Kinera Foundation, Inc. Information

Kinera Foundation will enhance the quality of life for children with special needs and their families by providing parent support groups, social activities, access to various treatments and therapies, while continuing to support inclusive and community programs. I will never forget the day I took my son in for his 3 year well visit and left feeling as though I was bringing home a new child. In a time when I should have felt a sense of relief, I simply felt lost. I wanted desperately to feel as though I had a path to follow, but with a complex diagnosis, you are often time left with many paths from which to choose. I wanted someone to tell me what to do, for someone to talk to, to give me advice. I wanted a guide who had already experienced the shock and devastation of a diagnosis, to hold my hand and tell me what step to take next. I wanted someone to understand why I grieved a child that was still alive. It wasn't that he had a fatal prognosis; it was that my vision of what his future held was suddenly stripped from me. I needed someone to tell me that was a normal feeling, and that in time, and with help from my son, the vision of the future would again become clear. I needed support, and the closest group was about an hour away. Rather than continue to complain about not having the resource I craved, I chose to create the resource. Therefore Kinera Foundation was born. Together with a Board consisting of a Pediatrician, a Special Education Teacher, and two other parents of children with special needs, Kinera Foundation is here to offer support. We don't know what the future holds, and that's a scary place. We want parents to feel safe saying that. We want parents to embrace Kinera, to know that we are here for the long haul. Regardless of the stage of diagnosis, regardless of the child's age, Kinera will have a place - a refuge to lay feelings on the table and know that we will do everything in our power to provide the support they so desperately desire.