Miracles group eases limits for kids with special needs

By ASHLEY LUTHERN

Miracles Unlimited has helped more than 50 children with motor disabilities.

BOARDMAN — Just because something is different doesn’t mean that it won’t work.

At least that’s the opinion of Tracey Tatar, founder of Miracles Unlimited Inc., a Boardman-based nonprofit organization that provides alternative therapy for children with motor disabilities.

When they don’t see results from standard medical treatment, parents get frustrated and often turn to new techniques, said Tatar, who knows those frustrations firsthand as a parent of a child with cerebral palsy.

The idea for Miracles Unlimited began five years ago when Tatar took her daughter, Brittany, to a day camp in Cleveland that specialized in conductive education.

The theory behind conductive education is that if children are led through the same movements daily, then connections in the brain will be reinforced so that children with motor disabilities will have better control over their bodies, Tatar said.

Impressed by the theory and the effect it had on her daughter, Tatar decided to start her own program, which is now an affiliate of the Association for Conductive Education in North America.

More than 50 children have attended Miracles Unlimited’s programs through its four years of existence. This summer, nine are enrolled.

During the school year, enrollment usually drops to a handful of pupils because most are attending public school. The program runs Monday through Friday (and divides pupils by age) in three-hour morning or afternoon sessions, Tatar said.

Miracles Unlimited has a staff of five, in addition to college-age volunteers who are pursuing degrees in related fields such as teaching or nursing.

The staff helps the pupils through exercises that are specifically designed to simulate life situations, like getting out of bed, holding a cup or using the bathroom.

“We do a lot of repetition and a lot of singing to help get the kids motivated,” Tatar said.

With its Boardman location, Miracles is convenient for area parents because the only other conductive education centers within driving distance are in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, said Richelle Mace of Boardman, whose son Matthew, 13, has cerebral palsy and attends Miracles in the summer.

“Each summer, he’s gotten more and more control of his body and more self-confidence,” Mace said.

The therapy comes at a price of $200 per week.

Miracles Unlimited is funded through grants from private foundations and other donations, Tatar said.

“With the money we’ve received, we were able to set up small scholarships for some kids, but we’re still having financial difficulties,” she said, adding that she is unsure if Miracles will have enough money to operate during the upcoming school year.

Many people are cutting back on the number of days that their child attends the camp and some have stopped coming completely, which Tatar attributes to rising gas prices and an unstable economy.

“We had people coming from Trumbull and Columbiana counties, even one kid who came every day from Akron last summer,” she said. “But once gas prices get so high, people start to stay closer to home.”

Miracles Unlimited regularly organizes fundraisers — like selling coupon books — to defray the cost and encourages parents to look into their public school’s policy of paying for special-needs day care during the summer, Tatar said.

For more information about Miracles Unlimited, visit www.miraclesunlimitedce.org.