An enriching weekend

COEUR d'ALENE - More than 40 kids with disabilities and their parents got to party away this past weekend at the Best Western Coeur d'Alene Inn as part of an event organized by the group Families Together for People with Disabilities.

Sherry Watson, program coordinator for the nonprofit group which is based in Pullman, said the event is called its Family Enrichment Weekend, and 24 children ages 5 and under participated, along with 20 children ages 6 to 15.

"So many of these families never get a vacation because traveling with a child or children with disabilities is a huge event," Watson said. "So this weekend is very, very special."

The kids play games, do art, watch movies, dress up in costumes, attend a carnival, go swimming, sing karaoke, and participate in other events. This weekend they also got to have their picture taken with an airplane.

"We just want the kids to have a blast," Watson said. "We don't teach. The kids just do whatever they want to do."

The kids are each paired up with college student companions, most of whom are majoring in education, to watch over them and assist them in the activities. The students are from Washington State University, the University of Idaho, and Lewis-Clark State College, said Watson.

Meanwhile, the children's parents attend informational workshops and speeches, and get a date night.

Jessica Rachels, 28, who attended the event with her three children and husband, Patrick, 28, said they have participated before and her children couldn't get enough of the one-on-one time with their companions. Her kids are David, 7, Natalie, 4, and Makala, 2.

"They feel special," said Rachels, of Kootenai. "It's good for them to have that one person."

A lot of times the kids don't get one-on-one time, she said.

For the parents, Rachels said, "It's almost like a spa, in a sense. You're not constantly cooking and cleaning and those things."

Her and her husband also like connecting with other parents, where approaches to parenting and experiences are shared.

Danielle Stoker, 26, of Moscow, who attended with her two children and husband, Jon, 30, said she at first had a little anxiety about allowing a college student to watch over her kids - something she can barely handle herself. But that quickly changed, and the kids really have fun with their companions, she said. Their children are Teigan 5, and Caleb, 3.

"Me and my husband got to know each other better," she said. They feel like they learned how to work better as a team with the kids.

Michael Heward, leader of the group of companions, said for a lot of the students this is their first exposure to working with children with disabilities, and it makes for invaluable learning.

"It can be really eye opening," Heward said.

Students experience a lot they can't learn from a book, said Heward, a school counselor at Juliaetta Elementary School southeast of Moscow. The students become more aware of the trials that the parents experience, he said.

The event took place at the Coeur d'Alene Inn twice in 2009. About half of the families that participated in this weekend's event attended for the first time, Watson said. The majority are low income.

"Every one of them did something remarkable during the year," Watson said. Some have multiple children with disabilities, some home-schooled their children, and others quit jobs to stay home with their child or children full time, she said.

Most of the families are from Eastern Washington and North Idaho, she said.

Chris Curry, the founder and executive director of Families Together for People with Disabilities, said when parents leave the weekend event they have new skills and should feel rejuvenated.