About Us
After having spent several years working with
parents and caregivers of children with special needs,
Joanne Birce, CEO and founder of 'Special Kidz' felt
it was time to create and launch a thorough and
comprehensive online directory.
As the registrar at a Calgary special needs private
school, she encountered many enquiring parents
who were quite literally at the end of their rope.
Their stories of the lengthy and often onerous
struggle to find suitable programming and support
for their child, which sometimes ended in even more
frustrations, touched Joanne deeply.
Where can we go to have a psycho-educational assessment completed? What programs are available for our child who struggles to make and keep friends? Which schools offer an educational program for our child who has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder? These and many more questions came across her desk.
Joanne's passion and dedication for this project inspires her on a more personal level, as well. Her youngest sister, born in 1982, was born with multiple physical and cognitive disabilities. Her family spent much of their time at the Alberta Children's Hospital, and she was always amazed at the depth of support available to families, if they just knew where to look.
Finding the information you need, when you need it, can be an extremely overwhelming and daunting process. Our hope is that we may provide parents and caregivers with all the information possible, right at the click of a mouse!
We hope you will treasure the information you find here!
**Joanne was recently nominated for the 2009 YMCA Peace Medal, in Calgary,
for the contribution the Special Kidz website has had in that community!
