Giving a hoot

Signal Presbyterian Church's Night OWLS program provides respite for parents of special needs children

WHOM TO CONTACTIn addition to the Night OWLS program, Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church also offers Barnabas Buddy and The Tower Room under its Care (Care and Respite for Everyone) Ministry for children with special needs.* Barnabas Buddy: Volunteers in this program -- named after the biblical Barnabas, who was known as an encourager -- lend individual encouragement for children participating in the church's Sunday morning programs.* The Tower Room: A devoted room available -- named so for a verse in Proverbs which says "... the Lord is a strong tower ..." -- during the 10:40 a.m. Sunday worship service for children who thrive in a structured, calm environment.

Martha Usher says the smile on the face of her autistic son tells the story.

Her son, James, 5, is just starting to become verbal and is not always very expressive, the Signal Mountain resident said, but he has a big grin, laughs and is excited when she takes him to the monthly Night Owls program at Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church.

The free program provides a night out for children with special needs and their siblings -- with one-on-one attention for each -- so parents also can have a night out.

"We have a few family members who can watch (James and his sister, Catie, 3)," Mrs. Usher said, "but it's difficult to find (regular sitters)."

Night OWLS (Night Out With Loving Sitters) is offered under the church's Care (Care and Respite for Everyone) Ministry for children with special needs, which was created by children's ministry director Carolyn Miller because of a felt need in both the congregation and wider community, congregation officials said.

Care Ministry coordinator of volunteers Betty Galbreth said Ms. Miller looked into a variety of models and solicited help from a couple in the church who were familiar with a similar program in their former church, Highland Park United Methodist, in Dallas.

It proved to be exactly what the church was looking for.

The church sent Ms. Galbreth to Texas a year ago this month to learn how to implement the program at Signal Mountain Presbyterian.

"They were just so valuable in helping us set up our program," she said. "It was great to see it in action and see how it could work together."

The church first offered the program in October, according to assistant children's director Courtney Armstrong. Attendance now has grown to eight families, she said.

The program is offered from 6 to 10 p.m. on the first Friday of the month for children from birth to age 12 of church members and nonmembers. A paid policeman and nurse are part of the staff.

Volunteers, all of whom have undergone training, are matched up to each child in attendance. Throughout the evening, they move around with the children. Computers, crafts, face-painting, video games and movies are some of the activities available.

"It's their night," Ms. Armstrong said of the children. "They get to do whatever they want with their buddy."

She said the program has served children with Down's Syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy and spina bifida.

Ms. Galbreth, who had worked with families of children with special needs while at the Tennessee Early Intervention System, said the church could not have put together such a program without the help of the church in Texas.

"We couldn't have gone this far without having a model," she said. "They raised our confidence that, yes, we could do this."

Mrs. Usher said she and her family have attended Signal Mountain Presbyterian since August when the church began a different program during Sunday school and worship services for children with special needs.

"For a child on the autism spectrum," she said, "new places, new surroundings can be difficult, but we've been extremely, pleasantly surprised."

Her children, Mrs. Usher said, don't wait to say good-bye when they get to the church and don't want to leave when it's time to go.

"It's huge for us that they have a wonderful time;" she said. "We've never had someone say thank you for letting them play with our child. They really have a heart for what they're doing."

Upcoming Events