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"The Kindering Center made a huge difference for us," said Showalter. "By the time we graduated -- and I say 'us' because we were all in it together -- we felt like the situation was manageable. Kindering gave us hope that we could meet Ross' needs." HAVING A BABY is a joyous event in most people's lives. But if your child is born with Down syndrome, is premature or has developmental delays, that joy can turn to fear and frustration. Where can you go to get the help that your child and your family need? Many Mercer Island parents have sent their children to the Kindering Center, an award-winning rehabilitation center that provides critical intervention services to children from birth to age 3. With one in five infants in the United States at risk for developmental problems, there is increasing demand for the Kindering Center's physical, occupational and speech therapies. The 36-year-old facility also provides foster-care referrals, support groups for mothers and fathers, night classes in English and other languages for parents at risk of neglecting their children, and psychological counseling for families. And until 1998, you would have been able to have your child enter the school and start working with Kindering Center's speech, physical, mental health and other therapists. But now the center is overcrowded and unable to meet the demand. Many children who need services are turned away. "I've been here for 22 years and we've always been able to shoehorn in families that needed our services," said Mimi Siegel, Executive Director of the Kindering Center. "In 1998, for the first time, we had to close enrollment; by the end of the year, we'd turned away 75 families. In September of '99, we found that we were already full by the time the school year began." The Kindering Center turned away 110 families last year and expects to triple that number this year, as it receives 20 to 30 calls a month for services it can no longer provide due to lack of space. That's why Mercer Island families like John and Janet Morse are co-chairing a capital campaign called "From Crisis to Courage." Its goal is to raise $3.3 million to build a 12,500 square-foot, three-story addition to the school for classrooms, therapy space, treatment and counseling rooms. "This is a passion for our family," said John Morse. "We have a boy (Brad) with Down syndrome, and at 4 months he started at the Kindering Center and was there for four years, receiving physical therapy to help him sit up and walk, speech and language therapy. Plus we attended support groups for parents. We were so grateful that there was a place like this where they know exactly what they are doing and how to help." Early intervention with special needs children is key, according to pediatric experts, because it sets the child up for achieving more academically and socially later in life. Because Brad Morse began physical and speech therapy early, and later attended preschool at the Kindering Center, he was able to attend school at Patty's Play Center and Emmanuel Preschool with the support of the Mercer Island special education program. "Brad was able to go to regular preschool because the Kindering Center brought him up to speed, and gave him an edge up" Janet Morse said. "He went to kindergarten at Lakeridge and is now in first-grade and is doing really well. He loves school and is learning to read, write and spell." "It's been well established that birth to age 3 are critical years for development, and you miss a window of opportunity if you don't intervene in those years," Siegel said. "We have research that shows the efficacy of that intervention, in that it can raise a child's IQ by 10-13 points, so turning away even one family that needs services now seems unconscionable. I feel just heartbroken about it." Siegel notes that there are other centers like Kindering in Seattle and outlying communities, but they are full, too. There are four reasons for the boom in children with special needs, according to Siegel. One reason is simply the growing population of the Eastside expanding at a rate of 2 percent a year. Another is that families hear of Kindering's reputation from their pediatricians, and are often referred by neonatologists before the infant is even out of the newborn intensive care unit. "Nationally we are seeing a higher incidence of autism, representing one in every 600 births, which is an explosion," Siegel said. "And medical science is able to save premature infants with lower birth weights than ever before, but these children often have developmental problems." Island resident Kathleen Holt's son James was born with a rare chromosome disorder that left him with a cleft palate, heart trouble and a seizure disorder. `"A social worker from Overlake offered to help us put him in foster care, which was devastating to us," Holt said. "With Jim, we didn't know where to go or what to do. They told us there was a 90 percent chance he wouldn't live through the year. But when we took him to Children's Hospital, we kept hearing about Kindering Center from the doctors and the nutritionist. Once we got in the door, it was a gift knowing that we didn't have to shoulder all the issues by ourselves." The Holts utilized the child care facilities at Kindering where children with special needs are the norm, not the exception. "I don't know what we would've done without them because it's hard to find child care for special needs kids," Holt said. "They would do the exercises with him in child care so he would be constantly learning. It's unfortunate that they had to close that part of the Kindering Center for lack of staff, space and funding to handle all the kids with needs that come to them." Though James, now 4 years old, has hip and kidney surgery in his future, he has outgrown his seizures, is off the seizure medication and goes to Patty's Play Center two mornings a week to socialize with typical preschoolers. "They've adopted him," Holt said. "The other kids push his stroller around and bring him toys all the time. There's always someone from the school district with him, and he works with a physical therapist, too. They accept him for what he is, and aren't afraid of him." The Holts also used the counseling facilities at the Kindering Center. "Everyone at Kindering Family Counseling helped us keep our family in focus," said Holt. "They helped our son Thomas figure out how to deal with his brother, who had an 'extra belly button' for his gastric (feeding) tube and helped us learn about the respite care that was available to us through the state. It was a very nurturing environment." Sixteen years ago, Islander Drew Petschl was born seven weeks premature 16 years ago, with Rubenstein-Taybi Syndrome. "When he was 5 months old, his pediatrician thought he would benefit from physical therapy," said Gae Petschl, Drew's mother. Drew's upper body was stiff and he was doing unusual posturing, which can be a sign of abnormal muscle tone, so he received physical therapy two times a week. His mother appreciated the Kindering Center's gentle approach to helping her son gain ground during physical therapy. "They worked with him, but it looks like play, and though he was resistant at first, with patience and kindness, he actually ended up enjoying it," she said. Drew was delayed in his speaking ability, so he learned sign language, like all the children at the Kindering Center. "He was very frustrated because he couldn't verbalize," Petschl said. "When he learned to sign for his basic needs, he became a happier child, and because they also teach the parents to sign, we then had a form of communication, which was a real breakthrough for us as a family." Drew learned to interact with people while at the Kindering Center, and after graduating from Kindering, went to preschool in Issaquah. Now he's in a special education program at Mercer Island High School, where he helps out in the kitchen and with attendance. "Because of the early intervention he had, his physical and language skills got him where he needed to go," Petschl said. "The Kindering Center is a fabulous place that is near and dear to our hearts. We all learned a lot about the world of disabilities and future expectations there." The Kindering Center's 9,000 square-foot facility will undergo a remodel, and ground breaking will begin on the new addition in spring of 2001. Fund-raising will focus on family, friends, founders and alumni, with the board of directors pledging $612,000 of the needed $3.3 million. The staff hopes to move to the new facility in the spring of 2002. "The number one thing we want as a result of this campaign is to get rid of the waiting list," Siegel said. "We'd like to be able to offer physical, occupational and speech therapy for children 3 to 10 years of age and have more programming for children with autism, as well as more support groups, more counseling, and parent education opportunities for parents and siblings of children with special needs. It's only a matter of space and time. We don?t want to turn anyone else away."