rooms for the entire conference. Reverse inclusion means that typically-developing peers will come to the SBP room for interaction with the SBP children within the structure of the SBP schedule of activities. Self-contained children will only leave the room, supervised, for restroom breaks or at lunch when released to a parent. Teens from the Teen Staff Program may be a part of the volunteer staff, but trained adults as well as an on-call nurse will always be available for supervision.

Medically Fragile – Children who are medically fragile will be served in a self-contained room designated for their care. The room will have a volunteer staff that will include at least one nurse at all times. Teens from the Teen Staff Program may be in the room at times to serve as volunteers, but other children will not be in the room, in order to avoid the possibility of inadvertent spontaneous behavior that could put the medically fragile children at risk for injury. The volunteer staff will not administer any medications or tube feedings to children in this room. Parents will be asked to return to the room to take care of those needs. The nurses will be available for suctioning and for monitoring medical needs such as seizure activity. Refrigeration will be available for medications and feeding products, if necessary. Parents will be able to remain in the room during the lunch hour in order to feed their child.

Q: My child requires electrical outlets for his/her monitoring devices. Will those be available?

A: Yes.

Q: How will the SBP staff know if there is a need in another room for extra help?

A: Leslie Stevens will be the director of the SBP program. In each room, one volunteer will be designated as the room leader, and another will be the teacher for the lessons. The room leader's role is to oversee the general welfare of the children. Each room will have a walkie-talkie, as will Leslie. Room leaders can contact Leslie for assistance.

Q: How will I know if you need me?

A: Parents will be required to give the SBP leaders a cell phone number for a phone that will be on for the duration of the conference. Please set your phone to Vibrate if you attend a workshop. Should the SBP staff need you, they will call your cell phone.

Q: What will lunch time look like?

A: We need to be sensitive to the needs of our volunteer staff. Please pick up your child promptly at the time designated in the conference brochure for pick-up of children. If you prefer to bring a lunch instead of going somewhere, limited refrigeration is available in one of the rooms. You may store your lunch there and then eat with your child in the SBP rooms. However, staff will not be available during lunch. Please also consider that your child will be in that room all day and might benefit from a short walk to another area of the building or even outside.

Q: What materials will be used for the lessons and activities?

A: The SBP will be using Lifeway's Outrigger Island's Special Friends curriculum, which is their VBS program for special kids.

Q: My child is over the age of 12, which is the cut-off age for the CMT program. Can he/she participate in the Inclusion Model and go to CMT small groups?

A: Participants over the age of 12 will be fully self-contained. SBP will be using both reverse inclusion and Teen Staff volunteers. That way, teens in the SBP will have interaction with typical peers during the course of the conference. Participants over the age of 12 will not be able to participate in the CMT program.

Q: What kind of training will the staff have?

A: Although most of the volunteers will have previous experience with special needs children, on Thursday afternoon, the SBP staff will assemble for training aimed specifically at being prepared for the conference and the children who will be in the program. This training will be led by Leslie Stevens as well as Doug and Patsy Arnold of Texas' Special Kids. Specific needs may be addressed by other knowledgeable individuals, such as training by a nurse for those who will work with medically fragile children.

Our knowing in advance the detailed information that the registration form requests will help the trainers prepare the staff for meeting the needs of your child. This is one reason why pre-registration is mandatory.

Q: Can we meet the people who will work with our child in advance?

A: Yes!  THSC and TSK will host an open house Thursday from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. in the area of the hotel where the SBP will meet. You are encouraged to come to this event to meet the staff, ask questions, and bring supplies that your child may need, as well as special items that might help your child transition easier the next morning.

We encourage you to consider attending this event. Bringing supplies in advance will help your morning go smoother. Bringing familiar items in advance will help your child feel secure the next day. And, of course, meeting the staff is important, for both you and your child, so that your child is not left with a stranger in the morning, and so you can give specific instructions to the individual who is assigned to your child.

Another advantage to coming Thursday night is that THSC will have the registration lines open outside the main conference area so that you can pick up your materials there (lanyard, program, bag, etc.). Doing this on Thursday will make your Friday transition smoother – you can drop your child and head straight for the exhibit hall or workshop of your choice without having to stand in line!

Q: What will the staff-to-child ratio be?

A: In a perfect world, if we have as many volunteers as we believe we will have, the ratio should be one-to-one. Of course, medically fragile children will have priority for that ratio, as will Runners! The nurses will not be part of the one-to-one ratio. They will be available for all of the SBP children in both rooms. Children who are included in CMT's small groups may have a higher ratio, again, depending on our numbers. Adults who are designated as room leaders and teachers will not be assigned to individual children, so there may actually be better than a one-to-one ratio.

