Mother’s Day are celebrated on the second Sunday of May. People may celebrate it by sending flowers, buying gifts, or taking mom out for dinner. However, for persons with disabilities, “going-out” may be relatively difficult for some of them.

(Julie and her mom are flying kite)

For the residents in the long term care institutions, they have much fewer chances to spend time with their families due to various limitations from both sides, such as physical condition, other family commitment, transportation issues, etc.; not to mention to go out and travel with families. In this regards, the Yilan Education and Nursing Institute of Eden Social Welfare Foundation invited Julie, the resident with cerebral palsy who is also a wheelchair user, to join Dream-Catching Program so that she can travel with her mom in a sunny afternoon via the well-equipped Dream-Catching Bus.In that afternoon, Julie and mom went to beach and they spent time together in sand playing and sea wave watching. They enjoyed the mother-daughter quality time very much. On the same day which is close to Mother’s Day, Julie prepared a special card and cake for mom to celebrate Mother's Day. Deeply moved and surprised, Julie’s mother gave a big hug to Julie, and their faces were beaming with happiness.

Julie is 33 years old with severe intellectual disability and cerebral palsy. She does not have the ability to speak nor to take care of herself physically. Due to excessive tension on limbs, she needs assistance for all daily activities including brushing teeth, bathing, eating, and dressing. In order to provide the most suitable care, Julie’s mother referred Julie to Yilan Education and Nursing Institute for professional care. To overcome the communication barriers, teachers in the institution made communication cards of daily activities for Julie and put them on her wheelchair, which help Julie to express her needs and to communicate with teachers and her peers. In addition, in order to improve Julie’s muscle atrophy problems, the Yilan Education and Nursing Institute also provides work out program to help her do limb exercises regularly.

Yilan Education and Nursing Institute provides care to persons with disabilities with holistic approach - not only taking physical needs but also psychological needs into consideration while reviewing the needs and providing the care. We understand that how little family time they had but how meaningful it would be for Julie and mom so the social worker linked Julie with this Dream-Catching Program. The social worker also did the detailed arrangement to tailor Julie’s needs and eliminate the hassles which may occur during the trip so Julie and mom could travel with ease. Since traveling is no longer a concern for them, Julie and her mom could focus on spending time together and creating their own memories. It was an unforgettable and happy afternoon for them. Happy moment is never enough. The time of Dream-Catching Program was short, but it made up for the missing parent-child moment between Julie and her mother and allowed them to create many fantastic and precious memories, especially for a Mother’s Day.