In 1988 a very little baby was born, very premature, struggling for every breath, every minute, every hour, every day in the hospital. It happens frequently. The baby was named Nathan and every day he fought, it wasn’t easy, but he battled every day to continue on, against all odds. But he never gave up in spite of life’s challenges – he endured as a baby, a toddler, and little boy, a teenager, and now he is an adult. Nathan is proof of the instinctive desire we were all given from the instant we were born – the desire to live, no matter what, and go on.
Nathan was a “Special Needs Child”, now he’s an adult with special needs. He’s had countless surgeries to try and correct some of his physical conditions. He’s endured pain. He’s seen his world through the limitations and restrictions of his wheel chair. He’s lived his life through his five sensory skills with very limited physical means but unlimited mental, spiritual, and imaginative means.
It’s not easy in a Special Needs Family either. The lack of love is hardly ever the issue. There are challenges all along the way of growing up that affect the child, their siblings, the parents, family members, friends, everyone. Dealing with those challenges are not easy – normal parenting is not necessarily the solution. Recognizing they “won’t just grow out of it” is a burden that can’t be anticipated, described, or taught to deal with. It’s every day, every hour, every minute. Careers, marriages, and health are impacted, many times for the worse.
In 2007 Zia Oboodiyat, Nathan’s father, recognized that “the needs of a special needs child are bigger than most people and families can endure”. At that point his own marriage had collapsed, he and his wife had divorced, and Nathan’s mother had her own very severe heath issues which meant she was unable to help care for Nathan. Zia and Nathan never gave up. But they realized there must be a better way for Special Need Families.
In 2007 they founded the Special Needs Children Center Foundation with a dream-like vision of creating a place where children and families with special needs could go and get help, have fun, learn, socialize, interact with other families, and specialists would be on hand to help them through the struggles of government agencies, medical insurance issues, dealing with caregiver challenges, getting the next size wheel chair without having to go through months of rigor and ordeal jumping through hoops, or even getting help such as finding a reputable mechanic to fix a wheelchair or the lift on their handicap van.
The vision was clear, it was good. But in spite of the fundraising that the Foundation has achieved the vision is still a vision today relative to being able to construct a building, hiring specialists, and having a 7-day a week program for those in need.
But like Nathan, the Foundation has not given up. The Foundation reaches out to schools and families and helps where ever it can within its means by providing wheel chairs, equipment for handicapped persons, educational materials and electronics for schools, tricycles, clothes, books, art supplies, games, even a storage trailer. We are on the lookout and we are listening to the community for needs where we can help a special needs child or family. We don’t have unlimited means but we can usually find ways to help in one way or another.
Now Nathan is an adult with special needs. He still requires around the clock care givers, support, and monitoring. But with his five senses he functions at a very high level in society. He’s very active in his Church. He’s up on today’s news and can debate the issues. His sense of humor is priceless. He has recorded his own music and is beginning to write poetry. He’s smart and joins the conversation with the best of them. He is able to live semi-independently away from the home he grew up in. But every day is some new challenge that must be dealt with. The vision of the Foundation still remains – how can all the Nathan’s be helped and their fullest life experiences become a reality?
You can help. Here’s what we are looking for:
- A Benefactor – a person or corporation who loves our vision, shares our passion, and can give money or stock to the Foundation to help The Vision become a reality to help a special need person
- A Small Building – a place like was described earlier in this section
- Expertise in Fundraising – a person with new ideas, connections, and the ability to lead a fundraiser and help us achieve the The Vision
- Volunteers – people with the desire, energy, and commitment to help
- Donate – maybe a small, one time donation or a monthly/annual pledge is how you want to be involved. We are a 501 (c) 3 so your donation is tax deductible
Thank you for looking at our website. There are too many Special Needs Children who need help. Please consider how you can get involved.