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 Special
Ed students show off skills playing softball
Lets students experience competition,
work together
By Russell Garcia
Prescott Valley Tribune
A swarm of cheers embraced an excited group of special
education athletes as they burst onto the court at
Bradshaw Mountain High School to compete in the Second
Annual Adaptive Physical Education softball game
Wednesday.
Opening ceremonies introduced players like "Homerun"
Heather Moore, Jenny "The Real" Diehl, David "Double D"
Dragone, and Emilina "The Bambina" Morris, just to name
a few.
After the national anthem performed by BMHS senior Holli
Maynard, the two teams got down to business in a classic
rivalry between the Dodgers and Yankees.
The excitement of the game found its way into the stands
and onto the playing field as cheering fans encouraged
athletes who usually don't get the chance to circle the
bases.
Greg Staley, BMHS special ed. teacher said, "The game is
for students who don't get the chance to take part in
regular P.E. classes."
Adaptive softball uses a beach ball and an oversized bat
on a field lined with tape found inside the auxiliary
gym at BMHS.
No matter where the field was located, these athletes
came to play.
Alex "The Man" Delgado kept fans cheering with his
towering blasts and his home run trot that ended with
his arms repeatedly raised in exultation.
Jack Allen from Prescott Valley attended the game to
support his 19-year old son Willie "Steamboat" Allen.
"These games help build their confidence a lot and is a
big social activity for them," said Allen.
Willie gave all the credit for his head first slide into
home to his dad.
"I learned it from my dad," Willie said.
Jeff Brown has been involved with the special ed program
for three years and said planning for the game is a good
encounter for the kids.
"The big thing is the preparation involved. We worked
for three weeks and the kids got a chance to plan, work
together, and exchange ideas. It's all about
camaraderie," Brown said.
Some other organizers said the sporting event was
another way to introduce the special needs kids to
sports and their classmates.
"It gives them a chance to experience competition and
lets people see them in a different light. They really
show their personalities and step up to the plate when
the fans are here," said Staley.
After the game was over, and the hot dogs and chips were
finished, two names kept surfacing in conversations.
Those names are special needs aides Maureen Padraza and
Bobby Shaw.
Teachers, administrators, and parents all pinpointed the
two unique ladies as the driving forces behind the game.
"Maureen and Bobby are the ones who should get credit
for putting this all together," Staley said.
Mo and Bobby, as they are more affectionately known,
came up with the idea last year and coordinate the event
because of their love for the children.
"The thing that I love about these kids is that they
don't see bad in anybody. They don't care about what you
look like, or what you are wearing. There are so many
reasons why this is rewarding," Shaw said.
Mo agreed and said, "This is the best job in the world.
We work with the greatest kids and the best teachers. It
gives us a reason to get out of bed in the morning,"
said Pedraza.
Mo and Bobby both said that they hope Staley holds the
game every year until he retires.
At this point, the BMHS special ed program is looking
forward to sponsoring the adaptive softball game every
school year in the foreseeable future.
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Families sign
up for 'smart cards'
Michael Ferraresi
The Arizona Republic / Apr. 16, 2006 12:00 AM
If police officers and firefighters swarmed his
family's Scottsdale home in an emergency, Todd Person
might try to yell for help, but no words would come out.
The autistic 21-year-old doesn't speak and suffers
seizures. Since he looks like the average young adult,
officers or paramedics unfamiliar with his condition
could mistake his reactions as refusal to cooperate.
To prevent that confusion, the Persons joined as many as
20 other special-needs families to register for
Scottsdale's new First Responder Smart Card Program. The
program is the first of its kind in Maricopa County and
is being considered by communities throughout Arizona.
The addresses of special-needs families are flagged in
police dispatch systems, so first responders have
information about residents like Todd, and how to be
sensitive to their disabilities, in advance of a 911
call.
"He would just as soon watch the fire, instead of leave
the house or respond to verbal directions from first
responders," said Todd's mother, Laurie Person.
"Auditorily, he'll hear the loud noise like a fire truck
going by. But he doesn't pay attention to it."
