In 2003, I was given the opportunity to start a program for students with special needs at the Intermediate School in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. With the help of several amazing women (mothers of my students), the Special Talents Program was born. For over a decade, we taught, nurtured, challenged and encouraged our students to become as independent as possible. As the students got older, the Special Talents program moved from school to school ending up at the High School where our students truly blossomed into young adults, ready to fledge. When it was time for my first students to graduate, I watched them cross the high school stage with overwhelming feelings of both pride and sorrow. I was proud of how far they had come, their maturity and their self-confidence, but I was heart-broken to realize that their path to independence had reached a major road block. Programs for adults with developmental disabilities are virtually nonexistent in Pagosa Springs. Unless these young adults moved away from their own community, they had little opportunity for independent or even semi-independent living. Fortunately, Patty Brown, Carolyn Paschal and other caring community members have taken on the task of creating a home where adults with developmental disabilities can live as independently as possible, while still receiving the care they need to ensure theirhealth and safety. Aspen House will give these adults the opportunity to use all of the skills they have learned in order to enjoy the pride and self-confidence that comes with increasing independence. In the future, graduates of the Special Talents program will have a broader horizon in front of them as them accept their diplomas and step off the stage.
-Mary Kurt-Mason – Teacher