Q: Can I leave my child in the SBP so I can attend the evening events.

A: We regret that we cannot offer evening care for the children in the SBP. We need to be sensitive to the volunteers' schedules and not overextend their energies.

Q: Will the leaders' children be participating in the SBP?

A: That depends on space availability. Though the Arnolds and the Stevens do have special children, they also have other care arrangements available to them. Our goal is to provide options for families who would not be able to attend, ahead of taking care of our own children. So, if space is available, our children may attend, but they will not if we need the space for other children.

Q: Why do I have to fill out a special registration form for this program, apart from the regular THSC registration?

A: There are two reasons for the special form. First, the SBP leadership (Leslie Stevens and Doug and Patsy Arnold) will review the forms to screen for children who would fit best in each of the offered programs – or perhaps, would fit better in the CMT program full-time. Second, the staff needs to be very familiar with your child's needs in order to prepare well to give your family the best possible situation for the weekend. We hope to avoid meltdowns caused by uncertainty, and to give you the very best experience at the conference. The more we know in advance, the better we can serve your family. We want to be able to set your child up for a successful experience in the SBP.

Q: Why do you want a picture of my child?

A: We want the volunteers to see them in advance, so they can recognize the children when you visit on Thursday. Greeting the child by name is important to us. We have no plans at this time to publish any of those pictures. We would never do that without expressly asking your permission. We would be happy to return them during the conference if you request that we do, though we would like to keep them on file with your child's information for next year.

Q: How many children can participate in SBP?

A: We are basing the limits on square footage of the rooms available for us to use. As the plan stands right now, we have space for about 20-22 children, depending on the individual needs of the kids who register. Please understand, though, that at some point we will have to cut off the registration, so get your forms in as quickly as possible in order to secure your child's spot in the SBP.

Q: I am not sure if I can attend or if I will bring my child. Should I just wait until the day I show up to bring my child?

A: We will not be able to accommodate any walk-up registrants at the conference. All participants in the SBP must be pre-registered.

Q: I am not sure if we will bring our child. Should I register and then back out at the conference if we decide not to bring him/her?

A: Well, of course there is nothing we could do to stop you from doing this. However, since you are the parent of a special child, you know how very difficult attending an event like this can be, and how much planning and effort it takes to prepare. If you reserve a space that you really have no intention of filling, you have taken from another family the opportunity to attend. While we understand that emergencies occur, we do ask that you not reserve a spot "just in case". Please go ahead and make your plans. We urge you to carefully consider the impact that your decision might have on everyone involved, including the family we might have to turn away. Also remember that there will be no refunds after June 13^th.

Q: Will there be a waiting list?

A: In the event that the spaces fill up, yes, we will maintain a waiting list. However, we respect your need to plan and will not call you at the very last minute unless you tell us that is okay.

Q: What if we register and then cannot attend?

A: Please let us know as soon as possible if you will not be able to attend, so another family can be accommodated. Refunds requested in writing before June 13^th will be issued minus ten percent. There will be no refunds after June 13^th.

Q: What security measures will be in place?

A: Participants in the SBP will receive a t-shirt with a special SBP logo on it, as well as advertising from the sponsors who are helping to fund this program. We encourage you to thank those sponsors by supporting them with your business. We ask that your child wear his SBP t-shirt both days of the conference. This will help the staff identify a child quickly in a crowd, if necessary.

You will receive some type of identification at the time that you check your child in to his/her SBP room. You will be required to present that identification in order to pick up your child. If someone else will have permission to pick the child up, please be sure that Leslie Stevens knows that.

Q: What will you do in case of emergency?

A: We have been very careful to create a plan for different contingencies. We have already verified that the hotel has a back-up generator, so if your child requires monitoring with electrical equipment, a power outage would not put him/her in danger.

We have also carefully designed an evacuation plan for worst-case scenarios, particularly in the event of a fire. We will go over this with you at the orientation meeting on Thursday night. The first plan would be to cross the Skybridge located near the SBP rooms and go to the parking garage, which is constructed of concrete. The back-up plan is to evacuate down the south stairwell near the SBP rooms and proceed to the courtyard in front of the building, unless instructed to go elsewhere by emergency personnel. We have a plan in place for children in wheelchairs to be evacuated in their chairs, regardless of which plan we use.

Please let us know if loud noises like fire alarms frighten your child. We need to know that. We plan to use a picture schedule/scenario to help the children understand in the event that we need to change what we are doing.

Please do not go against the flow of evacuation traffic in order to come to the SBP rooms. By the time you arrived, we would probably be outside already. Also, we want you to be safe, too.

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