Therapy Helps Child Recover From Mold

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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/134618380_fund19m.html Sunday, January 19, 2003 - 12:00 a.m. Pacific Lifting children over life's obstacles By Seattle Times staff reporter BELLEVUE — Mr. Potato Head has no arms or teeth, but Ethan Carnahan is working on that. At his teacher's prompting, the 23-month-old picks from a pile of plastic body parts to give the brown lump a grin. He smiles and gets a round of high-fives. With the help of the nonprofit Kindering Center, the toddler is regaining his abilities to communicate and socially interact. He lost those abilities last year, at the age of 12 months, about the same time his family discovered their house was infected with toxic mold. The Kindering Center, one of the organizations that benefits from The Seattle Times' annual Fund for the Needy, offers an unusually broad array of therapies to children suffering from neurodevelopmental disabilities or medical complications or recovering from abuse or neglect. After two months of speech and physical therapy at the center, Ethan has begun to re-emerge as the happy kid he was a year ago, said his mother, Carnahan. The center also helped the family find furniture and clothing, which they had to abandon because of the mold. "They've been amazing," she said. "If I ever win the lottery, I'm donating so much" to the Kindering Center. As with many clients, the Carnahans are unable to afford the Kindering Center's help. The center estimates it subsidizes families in its early-intervention program, which treats Ethan, an average of $4,000 a child. Overall, it helps more than 1,000 kids a year. A successful capital campaign allowed the center last fall to more than double the size of its sleek headquarters near Crossroads Shopping Center. The organization eliminated a client waiting list, expanded its geographic boundaries to encompass the entire Eastside and is growing by about 10 new children a month, said Executive Director Mimi Siegel. While it is gratifying to become a higher-profile agency, the expansion comes at a time when nonprofits are struggling to raise money in a down economy. The agency relies on United Way and charitable contributions for more than a quarter of its $2.6 million annual budget. "Because we have so many children applying, there's a tremendous, tremendous pressure on our resources," Siegel said. The organization formed in 1962, when five mothers of disabled children met at swimming lessons. Determined to develop services that were lacking at the time in public schools, their efforts evolved into the Kindering Center in 1993. Today, the center offers help at its Crossroads building and in parents' homes. Among the services are traditional therapies, a foster-care program for disabled children, family counseling, nutrition classes and the longest-running program in the United States to help fathers mentor each other. and Trevor Carnahan discovered the Kindering Center after a hellish year as first-time homebuyers. After a broken water pipe was fixed in the basement of their Renton home and Ethan began routinely vomiting, a contractor discovered thick, black mold behind walls upstairs. Prescription: Leave now. A series of cleanups forced the family to flee three times. They left for good about a year ago, when Ethan, who was forming words for "ball," "mom" and "dad," stopped talking or even making eye contact. , 29, and Trevor, a 24-year-old software developer, also suffered. "We had this brain fog and were fighting all the time because we couldn't understand each other," said. Now very allergic, the family found an apartment with hardwood floors on Mercer Island and filled it with furniture donated by their church. All that's left from their old house are photos and art-nouveau prints, bought in Paris during better days. University of Washington child-development experts found Ethan's development was delayed, and the family was directed to the Kindering Center for twice-weekly visits. Insurance covered only 20 visits, but the center plans to keep Ethan in its classes for at least a year. With the help of speech-and-language therapist Kerilyn Pandorf, Ethan is beginning to use sign language. During a session last week, he tapped his fingers — the sign for more — when Pandorf asked if he wanted bubbles blown over his blond head. It's not entirely clear if Ethan's delays were caused by exposure to the stachybotrys, aspergillus and penicillium molds, but the family's Kindering Center caseworker, Fretwell, has talked with two doctors who believe they are. She's helped the family get Red Cross vouchers, and a member of the Kindering Center board of directors gave them Christmas presents. "They're in such a desperate situation," Fretwell said. "We're a nonprofit, so we'll never turn a family away." Bills for the home cleanups and medical treatments have left the Carnahans with debts of about $30,000. The house is now clean, said Carnahan, but the couple is selling it rather than moving back. "Emotionally, it will always be the house that nearly killed my son," she said. "It's a monster to me." : 206-464-2605 or jonathanmartin@.... Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company