Fall 2005

In this Issue:

An Ethic of Service

"Time Out" Gives Special Families a Break

Joan M.Driscoll-Kelly - a life dedicated to social responsibility

For the People

Reunion 2005*

Viewpoint

Special Report*

Main page

 

* Includes Expanded Content

 

 

 

 

Time Out Gives Special Families a Break
by Suzanne Arney with Jayne Kendle

Jill Dazel '06 spent her summer differently than most of her nursing major peers. Instead of working in the traditional hospital setting, she spent her summer working for the Time Out Pediatric Respite Program.

"Time Out" is designed to give families with children with special needs a break from the demands of constant caregiving. This break allows family members to do simple things that most families take for granted. "Shopping, lunch with a friend, attending another child's ball game–all these seem impossibly complicated when you have a child with special-needs," said Professor Jayne Kendle, who created and administers the program.

For the past eight years, each student enrolled in Child Health Nursing has provided 16 hours of respite care to a family whose child's medical/behavioral conditions preclude casual babysitting. While community families were grateful for the gift of time, they consistently requested additional time. As a result, Time Out was developed. Through grant funds students are able to work for the Time Out program after they have completed the required 16 hours of service learning.

During the program's first summer, eight students from Saint Mary's provided over 1,114
hours of respite care to local families with children with special needs. "There is a huge void of
trained caregivers in the community," said Kendle. Each Time Out provider has current CPR
certification and receives general instructions on the care of the child by Kendle. The respite
provider then receives specific instruction related to the child's needs by the parent. "The
parent is the expert regarding his or her child. It is critical for health care professionals to
recognize that," Kendle said. Being a part of the family's day-to-day life, students develop
respect, insight, and compassion. "Time Out" provides students a sense of the person behind the disability. Since many of these children are or will be mainstreamed, Kendle sees a benefit for students beyond the disciplines of nursing or medicine to participate in the Time Out program.

Such majors as communicative disorders, education, or social work could certainly benefit from the experience. Christa Crawford, the mother of two children with special needs, was one of 19 families who participated in the summer program. "Unless you have two people, you can't really go anywhere with the girls," she said. "My children had fun this summer, and I knew they were in good hands." The Time Out program allows more time than course-required hours, Crawford pointed out. It provides parents a chance to breathe and to experience for a little while the life so
many of us take for granted.

Dazel, who is planning for a career in pediatric nursing, states that the program has reinforced her decision. Over the summer she worked with six families caring for children age 6 months to 10 years. Deeply grateful for the chance to see these children at home, she said, "I could see therapies at work and give the parent a break." She also realized for the first time the many difficulties faced by siblings. "It was really a wonderful experience for me...so different from hospital rotation," she said.