~George Evans ~

Lorie Thur Katz, the daughter of F & H’s founder, has worked with school-aged children with disabilities in public school for 14 years, as a special education teacher and behavior analyst. With the ability to raise awareness through the online sales of Fabrics and Home, Lorie hopes to touch the lives of the population of children she works with by donating a portion of profits to one of the 13 disabilities that affect school-aged children and their families.

A disability has adverse effects on the social, emotional, physical, and intellectual functioning of a child which can impact daily living. Under the federal law known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), about 7.1 million children with disabilities receive special education services. This is about 14 percent of our public-school population. The primary purposes of IDEA are: to provide free appropriate education (FAPE) from birth to age 21; have schools find and evaluate any student suspected of having a disability; and provide special educational services designed to meet individual needs. IDEA defines each of the 13 disabilities that effect school-aged children and youth.

The 13 disabilities affecting our children are: • Autism • Deaf-Blindness • Deafness • Emotional Disturbance • Hearing Impairment • Intellectual Disability • Multiple Disabilities • Orthopedic Impairment • Other Health Impairment • Specific Learning Disability • Speech or Language Impairment • Traumatic Brain Injury • Visual Impairment