Dream big, create a space, go on trips

Beth Adams is creating a space where she and other families like hers don’t have to worry about how their children will react in public. Adams launched Ben’s Buddies, a support group for individuals and families with social needs, a few months ago. She has events planned for the rest of the year, one for each month.


www.eagletimes.com

www.eagletimes.com

Dream big, create a space, go on trips By KATY SAVAGE ksavage@eagletimes.com Dream big Beth Adams and her son Ben, 19, with his tortoise Shiny. Adams started Ben’s Buddies, a nonprofit for people with disabilities and their caregivers. KATY SAVAGE CHESTER, Vt.—Beth Adams felt isolated. When her son Ben was a child, he tried to climb out of car doors and windows. One January, he left the house before 6 a.m. because he thought a snow plow was the Polar Express. Ben is 19 years old, but he operates at a third grade level, Adams said. Ben, who was diagnosed with autism at a young age, sticks to rigid routines and rituals. He has soda and popcorn in his room for an hour everyday after school, for example. Adjusting and deviating from his normal routine is a challenge. “We’ve had difficulty in his growing up trying to do outings and things that typical families do,” said Adams. Adams is creating a space where she and other families like hers don’t have to worry about how their children will react in public. Adams launched Ben’s Buddies, a support group for individuals and families with social needs, a few months ago. She has events planned for the rest of the year, one for each month. Adams is hosting an outdoor movie and pizza party at her house in Chester on July 13. For September, she paid more than $500 for the group to take a fall foliage train ride. Adams has a Halloween dance planned in October. “I have to mellow out,” Adams said, as new ideas came to her one recent afternoon as she sat on her couch. “I dream big. After so many years of being isolated and not adventuring with our family and now the freedom to say, ‘you know what, everyone’s in the same boat’—it’s exciting.” Ben’s Buddies is for anyone with social or physical limitations, regardless of age. It’s as much for the individuals as it is for the caregivers. “[Ben] always says to me, ‘I don’t have friends,’” Adams said. “We all are in the same situation. We all have the same fears.” Through this group, Adams wants Ben and the other individuals to become more independent and experience things they have never done before. She plans to take the group on an outdoor camping trip at the Plymouth State Park in August—a first for Ben. She has ideas to teach cooking, painting and drawing. “As they become adults, there are less and less services,” Adams said. “We want them to have passions.” About 41 people attended Ben’s Buddies first event in March—a dance at the United Methodist Church in Springfield. “The parents response was … amazing,” said Adams. “One of the things I find most powerful about this is that there’s strength in numbers.” Adams is fundraising for future events. She has a list of envelopes on a table in her kitchen stuffed with brochures to spread the word about Ben’s Buddies. She’s trying to make all events free so money isn’t an obstacle for families. Adams raised $257 at a bake sale during Memorial Day weekend and she plans to fundraise the entire month of June. “These guys are developing into productive members of society,” Adams said. “It’s empowering to watch them do things that they wouldn’t ordinarily do alone.”