Special Parents Confidential Episode 36 Mentoring Programs

Mentoring Programs Mentoring programs for children are some of the most successful social and educational support systems available.  Many experts on child education will tell you that having someone who can mentor, coach, or demonstrate to kids how to do things outside of school and family is vital. Being able to talk to an adult mentor who can help a child with school goals and career choices can make a huge difference for a child’s confidence and outlook. Significant studies over the years have shown that kids who have been helped through mentoring programs are less likely to get into trouble in school, become more confident about their school performance, and get along better with their friends and families. Now there’s a mentoring organization just for kids with special needs. Project Ready Set Goal , based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, offers mentoring for children with learning disabilities and physical disabilities. They help kids with academic and career guidance, building leadership skills, and help with social issue strategies and learning how to advocate for themselves. And it’s all done for free. In this episode we talk with Janine Thomas, executive director of Project Ready Set Goal to find out more about the services and help they provide. She talks about their screening process for mentors, gives examples of how mentoring programs can help kids with school, as well as their future life choices.  Janine also talks about why she wanted to focus on mentoring for special needs children, and how she hopes that her idea will grow across the country. As always a reminder that if you like this episode of Special Parents Confidential or any episode we’ve done, please share our site with your friends, family, and all your connections on social media. You can do this easily with the social media buttons located right below this paragraph. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, add us on Google Plus, Tumbler, Linked In, Pintrest, Stumble Upon, Reddit, or other social media sites that you prefer. You can also sign up for our email service and have new posts and podcast episodes delivered right to your inbox the moment they’re available online. That form is located to the right of this text. We’re also on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIN, and Poddirectory as a free subscription and if you have a moment, feel free to write a review about our podcast on either of those sites. Anything you can do to help spread the word about Special Parents Confidential will help us be able to continue these podcasts. Thanks for your support!