Blog
Testimony by Donya – mother of Ali who attends First Step
My daughter Ali is 4 1/2 years old and will be 5 on July 9th. She was diagnosed with Battens Disease on July 15, 2011.
Battens disease is a rare, fatal, terminal, neurological disease for which there is currently no cure. Battens is fatal, in that, it only affects children & robs them of their ability to walk, to talk, to see, eventually leaving them as a vegetable to die. Children with this disease do not get to play sports or even live long enough to go to their senior prom. There are 9 different variations of Battens disease. She has Infantile form which is the most fatal. The life expecteancy for Infantile is 8-11 years.
Early intervention is key when dealing with any disease. Ali is blessed with a great team at First Step. She get sspeech, Pt, & Ot therapies. She loves all her teachers and nurses and they love her too. Our family is so thankful for the individualized help they give her every day.
This disease does not have to be fatal. We have much HOPE & FAITH.
We are currently raising funds for research to find a CURE for ALi and other children affected with Battens Disease. We need your help & we need your prayers. There are many ways that you can help. We are currently recruiting members for ”Ali’s Team” to help in this fight. If you are interested, please call me at 501-617-5617. I can tell you different ways you can help or where contributions can be made to Ali’s fund.
Please help us spread awareness about Battens by telling others. Our family would appreciate your prayers.
Have YOU Remembered First Step in Your Estate Plans?
Have YOU Remembered First Step in Your Estate Plans?
A Planned Gift is a term that applies to several types of gifts that are arranged now and benefits First Step later. When making our estate plans, we all want to provide for our families. By arranging a planned gift now, you may be able to create more opportunities for your family and give to First Step in the process.
Planned giving can reduce taxes on your income and estate, resulting in a larger gift. Many planned gifts bring additional advantages, such as steady, secure income for you. Planned gifts can include cash, securities, retirement plan assets, real estate or life insurance proceeds, and more. The following are examples of a planned gift:
- Bequests
- Charitable Gift Annuities
- Gifts of Retirement Plan Assets
- Charitable Remainder Trusts
- Tax-free IRA Transfers
- Gifts of Real Estate
- Gifts of Securities
- Gifts of Life Insurance
- Charitable Lead Trusts
The First Step Development staff will meet with you to discuss your planned gift. Whether your interest is in providing therapy programs for children, art programs for adults, or preparing a child to enter the world of education, our staff will work with you to insure that your gift will be applied to your area of interest. Planned gifts to First Step can support one or all of our over twenty different programs and services.
Consult with your attorney and tax adviser to determine how various options might affect your personal tax and estate-planning objectives. If you’ve already included First Step in your estate plan, contact us to ensure that your gift is properly recognized and that your intentions are carried out.
We invite you to join our Legacy Society by providing a gift to First Step through your estate plans. Please call Nancy Baxter, Director of Development, at (501)620-6615 for more details
Hearing Screens and Hearing Evaluations
Hearing Screens and Evaluations
Each center at First Step, Inc. has the ability to screen or evaluate the hearing of individuals, whose ages are between birth and adulthood. We have contracted with an audiologist for her services for the past 15 years. Through the use of an audiometer and a tympanometer we are able to screen pure-tone air conduction hearing and determine the possibility of a referral to the primary care physician for middle ear problems. Utilizing the audiometers during this time speech pathologists and our audiologist have screened our consumers and referred them for further evaluation by our audiologist, observation by their primary care physician (PCP) or ear, nose and throat physicians (ENT). A part of that screening process is an observation of the middle ear and the movement of the eardrum (tympanic membrane). Tympanometry is helpful in diagnosing otitis media (ear infections, middle ear fluid) and distinguishing a sensorineural and a conductive hearing loss.
Some years after our audiologist came to First Step we ordered a sound proof booth to be able to evaluate more thoroughly the hearing of our consumers. We have VRA (visual reinforcement audiometry) capability which is used for screening the hearing of children who are 6 months through 2 years of age. The children are trained to look at the sound source. The children will receive a visual reinforcement for the correct acknowledgement of the sound source.
The most recent purchase for First Step has been an OAE (otoacoustic emissions) for each center which enables audiology assistants , audiologists, speech pathologists and nurses to screen every consumer who enrolls at First Step. The audiologist trains each of these staff members on how to operate this equipment. Otoacoustic emissions screens the hearing to the cochlea hair cells and the consumer does not have to make a physiological response. This screener is able to determine outer ear canal blockage, and the presence of middle ear fluid and possible damage to the outer hair cells in the cochlea. This equipment was utilized while First Step was working with two local hospitals, National Park Medical Hospital and Hot Spring County Medical Hospital, during the pilot project of the Newborn Hearing Screening in Arkansas. Our speech pathologists , audiologist and audiology assistant provided round the clock hearing screens to all of the newborns in those hospitals giving us a wonderful rapport with the staffs of those facilities which ensured better services for their consumers. When an infant failed the hearing screen at the hospital then they were usually referred through their pediatrician to First Step for further evaluation and treatment.
Through First Step’s commitment to providing quality care in the area of hearing and organizations such as the Hot Springs Community Foundation we have been able to purchase the equipment needed to provide such services. First Step has taken the lead in providing superior care for hearing issues in the communities we serve.
