MARCH 9 • 2023 | 19
Linda Rosberg, who has
run special needs groups for
over 30 years and today works
at Rehab Pathways Group
in Troy, will be one of the
staff members representing
the agency at the upcoming
event. She says there’s a need
for more education about the
services available.
“I think people need to
share the information they
have,” she says, adding that
people usually find out about
services through word of
mouth. “When these kids
graduate — when they’re
26 — from school, what are
they going to do? They’re not
really advised on what to do,”
she says. The event is a way
to spread the information
available about opportunities
further, she adds.
Kim Staudacher, director of
development for Dutton Farm
in Rochester
Hills, says
she hopes the
symposium gives
families another
agency to look
into that offers
their loved ones
another chance to grow. “We
try to give them meaningful
experiences, provide them
with dignity and purpose
just like everyone else in the
world,” she says.
Raising awareness about
places like Dutton Farms is
key, she says. “So, through
these community events —
it’s not just for special needs
families, it’s for bringing the
whole Rochester and Oakland
County communities together
and saying, ‘You can be a part
of our community,’” she says.
“We want people to see what
we’re doing.”
Susan Rogers, director,
Parere Counseling and
Consulting, says she’s glad to
be part of the constellation of
organizations participating in
the symposium
to help families
launch their
children into
safe, healthy
and supported
lifestyles as they
grow.
“We have that idea of what
our lives are going to look
like, not that it always turns
out like that,” she says. “For
parents and for people with
disabilities, their path is not
going to be that, we can’t
assume, we can’t say ‘This
is going to happen.’ We’re
creating that path for our
children.”
The Special Needs Family Symposium
takes place from noon-3 p.m.
Sunday, March 12, at the JCC in West
Bloomfield. Email szoltowski@jccdet.
org for more information.
Susan
Rogers
Kim
Staudacher
“I HOPE THAT MINE AND MY
HUSBAND’S STORY ABOUT
LAUNCHING OUR DAUGHTER
WILL INSPIRE INDIVIDUALS AND
LET THEM KNOW THERE ARE
RESOURCES TO SUPPORT THEM
ALONG THE WAY.”
— KATHLEEN REMSKI
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