Totally Buggin'



Today was not a good day to be an aphid at Special Tree’s “Ladybug Release Party” which took place at the new NeuroCare Campus greenhouse in Romulus.  Several staff, including CEO Joe Richert, and NCC clients stopped by to scatter hundreds of hungry ladybugs to feast on pest insects that are common in greenhouse environments. 

Greenhouse Coordinator Linda Davis got the party started by giving everyone a small plastic container of ladybugs and a spray bottle to moisten the plants to attract these  natural predators to their food source. Clients really enjoyed the activity, which Linda will repeat every few weeks to keep the optimal level of ladybugs in the greenhouse.

Special Tree’s newest and coolest facility will be used for many different programs including horticulture therapy, activities, vocational rehabilitation, and as a place to relax and/or visit with family.  Linda recently did a training with NCC Occupational Therapists and Physical Therapists about therapeutic activities for clients including starting seeds, watering, and repotting plantings.  Clients in  Special Tree’s vocational program are currently growing a dozen different herbs that they’ll dry and package to sell in a few months.

“I encourage staff and clients to come in for a visit,” said Linda.  “Being in the greenhouse is so relaxing.  It’s warm, colorful, and smells wonderful!”

Stay tuned for more dirt on Special Tree’s new greenhouse!

Leaf Me Alone

Special Tree's Activities staff used the beautiful autumn leaves currently in abundance at our NeuroCare Campus to make this fun leaf craft with clients.  Here's how you can make one, too! 

What you’ll need: toilet paper rolls, pebbles or bark, leaves, twigs or pipe cleaners, wiggle eyes, scissors, glue stick, hot glue gun. 

 

How to do it:  Begin by hot gluing the leaf to the top of the toliet paper roll for the head.  Next, hot glue the twigs to the sides of the tube for the arms or make a small hole in the sides and slip the twig arms or pipe cleaner through the tube. Hot glue pebbles or small pieces of bark to the front of the tube for the buttons.  Finally, add wiggle eyes to the leaf head. 

 

Tea Time at the Tree

by Grace D., Special Tree Recreational Therapist

Blueberry Bliss, Wild Orange Blossom, Honeybush Vanilla, Watermelon Mint Chiller…….  these are a few of the teas sampled by clients in Special Tree's Day Treatment Program in Troy.  Recreational Therapist, Grace D, provided a sensory tea tasting activity with the help of DTS staff Toria, Kristin, and Nick.   Using their sense of smell, sight and taste, the clients took turns guessing the scent of the leaves, identifying pieces of dried fruit among the tea leaves, and sipping each

tea to taste the flavor.  “My favorite tea was the Strawberry Pink Rose because it smelled really nice,” said client Lisa G.  Staff also enjoyed the activity.  Said DTS staff member Toria H.  “I never knew there were so many things to learn about tea!”   

Nice Cache!

by Amanda Crawford, Student Intern - Recreational Therapy

Client Daniel D. and TR intern Amanda C. find the cache

Special Tree clients Daniel D. and Will H. can now count themselves among the six million "geocachers" worldwide who are hooked on this great way to enjoy the outdoors.


Geocaching is an outdoor sporting activity, often described as a real-world outdoor treasure hunting game, where participants use a GPS-enabled device to seek hidden containers called "geocaches" or "caches" anywhere in the world.  Players then share their experience online to help others find caches near them.



Time to look inside!

A typical cache is a  small waterproof container tucked away in crooks of trees, under rocks or sometimes buried like real treasure, that contain a logbook where the geocacher enters the date they found it and signs their name.  Larger containers such as plastic storage containers (Tupperware or similar) can also contain items for trading, usually toys or trinkets of little value.

Daniel and Amanda sign and date the cache's log

Geocaches are currently placed in over 100 countries around the world and on all seven continents, including Antarctica. After 10 years of activity there are over 1,532,000
active geocaches published on various websites.

Clients started geocaching last fall with Clinical Mananger and TR Angie Dorsey. Her group of young adults loved it and found caches ranging from the size of 1 inch to a five gallon bucket. 

Geocaching offers many therapeutic benefits for clients says TR Grace DeMuch who also takes clients on monthly geocaching outings.  "Geocaching helps our clients with balance and coordination, visual scanning, navigation, feedback utilization, safety awareness, and fluid thinking,” she said.

“Geocaching is the perfect combination of excitement and happiness,” says outpatient Daniel who works with Grace.   Will, another client, also agrees. “Geocaching is fun because it’s a combination of mystery and adventure.” 

 

With a growing list of cache finds, the TR department is now ready to take on the challange of creating and hiding their own caches.  Stay tuned for updates.  

Anyone can geocache and it’s an activity the whole family can enjoy.  Learn more at www.geocaching.com.
 

 

 

 

Client Shares Life-Saving Message in TV Interview

Did you know that a texting driver is 23 times more likely to get into a crash than a non-texting driver?  Special Tree client Brandon L. is all too famliar with the dangers of texting while driving. In October 2010, Brandon nearly died when a distracted driver who was texting crashed into his car causing a severe brain injury from which he's still recoverying.

Brandon recently talked about his recovery and his campaign "Heads Up, Phones Down" to stop drivers from texting on Ask Dr. Nandi, a new health TV talk show taped in Troy, Michigan which airs daily on the Impact Network.  The show is nationally broadcast and we're so excited that Brandon will get his life-saving message out to such a large audience.  The episode on Distracted Driving will air at a TBD date, but you can watch a 60 second trailer at the link below.  You will need to enter a password to view the trailer by using the password:  nandi

http://vimeo.com/70787390

Brandon has also made appearances at local schools, newspapers, and radio shows with the goal of inspiring others and to prevent further accidents like his own.   Through his website, www.headsupphonesdown.com Brandon also sells wristbands and t-shirts to people who take the pledge to stop texting and driving.  

Smooth Sailing

Teens in Discover Summer's work readiness program are sailing right through a project to refinish a sailboat by the end of the summer.  "The kids are in the final stages and we'll be ready for the big launch on August 15th," said Christine Morabito, Asst. Director of Children's Services at Special Tree.  The students and staff began the project in mid-June and have made several trips to a local boat store for tips and advice along the way to get it sea-worthy. Nice work everyone!

 

Students Show-off Yoga Skills on Fox2 News

Check out this really nice story that FOX2 News Detroit's Kam Carman did on yoga which featured kids from Discover! Summer, Special Tree's therapy program for kids with TBI.  Ms. Carman stopped by Special Tree's outpatient center in Troy to film the kids’ yoga class and to interview Belightful Yoga ownerinstructor Lisa Ballo who teaches students twice/week.  The kids love doing yoga and their enthusiasm really showed in the story.  

Great job everyone!  

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/22803240/kams-corner-belightful-yoga-brings-yoga-to-you