Cantrell Heights shopping center in midtown boasts a new bakery, Sweet Love.  Sweet Love is the creation of Kelli Marks, whose motto for her shop is “Pretty Things Taste Better!”  If that’s the case, then everything at Sweet Love is absolutely scrumptious.

Marks specializes in cakes, cupcakes, cookies and pies – all baked with simple, fresh ingredients.  She makes it a point to use the freshest ingredients in her recipes.  From elaborately designed cakes to a simple dozen decorated sugar cookies, Sweet Love has what you need to fulfill that sugar craving…and with Valentine’s Day right around the corner, now is a perfect time to head in for a taste test!  You’ll find Sweet Love at 8210 Cantrell Road, right by Cantrell Gallery and Taziki’s.  Their menu is available at http://sweetlovebakes.com/ and a pricing guide for custom cakes is on the website as well.

For more information, contact Kelli Marks at (501) 613-7780.

If you or someone you love has a hearing loss or are speech-disabled, there are several options for assisting them with using the telephone.  Arkansas Relay is a free service providing full telephone accessibility to people who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, and speech-disabled.  This service allows TTY (text-telephone) users to communicate with standard telephone users through specially trained relay operators.

CapTel is a special service which converts voices to text, which can be read on a display window in real time.

For more information about these services, call Jeff Prail at Arkansas Relay at (501) 221-1285 (voice) or email him at jeffrey.prail@sprint.com.  For more information about Arkansas Relay, visit their website at www.arkansasrelay.com.  To find out more about the CapTel system, please see www.arkansasrelay.com/captel or contact Arkansas TAP at (800) 981-4463 or (501) 686-9693 (TTY/Voice).

Chenal 9 Theatre Plus IMAX is now fully digital with the very best in cinema right here in Little Rock and we want you to experience it first hand! So, The Promenade at Chenal is giving away a FREE 4-pack of movie passes!!! LIKE our post on Facebook ( www.facebook.com/SavvyKids )if you want a chance to win…

Have you noticed little brigades of brown, green, or tan suited girls wandering your neighborhood, going door-to-door selling everyone’s favorite treats?  Maybe not.  Girl Scouts are selling much less in the traditional ways, and instead have branched out into online sales.  Not only are girls provided with their own login information for a super-secret cookie website that lets far-away family members place orders, they are taught the value of the growing world of e-commerce.  It’s a fact of life that people are shopping more and more online, and it only makes sense that an organization like the Girl Scouts, who prides itself on training girls for the future, would make the leap to online commerce.  If you don’t know a girl scout or haven’t been lucky enough to have one knock at your door – don’t give up hope!  When cookie shipments come in at the end of February, that’s when booth sales start.  The Girl Scouts of Central Arkansas have a good relationship with Kroger stores, and most weekends from late February – summer, you can find a troop in the lobby of a Kroger store if you keep your eyes peeled.  There is also a handy booth locator at http://cookielocator.littlebrownie.com/ (there may not be booths listed at this point, but there will be after booth times are scheduled closer to the dates.)

Finally, if you are interested in scouting in general, you can contact the Girl Scouts Diamonds of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas to find out more about how to become a girl scout or get involved by starting your own troop.

http://www.girlscoutsdiamonds.org/

or call the Council office at 1-800-632-6894

Does this look like a fun place to work, or what?

Allied Therapy, the clinic specializing in physical, occupational and speech therapy for children, is expanding their client base, which means they need more therapists!  If you’re a licensed occupational, speech, or physical therapist, Allied would like to speak with you regarding some fantastic employment opportunities.  Allied has been named a Governor’s Work Life “Family Friendly” Ambassador.  They are a partner with Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the University of Central Arkansas, where they provide a Pediatric Fellowship for Physical Therapist.  Allied is a provider for Beyond Boundaries, an equine assisted therapy program.  They offer their employees “individualized” contracts and schedules.

If you’d like to know more about the opportunities that are available for you at Allied Therapy and Beyond Boundaries, please contact them at (501) 834-0437 or visit the website at www.allied-therapy.com.

