Feature Stories

Mealtimes can be a source of tension for many families with young children. From cajoling finicky eaters to eat their broccoli to battling restless youngsters who simply refuse to sit at the table and finish their dinner, parents can face an uphill battle when it comes to feeding their children balanced meals every day.

Most 18-year-old girls love to talk. Maggie Piet is no exception. She just uses modern technology to do so.

The lobby of the ice rink hums with excitement as children laugh and talk while their parents bundle them up and help them get their skates on. In one corner, a little boy grins from ear to ear as his dad helps him to his feet and his mom snaps photo after photo. Across the room, another mom keeps a careful eye on her son as he practices walking in his skates, one hand on the wall for stability.

Laurie Blitz began to suspect that something was not quite right with her daughter as early as when she was a toddler. Erin seemed overly hyperactive, moving so much that even simple tasks like changing her diaper became lessons in patience and control. When she was old enough to walk, she would constantly run away, placing herself in danger.

Every morning, 3-year-old La'Nell Alewine and her 4-year-old sister, Ja'Nell, get dressed and make their way to preschool at the Dayspring Head Start Center in East Baltimore. There, the girls eat a healthy breakfast, play with their classmates and learn about the alphabet, colors and numbers.

Not everyone can create a masterpiece of art or music, poetry or dance a gift like that is all the more special because it is rare. But the process of creating art is a gift unto itself, empowering and life enhancing. For children with disabilities, art can be especially valuable in helping them communicate thoughts and feelings that might otherwise stay locked inside or end up expressed in inappropriate ways.

While ADHD is thought to occur more often in boys than in girls, there may be another reason why four times as many boys are diagnosed with the disorder. Girls with ADHD tend to demonstrate more subtle symptoms, although little research has been done to explain why. A newly launched Kennedy Krieger study aims to determine whether ADHD is associated with different brain characteristics in girls than in boys.

Today's parents have a mind-boggling array of movies, video games, CDs, and MP3s to sift through to keep abreast of their children's vast entertainment options.

Jim Schuyler had a big decision to make last February. Diane Stegman, one of the Program Coordinators for the Therapeutic Family Care program, wanted to know whether he and his wife, Karen, could manage to care for one more child. That day, caseworkers from the Department of Social Services had removed Dante,* a 2-year-old boy with spina bifida, from a home where his needs could not be met.

If you've ever doubted how quickly your life can be turned upside down, just ask the Bahen family. On Monday, Nov. 14, 2000, the Bahens' 5-year-old daughter Nicole joined her friends for her usual afternoon dance class. By Sunday Nov. 20, Nicole lay in intensive care recovering from surgery, unable to speak, roll over or swallow, nearly paralyzed on her right side. Such is the swift devastation of a pediatric brain tumor.