Russell Haggard’s life took a remarkable turn when he embarked on a transformative journey with Project SEARCH Arkansas: ACCESS Initiative in partnership with Arkansas Rehabilitation Services, a program designed to empower individuals with diverse abilities by providing vocational training and career opportunities. Karen and Dan Haggard, Russell’s devoted parents, recount their journey alongside Russell, navigating through challenges and ultimately finding hope and success through Project SEARCH.
In the heart of Little Rock, where resources for young adults with special needs were scarce, our son Cross found his place to thrive. As parents, we always believed in Cross’s ability to overcome challenges, even his speech limitations, if he felt embraced and accepted.
My daughter, Kenian Tiner, grappled with challenges in public schools from an early age. Diagnosed with ADHD at four, she later faced a severe anxiety disorder and autism spectrum disorder. As divorced parents, Kenian lived with her mom in Missouri during the week and spent weekends with me in Arkansas. Despite the geographical split, our unwavering priority was to do whatever it takes to get Kenian the help she needs.
We were first introduced to ACCESS when our daughter Ellie was about six weeks old. She was born with Down syndrome and a number of other complex medical conditions that kept her in the hospital. She had never been outside to breathe natural air, but the team at ACCESS was already at work, propping up her parents and formulating a plan to get her body strong enough to keep her alive through her next open-heart surgery.
When our son Max’s anxiety started impacting him and our family in many hard and potentially dangerous ways, our pediatrician recommended three things – medication, comprehensive testing, and therapy. I knew immediately that the only people I would trust with something so serious was the ACCESS Evaluation and Resource Center (AERC). My children have grown up at ACCESS, and this was big and scary, but being at ACCESS made it feel like home.
On July 7, 2017, a beautiful little girl named Shakavia Tra’miya Highsmith entered the world, weighing 4 pounds 12.9 ounces. As she grew, her mother Nekena Litzsey and her family noticed peculiarities in her behavior. “As time went by, we started noticing little things about her,” recalled Nekena. “By the age of two, we noticed her spinning around in circles regularly, flapping her hands, putting non-food items in her mouth like ice, dirt, sticks, dust, etc., and her moods changing frequently.” At three, she developed specific routines and struggled with changes, resisting tasks outside her comfort zone.
The ACCESS Starry Starry Night committee is excited to share an unprecedented matching grant, giving Starry Starry Night: The 25th Chapter the opportunity to be the biggest event yet for the organization.
Our journey with ACCESS started early. As a baby, Sam received language and feeding therapy at ACCESS. His therapist worked closely with us in order to help him thrive and overcome his feeding obstacles , as well as become a very talkative toddler!
“I don’t have to listen!” my four-year-old Charles says to me with a big grin as he dashes away from me trying to hand him his shoes to put on one morning. While this would normally be a moment for discipline, I can’t help but try to stifle my smile. Even when they aren’t words I love hearing, a five-word sentence from this sweet, silly boy is something I will never take for granted. That sentence, and so many more, have been made possible by the Early Childhood program at ACCESS.