Odds and Ends

A couple of months ago I started receiving Exceptional Parent magazine. I thought it might have some useful information for me, but as the president of the Down Syndrome Family Alliance I also thought it wouldn't hurt to beef up on issues pertaining to a wide spectrum of disabilities. Hey, I may not be practicing social work right now, but once a social worker always a social worker. I am all about having resources available.

So, this afternoon I settled down on the couch and looked at the most recent issue. My plan was to look at the toy guide for children who are differently-abled. Christmas is right around the corner don't you know and since I do 90% of my shopping on-line I wanted to get a feel for what I am going to get for the kids. The guide has some great ideas because it has a picture of the toy and then a description of the developmental areas that it focuses on. The toys (for what it is worth) have also been selected and evaluated by the National Lekotek Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making play accessible for children with disabilities.

After I finished looking at the toy guide and making a wish list for my children; I flipped through the rest of the magazine and the words Anderson, South Carolina caught my attention. Anderson is less than 50 miles from where I live. Did you know there's Walgreens distribution center there and 42 percent of the workforce is made up of people with physical and intellectual disabilities? That may be reason enough to switch all my pharmacy needs to Walgreens.