Our Children’s Development Center Coordinator organizes new family orientations, parent support groups, and center activities, educates families on available resources both in and out of Emerge, and serves as the liaison with community partners that empower families of children with developmental disabilities.
Generous philanthropic contributions enabled us to establish a new position in 2018 – our Children’s Development Center Coordinator. For parents, having a primary point of contact for resources and support while their child is receiving therapy services is invaluable, and that’s exactly what this position provides. Our CDC Coordinator, Lauren Shaw, is here to ensure that families have a primary point of contact for resources and support while their child is receiving therapy services. An integrated therapy “home” model for children with developmental disabilities is both innovative and unique, and we realize that trying to coordinate a child’s care can be confusing at best sometimes for families. Providing parents with one person who can be their “one stop shop” for answers to questions, help sorting out concerns or issues with their child’s program, finding and accessing needed resources and support in the community, or just someone who understands what they are going through is invaluable.
The CDC Coordinator also manages our monthly Munch-N-Learn sessions which cover a variety of topics for families of children with special needs. Munch-N-Learns are free and open to the public. You may visit our Facebook page to see flyers posted about each month’s session.
We host a variety of events throughout the year for our children and their families to enjoy. Our team incorporates different components of therapy into these events to teach our children how to interact in these “typical” activities. A few of the annual events we hold include:
If you are a parent or guardian of a child enrolled at Emerge and you’re looking for ways to get involved, you are invited to join our Parents Committee! Committee members may volunteer to help with logistics, decorating, food donations, fundraising, and more at our family focused or fundraising events. Please contact Lauren Shaw for more information.
If you have any questions about programs or therapy at The Emerge Center, please contact our CDC Coordinator.
Lauren Shaw
225-343-4232 ext. 1901
lshaw@emergela.org
Lauren is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who received her undergraduate degree in Child and Family Studies from Louisiana State University and her master’s degree in Social Work from Louisiana State University. She joined the Emerge team in 2015 as a social work intern and began working as a social worker in 2016. As the Children’s Development Center Coordinator, Lauren provides individual support services to families, conducts new family orientations, coordinates parent education opportunities, coordinates parent support groups, coordinates center activities and field trips, and educates families regarding applicable resources both inside and outside of The Emerge Center. Lauren also serves as the liaison with community partners that support and empower families of children with developmental disabilities. Lauren enjoys welcoming new families into Emerge and supporting them in their journey.