Posts by mchauthor
Amina Grace Speech and Language Program: What’s being said around the playhouse…
The GiGi’s Playhouse Amina Grace Speech and Language Program provides youth, teens and adults with greatly expanded opportunities to evolve and refine their speech and language skills. Effective enunciation, clarity of speech, word order and message meaning are paramount to fostering greater self-confidence, comprehension, problem-solving, school readiness, social skills, independence, and overall quality of life. Here is what some of the…
Read More#PairedProgressions at the Playhouse!
Jamie attends Fantastic Friends every month and never the misses T.E.A.M. program. She just can’t enough of the Playhouse! This month she came in to volunteer a couple of times. Jamie is a hard worker, she puts in 100% no matter what it is. We gave her the task of cleaning toys and play surfaces. …
Read MoreSpeech Highlight
Meet Jason Nosbaum, age 31. He has been participating in the Amina Grace Speech and Language Program since it first came to McHenry in April. Jason’s mom enrolled him in the program to help him be better understand throughout the community. Jason is very social and often calls, texts, and facetimes with friends on his…
Read MoreThank You Rotary Club of Lake in the Hills
Board member Scott Perlman accepted a $2000 check from the Lake in the Hills Rotary. This was an award in response to a grant application for funding the renewed Teen Tastic Program. The Rotary was extremely enthusiastic for our mission and looks forward to hearing about the results of Teen Tastic. The New Teen Tastic…
Read MoreSpeech Spotlight: Marcus Weller
Marcus Weller, age 9, has been participating in the Amina Grace Speech and Language Program since April. Marcus’s parents enrolled him in the program because “Marcus has a lot of trouble with his speech. He has apraxia and has a hard time forming his sounds.” He is a very hard worker and knows the…
Read MoreGiGi’s Playhouse McHenry County Turns 10 this year!
On April 26, 2008 GiGi’s Playhouse McHenry opened its doors. This was not an easy undertaking and took months of planning. A group of parents, their relatives and friends remodeled, furnished and decorated the building into a welcoming place for children and adults with Down syndrome. Parents and relatives formed a board of directors…
Read MoreMeet The New McHenry County Speech Language Pathologist
Hi, I’m Katie! I’m a Speech Language Pathologist and live in Crystal Lake. I am so excited to join the GiGi’s Playhouse team in McHenry! In the past, I have worked at NIRSA as a summer camp counselor and at Special Olympics in the Torch Run department. I also tutored adults with Down syndrome for…
Read MoreAn early celebration of a very important day, World Down Syndrome Day! By: Board Member, Mandi Rios
What is #generationG? Generation G is a national campaign started by GiGi’s Playhouse to encourage everyone everywhere to Be Accepting, Be Generous and Be Kind. Not just for people with Down Syndrome, but for everyone. It’s such a simple thing to do, and makes a huge impact. Not just in the DS community, but for our…
Read Morea role model for the Down Syndrome community
Karrie Brown is a role model for the Down Syndrome community. Karrie made her dream of modeling come true in high school when Wet Seal selected her as a model for their brand. Not because she had Down syndrome, but inspite of it. Karrie went on to act in a film, be featured in multiple…
Read MoreI do, we do, you do…
I do, we do, you do. This is a phrase I heard at our GiGi’s National Conference and it has stuck with me. I had zero experience with Down Syndrome when i started at GiGi’s Playhouse McHenry County. The children in my Kids Club group instantly won my heart and of course when they would…
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