For the Callahan family, connection has always been key. As local business owners of Callahan’s Flooring, Christine and Larry take pride in the work that they do connecting with and serving the needs of the Hudson community and surrounding neighborhoods. As parents, they’re actively involved with the Hudson school system, which has embraced and supported both of their children, Andrew and Claire. And, as advocates for people with disabilities, they place a high value in connecting with families who have faced challenges like theirs and with those who may not yet know why inclusion and accessibility are so deeply important within every community.
Sometimes connection means opening your heart to what is best for those you love. As their son, Andrew, aged into his teenage years, his daily support needs were putting an increasing strain on the family. Andrew was born with a developmental disability that significantly impacted him. Due to his medical condition, Andrew cannot walk or communicate verbally. Even with in-home nursing support, Larry shared that their daily routines often started at 5am or even earlier, when he and Christine would be rushing to make sure Andrew had all of his needs met while also supporting their daughter Claire. Any parent of school-aged children can attest to the madness of weekday mornings, and compounded by Andrew’s heightened needs, Larry and Christine knew that, for everyone’s sake, something had to give. They were referred to the Hattie Larlham Center for Children with Disabilities by Andrew’s pediatrician, Dr. Richard Grossberg, who, in addition to his roles with University Hospitals, is also the Medical Director at the Hattie Larlham Center. Though understandably wary at the thought of Andrew no longer living at home with the family, the Callahans toured the Center and met with the staff and felt strongly that the Center would be the best place for Andrew to truly thrive.
When asked about the positive impact of Andrews move to the Center, Christine said, “I think one of the biggest things with Andrew being here is that, on the medical side of things, the staff knows this population. There are times where we’ve avoided hospital trips and they’ve been headed off because they have the knowledge whereas, if he were at home, we would’ve ended up in the hospital.” Larry added, “Coming to Hattie has been a good fit for us. We know the staff care and love the kids so much. We just feel totally comfortable here and we know that Andrew is loved just as much as we love him.”
The Center itself is its own thriving community, with 124 residents plus nearly double that in staff. Every day, there are countless opportunities to connect, whether through recreation and music programming, in the onsite school classrooms, during check-ins with medical staff, in one-on-one sessions with speech, occupational, massage, and physical therapists, or with a favorite Direct Support Professional during mealtimes and evening routines. Of the importance of feeling that connection, Christine said, “You can see that he’s made connections with certain staff members that he likes and they can usually push him to do things that he might not otherwise do. Every time we come in, you see the staff engaging with the residents and everybody is so happy and positive in how they do that. If we come in and need help with something, someone is always jumping in to help answer questions or get us to where we need to be.”
More than a year after his move to the Center, Andrew continues to grow and thrive every day. When we asked how they’ve adjusted to and embraced the change, Larry said, “For me, it’s the comfort of knowing that he’s cared for and better than we could care for him because this is a specialty institution that’s really based in care and love. It just gives us a lot of comfort knowing that as we get older and age out of being able to take care of him that he’s got a place to be for the rest of his lifetime.
That care, and the extra special love that Hattie Larlham is known for, is all rooted in the value of connection. Each day, our front-line staff come to work with one ultimate goal: to connect. Every employee pours their heart into creating those everyday moments of joy and ensuring that each person served at Hattie Larlham always feels connected and knows that they are important and cherished. Larry Callahan said it best when he was asked what makes Hattie Larlham special. “It’s really the people and the care that they have,” he said. “Nobody comes to work at Hattie Larlham to get rich. This is a vocation, a calling, and you have to really care about the kids, you have to care about the population.”
Your support of Hattie Larlham means the world to families like the Callahans, who rely on the Center to be the best possible home for Andrew. By making a donation today, you are helping more than 1,300 people and their families who count on Hattie Larlham to connect and thrive every day.