The Smart Card program is geared toward people with
cognitive or developmental disabilities, Alzheimer's,
and other conditions that require special care.
Registered families keep a detailed 4-by-6 paper Smart
Card in a magnetic envelope on their refrigerators so
emergency workers can have quick answers about the
victim's particular developmental disabilities, medical
history, prescriptions, and other information.
Smart Cards also list phone numbers and information such
as what directions the special-needs person might
respond to in an emergency.
Natalie Summit, coordinator for Scottsdale's voluntary
program, said parents or guardians of special-needs
residents need not worry about logging their personal
information into the police-dispatch system.
"It's flagging an address, not a person or diagnosis,"
Summit said.
Scottsdale's program is based on a model established in
May by the Prescott Valley Police Department.
Since helping Scottsdale establish its own program
earlier this year, Prescott Valley officials have made
presentations in Mesa, Mohave County, and Verde Valley.
Prescott Valley Police Cmdr. Laura Molinaro said the
goal is to get as many Arizona agencies as possible on
board with the Smart Card program. Registration is
free, but families are required to attend a community
meeting to get familiar with the 911 process. The
program is also inexpensive. Printed materials and
sensitivity training for first responders to create
awareness of Smart Cards are the program's only
expenses.
Molinaro cited a Prescott Valley police call, in which
residents reported a male and female fighting in the
back yard, as a good example of how the Smart Card
program can help prevent confusion. Officers
were dispatched to a home where a mother was trying to
calm down her autistic son. The officers
noted the address as part of the Smart Card Program and
saw that a special-needs person with autism was at the
scene.
Reach the reporter at michael.ferraresi@arizonarepublic.com
or (602) 444-6843.
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Local idea going statewide
By MARK LEWIS
The Daily Courier
 PRESCOTT VALLEY Close to three years ago, two friends
sat at a picnic table and through conversation sowed the
seeds of a specialized first responder program that is
spreading quickly across the state.
While watching a Special Olympics softball team practice
their swings, Kim Stamper, president of the Tri-City
Partnership for Special Children and Families, solicited
some advice from Laura Molinaro, a commander with the
Prescott Valley Police Department (PVPD) and a long-time
volunteer with the Special Olympics.
Stamper's developmentally disabled 17-year-old son was
becoming increasingly violent toward his siblings, she
told Molinaro.
"What would happen if my husband isn't there and I can't
restrain him?" she asked. "What's going to happen if I
call 9-1-1?"
With that last question, Molinaro and Stamper launched a
fledgling initiative to improve communication between
first responders and people with developmental and
behavioral problems.
"If she had questions, there were probably other parents
who have questions and law enforcement officers who have
questions," Molinaro said.
 At a seminar in fall 2003, Molinaro presented her and
Stamper's ideas to a room full of first responders and
with their help developed the First Responder Smart Card
Program (FRSCP).
They divided the program into three sections. First,
area first responders can volunteer to attend a
four-hour training program on responding to someone with
special needs. Second, education is now available to
parents and caretakers about what they should expect
when first responders arrive.
Third, and perhaps most important, those who register in
the program can request a 4x6 card for the use of first
responders that lists all relevant medical information,
contact numbers, prescribed medications and related
instructions.
A sticker version of the card also is available for
vehicles and windows.
"We wanted to make it a package deal," Molinaro said.
About 100 households in the area are now registered in
the program, Stamper said.
In Scottsdale, the only municipality in Maricopa County
that so far has adopted the program, about 20 households
are registered, said Natalie Summit, a police crisis
intervention specialist with the Scottsdale Police
Department (SPD).
Several municipalities in Mohave County, including
Kingman and Lake Havasu City, are in the preliminary
stages of joining the program. Molinaro said that in
coming weeks she will present the program to neighboring
cities as far away as Flagstaff.
 Gov. Janet Napolitano also has taken an interest in the
program. On Tuesday in Prescott Valley, she presented to
the program a check for $10,000 earmarked for expenses
incurred by vehicle-related aspects of the program.
