Wonders & Worries

Wonders & Worries is a nonprofit organization (501(c)(3)) based in Austin, TX that provides professional support for children through a parent's illness, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, Lou Gehrig's disease, posttraumatic stress disorder and Alzheimer's disease.[1][2]

Wonders & Worries
FormationAugust 8, 2001
FounderMeredith Cooper, MA, CCLS, LPC and Melissa Hicks, MS, CCLS, LPC, RPT
Location
  • Austin, Texas
Staff
18
Websitewww.wondersandworries.org/

Services are provided without charge in English or Spanish by a Certified Child Life Specialist to families in Central Texas.[3] Pilot programs have been implemented in Raleigh, North Carolina;[4] Ottawa, Canada;[5] and San Antonio, Texas. A randomized clinical trial for the organization's curriculum is underway.[6]

History

Wonders & Worries was launched with the support of the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF), which provided funding in spring 2001 to conduct a pilot support group for children who had a parent with cancer.[7] LAF provided an additional grant in fall 2001 to expand services to include a school-age support group, an adolescent support group, individual counseling for children who have a parent with cancer, and quarterly social functions to reunite Wonders & Worries clients.[8]

Services

Individual Sessions: for children aged 2–18yrs

Group Sessions: helping children aged 5+ meet other children coping with similar experiences

Child/Parent Relationship Training Classes: teaching parents how to reconnect with their children during an illness or following a loss

Informal Support / Recreational Group Activities – allowing families to enjoy being together in a fun, relaxing environment

Bereavement Support Sessions – helping families prepare for the end of life and gain skills that will help them cope with the loss[9]

See also

References
  1. "Wonders & Worries: A family's illness. A child's journey". Hospice of Wake County. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  2. "General Cancer Resources". Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  3. Taylor, Lyndsey (February 28, 2013). "Kids with seriously ill parents find support". Community Impact Newspaper. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  4. "Hosopice of Wake County creates children's counseling program". Wake Living Published Quarterly. November 23, 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  5. "It's Personal-Cancer Foundation News". Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  6. "Wonders & Worries: A Clinical Trial of a Psychosocial Intervention for Children Who Have a Parent With Cancer - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov". clinicaltrials.gov. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
  7. Balletta, Nick. "Balletta: After All the Lies Can Lance Armstrong 'EmergeStrong?".
  8. "Livestrong Milestones". Livestrong Foundation.
  9. "Wonders & Worries Services".
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