Oftentimes when people think of Pause, they think of the kiddos we serve. While they certainly drive our mission and are the reason we exist, the “how” of our program is our volunteer base! In other words, our program is made possible by a group of people who have committed to serving kids and families with disabilities.

Representation in books, movies, careers, advertisements and media matters for all people, especially those with disabilities. Growing up, children with extra needs hear a lot about what they can’t do as those in helping professions spend a lot of time focusing on deficits, missed milestones and gaps in learning or development. In fact, psychiatrist and author William Dodson, MD, estimates that by age 12, children who have ADHD receive 20,000 more negative messages from parents, teachers, and other adults than their friends and siblings who do not have ADHD. This negative messaging can lead to social isolation, poor self-esteem and poor self-image.

As you may know, when Pause first launched out as a nonprofit in July 2021, we did so with a gifted 8,200 sq ft of space inside Center Pointe Christian Church. We officially had a home base and our team was over the moon excited to host in-house events which eliminated all the packing, transporting and unpacking of our activities and supplies for each event we hosted.

Special needs parents can spend an additional 30-40 hours a week in care alone of a child with complex needs. Most can suffer from physical fatigue, emotional stress and/or emotional upset or guilt. They are tired. They need a break.

At Pause, our vision is for each child to be valued, loved and appreciated for their individual gifts and for each family to be given the space to share their family’s joys and hardships. When families link arms with Pause they have opportunity for better outcomes in caregiver stress, family functioning and resilience.

To be the light means in times of darkness you offer hope, encouragement, kindness and compassion. It can also mean taking the weight off - showing up when things feel heavy and simply helping to carry what they hold.

Where others are struggling with self-doubt, self-esteem and self-love, being the light offers a way to help them to regain confidence, joy, connection and worth so they can shine again - and - it’s helping them believe it’s possible in the first place. Light helps us feel safe and secure. It can signify new beginnings, hope, and opportunity. It lights the way, gives direction and exposes new possibilities.

At Pause, we want kids to be and feel safe and loved. We want them to be seen, heard and understood. The Pause Way of interacting with children is rooted in growing resilience. When interacting with kids, Pause staff and volunteers use trauma responsive interactions strategies. Through this approach, we model and teach kids to be present, stay curious and regulate their bodies and emotions.

Some kiddos with special needs have limited opportunities to connect with safe adults outside their families. Clubs and organizations outside of school aren’t always accessible or curate felt safety for kids who are often misunderstood. Sometimes caregivers fear that other adults won’t be able to handle the big emotions that may come up or that there may be physical or communicative limitations that make it difficult. Dropping kids off at Pause events is different. Why? Hands down because of our volunteers.

We all like to have fun - with our families, with our friends and even with our community! For families with disabilities, going out in the community to enjoy events with their families can be hard and without the proper supports, practice and accommodations in place it can be next to impossible type of hard that only people who live this life can truly understand. And - this gives our surrounding community an opportunity to make their facilities or spaces more accessible and accommodating to families with extra needs.

How did you meet your friends? Maybe in school, at work, in a sports club or your neighborhood. But would you ever think of meeting your friends for the first time on Zoom? For Pause young adult, Jackson, and Pause volunteer, Michael - that’s exactly how their friendship started.

Supporting families is essential to the work Pause does. It's even one of the four pillars of our program - rest, support, connection and fun and has been ingrained in Pause since the very beginning. Back in 2012, a needs assessment survey went out to the local Butler County community allowing families to share their needs, barriers and successes. One of the biggest needs surfacing from this survey was from caregivers of kids who have disabilities who shared they needed respite, a break.

Linking arms with the community to strengthen our kiddos and spread awareness is our favorite thing! Over the years, we have found so many wonderful community partners that want to pour into our families and kiddos but often struggle with the how. When planning respite events, we like to reach out to community members or businesses to come to our events as “guest speakers” for the kids to enjoy. When we can introduce a new thing in a safe space it’s less scary for our kiddos who have a hard time with change and transitions.

