Why Turtle Wing? Scholarships for Supplemental Services Mean Critical Therapies are Not Delayed!

As Turtle Wing Foundation embarks on their ninth year of “helping children with learning challenges in rural areas achieve their full potential,” there are still many in the rural communities the foundation serves who don’t fully understand what Turtle Wing does. The foundation is working hard to help the citizens who reside within its service area of Fayette, Colorado, Lavaca and surrounding counties more fully comprehend their mission and therefore utilize their services. One of the Turtle Wing programming areas which will be further explained in the next few weeks is Supplemental Services. These are intended to compliment services already being provided by Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) or Special Education at school. Called related services at school, these might include transportation and such developmental, corrective, and supportive services that enable a student with a disability to benefit from special education. Related services help children with disabilities benefit from their special education by providing extra help and support in needed areas, such as speaking or moving. Related services can include, but are not limited to, any of the following:

speech-language pathology and audiology services interpreting services psychological services physical and occupational therapy recreation, including therapeutic recreation early identification and assessment of disabilities in children counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling orientation and mobility services medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes school health services and school nurse services social work services in schools parent counseling and training

If it is determined by the family that their child might benefit from additional services beyond what the school or ECI are able to provide, then Turtle Wing will work with them and their service provider to determine what support might be available. Turtle Wing calls this a supplemental services “scholarship”. The amount is determined by the service provider and the family once they have done the appropriate assessments to determine need, evaluated that the school or ECI is providing, and researched what portion the insurance company will cover if the family is insured. These scholarships are available to children 0 to through 29 years of age. Families may receive a maximum of $1500 per child per year in scholarships. Actual scholarships will vary depending on need and availability of funds. If awarded a scholarship, funds will be paid directly to the provider and never to the family. The agreed upon sum is deducted from the family’s bill. Items that will be needed when applying are: completed provider proposal, documentation of diagnosis (if available), and the child’s IEP – Student Strengths & Key Evaluation Results Summary page or Neuropsychological testing report summary page. Families are asked to complete volunteer hours where possible and are asked to participate in Turtle Wing Parent Support Network. For more information or to receive a Turtle Wing scholarship application, please contact Turtle Wing Foundation or your supplemental service provider. If a family does not yet receive services but has concerns that their child may have developmental delays, then they are encouraged to discuss this with their pediatrician. Child Find is a legal requirement that schools find all children who have disabilities and who may be entitled to special education services. Child Find covers every child from birth through age 21. The school must evaluate any child that it knows or suspects may have a disability. Special education is instruction specifically designed to meet the educational and developmental needs of children with disabilities, or those who are experiencing developmental delays.

These services are available through the law, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Turtle Wing has been providing Early Intervention, Supplemental Services and Community Education & Advocacy programming to children and families with academic, social-emotional, behavioral and/or developmental needs since 2012. For more information contact Susie Shank at (979)505-5090, visit the Turtle Wing Facebook page @turtlewingfoundation, or the website www.turtlewingfoundation.org.