Encouraged by their successes, Molinaro and Stamper said
they envision the distinctive, trademarked program logo
crossing state lines and spreading across the nation.
"It's not a cop thing and it's not a family thing,"
Stamper said. "It's a community thing."
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PV's Smart Card program gets $10,000
By Sue Tone
Prescott Valley Tribune
Governor Janet Napolitano stepped into the Prescott
Valley Town Council Chambers Tuesday afternoon, complete
with spring snowflakes melting on her hair and red
jacket. She was here to present a $10,000 check to Mayor
Harvey Skoog and First Responder Committee members to
help with the vehicle identification part of the First
Responder Smart Card Program.
The program provides families, schools, and individuals
with Smart Cards containing specific information first
responders may need when responding to emergencies
involving individuals with special needs. The Smart
Cards are placed in private homes, group homes, schools
and vehicles.
PV Police Cmdr. Laura Molinaro and Napolitano both
alluded to a day when Molinaro "accosted" the governor
at a meeting to talk about the need for first responders
in recognizing and responding to individuals with
special needs.
The idea behind Molinaro's conversation originated
almost three years ago after a dialogue with Kim
Stamper, parent of several children with special needs.
That discussion developed into a committee of community
members from PV, Chino Valley and Prescott, which led,
in turn, to what became the First Responder Smart Card
Program.
The First Responder Committee designed the FRSCP to
provide a universal form that gives important
information to first responders concerning special needs
individuals. Parents or caretakers voluntarily register
the special needs individual with the First Responder
Registry which then can alert emergency personnel who
may be called to the home.
Cards, stickers and window clings with the Smart Card
symbol provide police, firefighters and medical workers
with knowledge that a special needs individual may
require specific assistance.
"Special needs" encompasses not only medical needs, but
also physical, mental, emotional, behavioral, learning,
developmental and cognitive needs.
Napolitano said the $10,000 is earmarked for the vehicle
segment of the program through the Governor's Office for
Highway Safety. The money helps pay for the
identification stickers and the 4x6 inch Smart Cards for
vehicle use.
"For the vehicle, it was recommended by DPS that the
Smart Card be placed in the glove box with the
registration," Molinaro said. Officers who are looking
for registration papers will locate the Smart Card at
the same time.
FRSMP provides magnetic sleeves for Smart Cards and
recommends that they be placed on the refrigerator.
Group homes and schools aren't able to do so, said
Molinaro, because of federal confidentiality laws. In
those cases, Smart Cards are placed in a drawer which
has the Smart Card sticker on it.
Molinaro estimates Prescott Valley will use about $2,500
of the $10,000 over a two-year period. The rest of the
money will be available for other communities such as
Verde Valley and Flagstaff.
In early April, Molinaro and other members of the
committee are traveling to northern communities to make
FRSCP presentations.
The FRSCP also involves training for first responders
(police, fire, and emergency medical personnel) on how
to better recognize and respond to the needs of
individuals with special needs. A second part to the
program provides training for parents and providers on
when to call first responders and what to expect.
The third component is the voluntary registration of
locations that house individuals with special needs.
When first responder dispatch centers alert emergency
personnel to the location, the first responders are
better prepared to assist the individuals.
First responders arriving on the scene will already know
there may be a person with special needs at the location
and that there should be a Smart Card that will provide
them additional information about that individual should
they require it, Molinaro explained in her press
release.
Since June 2005, when Molinaro unveiled the Smart Card
system, FRSCP members have presented the program in many
towns across the state, Molinaro said. She said
Scottsdale adopted the program this past month, and she
is also receiving requests from out of state. The FRSCP
is trade marked and licensed so that it remains uniform
throughout the country.
Those seeking more information may visit the following
Web sites: www.tricitypartnership.org click on
Smart Card, and
www.pvaz.net Services Police Community programs,
or e-mail: tricitypartners@cableone.net.
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This project is
supported in part by the Southwest Institute for Families and
Children with Special Needs, Building Community Health in
Arizona, Maternal and Child Health Grant and the AZ Governor’s
Office of Highway Safety.
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