Did you know that this past programming year the 378 volunteers enrolled in Pause spent 5,646.25 hours volunteering with us? In case you’re wondering, the market value for volunteers in 2023, is $31.80 per hour (the highest it’s ever been!). That means that Pause volunteers have essentially invested $179,869 in Pause this year! We don’t take their investment lightly!

When you think of self-care, you may think of a spa day, reading a book in the bath or maybe even a quiet nap. While those are definitely some great self-care options, did you know there are actually seven different types of self-care: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social, professional and practical?

A consistent message we hear from caregivers, especially moms of kids with special needs, is around the struggle of being consistent with self-care. If we are honest, consistency can be hard for all of us, but with so much time devoted to care for children with extra needs it can be even more challenging. Since we know you can’t pour from an empty cup, Pause has made it a priority to create self-care opportunities for our caregivers.

Consistency and routine are key for kiddos with special needs. When we can predict what’s going to happen, plan ahead to help with transitions to different activities and make a plan B if something unexpected comes up, it calms our brain to know what’s coming.

One of the purposes of Thrive Night is to bring connection to families with special needs. Because they live a very nuanced life, sometimes it’s hard to explain, it’s hard to understand…it can just be hard. Thrive Night aims to take the “hard” out of connecting with other people who have similar experiences. There’s less to explain, more time to exhale and truly enjoy yourself. This is true for caregivers and also siblings of kiddos with extra needs.

Consistency and routine are key for kiddos with special needs. When we can predict what’s going to happen, plan ahead to help with transitions to different activities and make a plan B if something unexpected comes up, it calms our brain to know what’s coming.

Pause knows that program sustainability and longevity are essential to our families and we have assumed personal responsibility in making sure that happens for years to come! Currently, Pause is funded through grants, donations and volunteer support. We are always focused on sustainability as it has been emotionally and physically difficult for families to lose other community resources they have relied on in the past. As our grant funder priorities change, we must be prepared so our priorities can remain the same!

To be the light means in times of darkness you offer hope, encouragement, kindness and compassion. It can also mean taking the weight off - showing up when things feel heavy and simply helping to carry what they hold.

Where others are struggling with self-doubt, self-esteem and self-love, being the light offers a way to help them to regain confidence, joy, connection and worth so they can shine again - and - it’s helping them believe it’s possible in the first place. Light helps us feel safe and secure. It can signify new beginnings, hope, and opportunity. It lights the way, gives direction and exposes new possibilities.

When you receive something handcrafted for you, how do you feel? Special? Warm? Loved? When you can see the time, effort and love it took to create that handcrafted piece, you might feel overwhelmed with joy!

Now think of a kiddo with extra needs who has had a hard time at school. Making friends doesn't come easy. The adults in their life have a hard time understanding their needs. It might be hard to understand why they act a certain way or do things differently than their peers. They might often feel isolated and alone. When this kiddo receives a handcrafted gift, designed especially for them, they feel less alone. They feel special. They feel worthy. And they want to keep that gift in a safe space to remind them of their preciousness forever.

Pause has seen the need for family fun grow exponentially in the past year. Families who have kids with special needs find it hard to access community holiday events in safe ways. Sometimes the location or outdoor setting is challenging for kids who get overstimulated and run to find a calmer space. Sometimes families fear judgment from other people when their kiddo is having a big emotion in a tough moment. Sometimes parents worry their kiddo won’t enjoy or won’t be able to access the activities at a general community event without necessary sensory breaks. We are so thankful to have a fully donated space and the autonomy to design it purposefully. This flexibility gives families a safe, judgment free environment to enjoy time together as a family.

Volunteers make Pause possible. We can attribute much of our growth over the years to the consistent, dedicated and loving volunteers that have found Pause. They have allowed us to decrease the number of kids waiting to attend Pause programming by donating as little as an hour of their time.

One program that has shown exponential growth from volunteer support is Unlimited - Sunday morning programming in partnership with Center Pointe. Since the beginning of Pause, one of the most consistent needs we kept hearing from families was their need for a faith community in which their kiddos with special needs could also thrive in a learning environment. In the summer of 2021, Pause linked arms with Center Pointe to offer families that very thing!