As part of the TLC Community Center’s continuing effort to raise awareness about the issues special needs children face, the Center is hosting a free educational workshop for the public this weekend.

On Saturday, April 28, at 10 a.m., the TLC Community Center will present a program at Lynn Valley Baptist Church titled “How Sensory and Communication Challenges Affect a Child’s Behavior.” The event is free and open to anyone who would like to attend.

The keynote speaker for the workshop will be Dr. Teresa Boggs, Ph.D. CCC-SLP, the Director of Clinical Services for Speech-Language Pathology for East Tennessee State University.

Also speaking during the workshop will be Occupational Therapist Sarah Pullen of TalkBack Therapy.

Following the presentations by Boggs and Pullen, those in attendance will have the opportunity to ask questions with both speakers.

“The TLC Community Center is hosting this free program for anyone who works with children to help them better understand how to identify and work with children who have special needs,” TLC Community Center Director Angie Odom said.

She recommends anyone who is a teacher, director or leader of children’s programs at churches, daycare workers, or just anyone who works with or has routine contact with children attend the event.

“If you work with children at all, this will be a good program for you to attend,” Odom said. “We are really stressing for our churches to come, because if we are going to serve all families, we need to have a place for them and be able to serve them.”

“This is especially important with summer and Vacation Bible Schools just around the corner,” she added. “We will have information available about starting programs for children with special needs at churches available for those who attend.”

When Odom adopted her daughter Isabella, she was introduced to an entirely new world as she worked to understand her daughter’s sensory issues.

“It’s like learning a whole new language,” Odom said. “The children are trying to communicate with us in the way they know how, we just need to learn their language.”

Odom said the event will also feature a display of inexpensive examples of activities that can help either stimulate or de-stimulate the children as needed. She said door prizes related to working with children with sensory issues will be given out.

For more information on this event, contact Odom at 423-895-8601.