 
 
| Meet Ed  Deb Taylor is the Daytime Supervision at the Concord Monitor who hired Ed to work "on the line." According to Deb, "Ed feeds inserts (such as grocery circulars) into the newspaper. He must be quick enough to feed the machine neatly, and shuffle them down." Ed is "an excellent worker who works every day from 9:00AM to 2:00PM and is very dependable."
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Meet Andrew  Andrew is 19 years old with sparkling eyes and a big smile. According to his mom Beth, "we had to negotiate to have him in inclusive classrooms throughout his school years." This turned out to be wonderful experience for everyone to learn an important lesson stated best by Andrew's sister: "No one is perfect, but everyone is okay." In Junior High, Andrew's Circle was formed-a group of 8-10 students who would meet during study hall to figure out how to make life better for Andrew. For example, they made lunchtime easier for him by always leaving an empty seat at each of their tables. Andrew could choose with whom to eat, or even join a group to eat outside if the weather was nice. Andrew also participated in the local Boys Club after school program from 2nd through 7th grade. He is now taking classes at New England College. "How do you dream on behalf of your child?"
-Beth (Andrew's mom)
The PATH Program The Community Bridges PATH Program "a future planning tool" was implemented with Andrew in 2001. PATH invites as many people from Andrew's life (Community Bridges, high school personnel, Andrew, his friends and family) to participate. Unlike individual service plans, PATH doesn't focus on deficits, but on dreams. In Andrew's case, this means that ten years from now, he will have lots of people around, be busy every day, travel, and continue to learn. With this framework, Andrew's group will revisit PATH this Spring to brainstorm more specific jobs and work-related issues.
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| Meet Jonah  Jonah means "dove," according to his mom Diane. And it fits this bright, happy 6-year old perfectly. Jonah loves trucks, and can identify their make and model by their grills, headlights and hubcaps. Jonah was hospitalized at 4 months with congestive heart failure. His weak and enlarged heart is complicated by other health issues, resulting in stamina and energy issues and fatigue. His services with Community Bridges started with Early Intervention, which helped transition him into a small special needs preschool and the "opportunity to be with other children," according to his mom. He now attends afternoon kindergarten and receives Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy services at school. His family is involved with Partners in Health - a Community Bridges program that helps support children with chronic health issues. "I can't even imagine where Jonah would be today without Early Intervention - I can't even imagine what those first three years would have been like without it. This was a new road for us as a family. Community Bridges helped us in a gentle way, gave us a framework, helped us establish realistic expectations, learn what was appropriate, as well as practical techniques to help him cope"
-Diane (Jonah's mom)
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