21st Annual Starry Starry Night Preview

Calling all bidders! On Saturday, February 23, ACCESS® will host the 21st Annual Starry Starry Night, “Igniting Potential,” at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock. This event will celebrate individuals and community partnerships who have helped to ignite potential for...

ACCESS Transitions Night: Guardianships, Special Needs Trusts, and ABLE Accounts

Calling all parents and guardians of children with special needs! Join Kayleigh Dulaney, with Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP, as she presents on topics including guardianships, special needs trusts and ABLE accounts at the next ACCESS Transitions Night. Childcare will not be provided....

2018-2019 Annual Giving Campaign: Joining Hands to Bridge the Gap and Give #ACCESS4ALL

What is the ACCESS Annual Giving Campaign? The Annual Giving Campaign raises funds to support the day-to-day operations of ACCESS: the richness of our academic curriculum, the expertise of our therapeutic programs and the operations and maintenance of our campuses. Contributions come mainly...

ACCESS Serves Arkansas Residents Through the Waiver Program

When most families and supporters think of ACCESS, they think of services such as therapy, full-time education, vocational training, and even comprehensive evaluations and testing for individuals with special needs. All of those aspects are important to living our mission of expanding...

23 Truths You Should Know about Individuals with Down Syndrome

23 Truths You Should Know About Individuals with Down Syndrome Liane Meadors, a physical therapist at the ACCESS® Stella Boyle Smith Early Childhood campus, has been working with children with special needs for more than 30 years. Throughout her career, she has been a part of the journey of...

Breaking Down the Mission

A mission statement is a key tool to precisely communicate the aspirations of an organization; what do we do and why. ACCESS offers a variety of therapeutic services and unique educational programs, but what is the main purpose behind it all? Out of that question came the mission of...

Plant Power: The ACCESS Horticulture Program and the People Who Keep it Growing

The ACCESS® horticulture program is more than just plants. It’s designed to not only build upon school-aged classroom curriculum, but also impart vital social and vocational skills that can help individuals with special needs plan for future employment and exciting new opportunities. Under...

ACCESS Gardens Spring/Summer Plant Sales are Here

Check out our exciting new inventory and see what our ACCESS Academy students and young adults have grown just for you! All proceeds benefit the ACCESS Horticulture program in order to continue expanding individual potential for individuals with special needs. SPRING/SUMMER PLANTS...

Vocation Innovation Project: A New Type of Job Readiness Training

The Vocation Innovation Project (VIP) is a pre-employment transition service for high school students 16-21 years of age with a developmental disability. In partnership with Arkansas Rehabilitation Services, ACCESS® provides individuals the opportunity to learn work-readiness skills in...

Making the Transition from Secondary School: A New Chapter

Students with special needs have a variety of options when it comes to transitioning from secondary school. It’s an exciting new chapter but it can also fill students and their families with uncertainty. That’s why ACCESS has created a new series called “Transitions.”...

Watch P. Allen Smith’s Feature on ACCESS Aeroponics

The Gift that Keeps on Giving: Taziki’s Year of Giving & Support for ACCESS

Last year, the Keet Family of Taziki’s Mediterranean Café in Arkansas launched the HOPE Project (“Herbs Offering Personal Enrichment”) in partnership with ACCESS to teach individuals with special needs all aspects of the herb business, including transferable skills that...

20th Annual Starry Starry Night Auction Preview

Calling all bidders! On Saturday, February 24, ACCESS® will host the 20th annual Starry Starry Night, “Written in the Stars,” at the Little Rock Marriott. This year’s landmark event will celebrate the past, present and future of the organization while honoring those who have helped to...

ACCESS Honors Local Legacies at 20th Annual Starry Starry Night

For Immediate Release: Media Contact: Krysten Levin, Marketing and Special Events Manager Company: ACCESS Group Inc. Phone: (501) 217-8600 email: Krysten.Levin@accessgroupinc.org Website: www.accessgroupinc.org Social Media: @accessgroupinc   Little Rock, Arkansas – December 12, 2017 –...

Paying it Forward: Matching Gifts

The Annual Giving Campaign is underway! There are so many ways individuals can help ACCESS “bridge the gap” created by operating expenses not covered by tuition and other fees. One of the ways supporters can assist ACCESS in its mission to provide children with a rich, well-rounded...

2017 ACCESS Annual Giving Campaign: Joining Hands to “Bridge the Gap”

What is the ACCESS Annual Giving Campaign?  The Annual Giving Campaign raises funds to support the day-to-day operations of ACCESS: the richness of our academic curriculum, the expertise of our therapeutic programs and the operations and maintenance of our expanding campuses. Contributions...

The Full Spectrum of Individual Potential

Two years ago, nervous parents Darrell Finney and Mischa Banks sat in the reception area of ACCESS’s Stella Boyle Smith campus with their son Harlem, knowing that the results of his evaluation might change all of their lives forever. When Harlem was around 18 months old, Darrell and Mischa...