By Emily Griffin

Early on, while doing research for this issue, I was told, “You HAVE to meet the McClanahan family!”  I took the advice and contacted Michelle McClanahan.  Not only was she a great source of information and story ideas on special needs related topics, her warm outlook on life was inspiring and I knew the McClanahans were the perfect family to feature in this issue.  Robert and Michelle have four amazing kids.  Their oldest son, Riley, was born a perfect child – full of life and energy, complete with all the requisite number of fingers and toes.  However, all that changed two weeks after his birth, when a blood vessel in his brain ruptured.  ”We nearly lost him that night, and many times during the following weeks.  And while he survived with his life, he was left with an outcome much like that from a major stroke,” Michelle explained.

Riley cannot walk unaided, he cannot dress himself, he cannot feed himself unless someone places food on his tray, he has severe allergies to a great number of foods, he cannot write his name, he cannot control his emotions, and his right arm is drawn up and virtually useless.  ”Yet in spite of all that, he has been and continues to be the greatest blessing we have ever experienced.  Not to say that we would have chosen this manner of blessing or that it’s an easy thing to accept.  Yet Riley blesses us and everyone with who he comes in contact.  And through it all, our friends, family and church family have been there for us.  There has never been a time that we have had to face any of this alone.  Riley and the experiences that he has gone through have changed our family, our church and our community permanently and for the better.”

Together, the family created Riley’s Warriors, Inc., as a vehicle to share what they have learned through their experiences with Riley, with others in similar situations.  ”We want to help other special families find the support, love and acceptance that they so desperately need.  That is our vision, our mission, our passion,” Michelle added.

During the preschool and kindergarten years, children learn at different rates and with different styles. But if your child has significant trouble with numbers, letters, or speech, she may have a learning disability. Learning disabilities are a category of disorders that affect how the brain processes information, making it difficult to grasp some concepts.

A child with a learning disability may understand a story perfectly when it is read to her but will struggle to answer questions about it afterward. Another child might easily recite the alphabet from A to Z but be unable to name individual letters when they are pointed out. Still another child may have a hard time putting together puzzles, tying her shoes, or buttoning a sweater.

Children with learning disabilities usually have normal or above normal intelligence, but they have trouble expressing their knowledge. Because it is so difficult for children with learning disabilities to master certain tasks, they often experience frustration, anger, low self-esteem, and even depression. Your child may know just what she wants to accomplish, to say or write or do, but getting there isn’t a straight path.

“Information going in the eyes and ears is somehow not translated correctly; what comes out is not the correct answer,” says Ron Liebman, M.D., a child psychiatrist in Lynnewood, Pa. “We’re talking about children with normal IQs.”

What are the warning signs of a learning disability in children age 5 and under?

Learning disabilities are often grouped into three categories: speech or language disorders; problems with reading, writing, and math skills; and a range of other disorders such as problems with coordination, motor skills, or memory.

Sometimes it’s clear that a child has one kind of disability, such as dyslexia or dyscalculia — disorders that impair reading and math abilities, respectively. But it’s also common for children to suffer from a combination of different disorders.

Attention deficit disorders are not by themselves learning disabilities. But children with learning disabilities frequently have attention problems, as well.

Red flags that could indicate a learning disability in children age 5 and under include:

• Delayed speech
• Pronunciation problems
• Difficulty learning new words
• Difficulty learning to read
• Trouble learning numbers or the alphabet
• Short attention span
• Difficulty following directions
• Poor grasp of a crayon or pen

If you feel concerned that your child may have learning delays, please contact your pediatrician for assessment.

Gluten intolerance, also called Celiac Disease, is a condition that damages the lining of the small intestine and prevents it from absorbing parts of food that are important for staying healthy. The damage is due to a reaction to eating gluten, which is found in wheat, barley, rye, and possibly oats.  This damage affects the ability to absorb nutrients properly. A person becomesmalnourished, no matter how much food he or she eats. Celiac Disease can develop at any point in life, from infancy to late adulthood.  There is little known about what causes Celiac Disease.  Its most common symptoms are gastrointestinal in nature, and include: abdominal pain, bloating, gas or indigestion; constipation, a change in appetite, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, and lactose intolerance.  Symptoms for children often include: defects in tooth enamel and changes in tooth color, delayed puberty, similar gastrointestinal symptoms as adults, irritable and fussy behavior, poor weight gain, and slowed growth.