Why Children with ADHD Need More Than Medication

The pediatrician prescribed ADHD medication for my child. Why does my child need a comprehensive evaluation? A comprehensive clinical assessment is necessary to diagnose ADHD. Since a variety of other disorders can look like ADHD, including anxiety, learning disorders, conduct problems,...

Bella’s Story: Cultivating Individual Potential through Innovative Instruction

Amy Kelton’s experience with the ACCESS Evaluation and Resource Center (AERC) was nothing short of life changing. She recalls, “One of our daughters, Isabella (“Bella” for short), had been having a lot of social and behavioral issues. Her therapist asked if we had ever considered having...

Literacy Begins at Birth

We start talking to babies immediately. We do not wait until they understand us to begin talking to them. Reading is much the same. As we read to babies and young children, we foster language development and a love for reading at an early age. As we continue to read aloud to to young children,...

Taziki’s Mediterranean Café Arkansas to partner with ACCESS®, Launch “HOPE” Project

NEWS                                                             For Immediate Release  Information Contact: Stephanie Keet                                             ...

What’s Going into Your Child’s Brain?

Television and computers are having an undeniable impact on the brains of our youth. In order to weigh the positive and negative impact of technology on learning and development in children today, we must first explore how specific connections in the brain play a critical role in...

What Parents Should Know About Reading Instruction

Effective reading instruction includes five areas that must be addressed by third grade to successfully teach children to read. Those five areas are: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Before children are ready to read, they must become aware of the sound...

Help Give #ACCESS2More on ArkansasGives Day

Today is ArkansasGives Day! This special event is all about helping nonprofits grow stronger by encouraging Arkansans to donate on a single day, via Arkansasgives.org. When supporters donate online, ACCESS receives vital funding that, in turn, provides individuals with developmental delays and...

UAMS Project SEARCH® Student and Alum Use Their Skills to Raise Awareness for Accessibility

William “Will” Stevens joined the University of Arkansas for the Medical Sciences (UAMS) Project SEARCH® program as an intern in the fall of 2016. Project SEARCH® Arkansas: ACCESS® Initiative in partnership with Arkansas Rehabilitation Services (ARS) is a nine-month internship program...

6 Reasons Why You Should Support ACCESS on Giving Tuesday

ACCESS relies on the kindness of its supporters to offer a wide range of services to individuals with developmental delays and language and learning disabilities ages six weeks through 35. Every supporter has his or her own personal reason for giving, but in case you were wondering why YOU...

A Message of Gratitude from Tammy Simmons, ACCESS Executive Director

  This week we will gather with friends and family to celebrate the many thingsfor which we are grateful. I want to take this opportunity to thank our staff, families and supporters: …For believing in this organization and the mission of expanding individual potential through innovative...

The Meaning of Giving Tuesday

ACCESS is so excited to participate in #GivingTuesdayAR on Tuesday, November 29, 2016! But what is “#GivingTuesdayAR,” anyway?! This special day is a state-wide effort supported by the Arkansas Nonprofit Alliance and is part of a national movement that encourages holiday giving rather than...

Getting App Happy: Apps Geared Toward Learning and Therapy are Worth Smiling About

It’s a lament heard by parents and teachers of students in early childhood all the way through high school: “My kid is glued to their smart technology.” We worry that we are helping to create an entire generation of children and young adults who use touch-screen devices as a means to...

Development and Early Intervention: Ask the ACCESS Expert

Meet ACCESS’ Licensed Psychological Examiner, Kimberly Newton. When it comes to gauging your child’s development, Kimberly advises parents to seek early intervention if they notice developmental delays. Q: My child is almost two years old. How much should she be talking? Though children...

How Does ACCESS Make a Difference? Let’s Count the Ways!

# of individuals served by ACCESS: 320 # of ACCESS staff using technology to help change lives: 165 # of ACCESS fingers engaging with technology daily: 4,850 # of laptops used by ACCESS staff: 92 # of smartboards used in classrooms: 12 # of iPads used to help implement therapy, learning, and...

Technology Gets Smart to Expand Individual Potential

Sure, technology is important to all of us—it’s difficult to envision life without our smart phones, tablets, and numerous other gadgets. But for ACCESS staff and students, technology is less about making life easier and more about making learning possible. Who better to attest to this...

A Multi-Sensory Experience at Moss Mountain Farm

Each year a group of ACCESS students venture to Moss Mountain Farm for a day of fun and adventure.  This year was no exception.  Ms. Leslie and Ms. Mary Stuart’s classrooms thoroughly enjoyed their trip to the farm on Tuesday, March 15. The students loved getting to pick daffodils and...

A Very Special Thank YOU!

We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to the Oberste family for their leadership with the 18th annual Starry Starry Night. We hope you enjoy this video, which touched so many hearts at the event.  It is a true inspiration of the impact that the mission and services of ACCESS have on...

ACCESS Gets a New Playground

The ACCESS playgrounds are much more than play spaces, they are used as outdoor therapeutic spaces. On December 03,2015, 200 community volunteers came to our campus to help improve our outdoor play spaces. Approximately 200 volunteers came out to paint and construct the playgrounds new...