Unfortunately, Celiac Disease cannot be cured, but there are options for treatment.  Symptoms will go away and the villi in the lining of the intestines will heal if a gluten-free diet is followed for life.  Foods, beverages, and medications that contain wheat, barley, rye, and possibly oats MUST be avoided. You must pay close attention to  food and medication labels to look for hidden sources of these grains and ingredients related to them. Because wheat and barley grains are common in the American diet, sticking with this diet is challenging.  Your health care provider may prescribe vitamin and mineral supplements to correct nutritional deficiencies. Occasionally, corticosteroids may also be prescribed for short-term use or if your intolerance does not respond to treatment. Following a well-balanced, gluten-free diet is generally the only treatment needed to stay well.

Downtown Little Rock has been blessed this past year by the opening of the Dempsey Bakery, which specializes in baked goods made without gluten.  Inspired by her family’s own gluten sensitivities, owner Paula Dempsey has developed a menu of cakes, breads, cookies, pies, sandwiches and so much more!  They’re located at 323 Cross Street downtown, and have a page on Facebook where you can keep up to date on the latest bakery news and specials.  www.facebook.com/dempsey-bakery

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired millions of people all over the world with his ideas about peace, humanitarianism, and love.  In this spirit, we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. day as a day of service to help others.  While it’s tempting to take this day off and lay on the couch eating cereal in your jammies, why not take your children with you to complete a community service project?  My daughter’s Girl Scout troop will be passing out coats that they’ve been collecting since the fall.  While this is to earn an award, they did choose this day to complete their project to honor Dr. King.

City Year locations across the United States honor Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and work – his leadership in the Civil Rights Movement and the impact he had on social justice, equality, and race relations in the United States – through organized service projects across the country on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

City Year, a nation-wide community service organization, has the following Day of Service activities planned:

Opening Ceremony: 9:30 a.m.
William J. Clinton Presidential Center Great Hall

Service Projects: 10:30 a.m.
ROCAN (Reaching Our Children and Neighborhoods)
Wetherington Boys & Girls Club
Romine Elementary and Magnus Opus Park

If you’d like to get your kids involved with City Year, contact Hali Hoyt at 501.613.2412  or email her at hhoyt11@cityyear.org.

In Conway, the Day of Service begins on the UCA campus at noon with speakers in the Reynolds Performance Hall.  Immediately following, the commission will hold the “service component” of ‘A Day of Service – A Day On, Not A Day Off’ next door at the Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center to feed the homeless and other worthwhile service activities such as health screenings, job counseling, and hygiene kits.

“A Day of Service” is open and free to the general public.  Reynolds Performance Hall is located on Beatrice Powell Street on the UCA campus.

If you can’t make it out to these events, you might try to plan a service project of your own.  You can collect unused clothing and household goods to donate to a women and children’s shelter, you can gather canned goods from your neighbors to donate to the Arkansas Food Bank, or you can let your children decide where their interests in helping others lie.  (Don’t forget, our December 2011 issue of Savvy Kids was all about philanthropy and has lots of stories about kids giving back to the community.  Maybe your family will find inspiration within the pages!)

Tomorrow is a momentous day for Central Arkansas.  After nearly a year of renovations, the Museum of Discovery will reopen its doors at 9:00 a.m.  Featuring a completely renovated interior as well as a glorious new entrance on President Clinton Avenue, new visitors and old friends will be delighted at the changes within.  A national traveling exhibit showcasing dinosaurs will delight dino-fans of all ages, while permanent exhibits Amazing You, Earth Journeys and Discovery Hall focus on biology, earth science and physics.

The Museum of Discovery is located in the River Market district downtown, and is sure to be THE place to go this weekend!  Don’t miss it!