Some would view a young, severely handicapped child rising out of a wheelchair to walk as a miracle. Not those who know about MOVE (Mobility Opportunities Via Education) International. As its name applies, MOVE’s stock in trade, since the 1980s, has been enabling children, and now adults, with severe disabilities to sit, stand and walk independently. It is a curriculum started in Bakersfield by former special education teacher Linda Bidabe that is now in use in schools and physical rehabilitation centers around the world. Once a year, MOVE welcomes dozens of special education teachers, physical therapists and other caregivers for several days of training to its headquarters at the Kern County Superintendent of Schools (KCSOS) Office in Bakersfield. Some come to learn basic provider skills and techniques so they can implement MOVE’s educational framework in the schools or rehabilitation centers where they work in their home cities. Others take training that will enable them to train others to become basic providers. One seeking to advance the training of trainers was Conchita Garcia, who is with MOVE Europe and came all the way from London, England. “We have our first major regional agreement with Derbyshire County in the United Kingdom (UK) which has agreed to pay for anyone who can benefit from the MOVE program, and that even includes the cost of the equipment,” Garcia said. “Currently, we have about 2,500 using MOVE in the UK, but there are 110,000 eligible for it. Our main problem is people don’t know about us. We are creating awareness through training more trainers.” Memorable moments occurred during the MOVE training from June 25-28. During the first day, it was announced that the Bakersfield Adult Retarded Citizens (BARC) was becoming a MOVE model site on June 30. More

There are certain ironies in life that just seem to make sense, such as the Old Friends of Bakersfield Car Club and the MOVE program at the Blair Learning Center in Bakersfield. What could these two possibly have in common? The reasons will be explained in a moment, but suffice it to say, the car club donated $19,500 to MOVE in a brief ceremony on Oct. 11. Now to the particulars. The car club has 25 members who are very proud of driving their beautifully-restored machines, even to the point that they frequently like to display what they have done by holding local car shows. Approximately 100 MOVE-trained students with severe disabilities enrolled at both Blair and the Claude W. Richardson Child Development Center, have a very difficult time moving. Here is the connection. Five years ago, Old Friends learned about MOVE through a member who worked at the Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office. She suggested the children could really be helped by some financial aid to the program. More

Thursday, June 21, in Bakersfield was hot -- 90 degrees plus. The kind of day that would motivate very few people to walk outdoors let alone take on a strenuous activity. Inside the Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office (KCSOS) on 17th Street, three youngsters in assisted walking apparatuses were giving it all the energy they had so that someday they might be able to walk outside on their own. Observing, helping and taking notes were 36 adults who had come from as far away as Jasper, FL and Rifton, NY to take part in a two-day training offered by an organization called MOVE (Mobility Opportunities Via Education) International. MOVE operates through KCSOS, where it originated in 1986 through the vision and persistence of special education teacher Linda Bidabe. Smiling eight-year-old Jazzmin Samuel had gathered quite a crowd around her in the hall. Standing straight up, supported by restraints, she slowly moved forward with great effort in her wheeled-apparatus with the encouragement of dozens. Each time she did, her father Eric and mother Tegdra smiled broadly. It was a long trip from Jasper, FL to Bakersfield for the Samuels. But, then the road has been long, ever since Jazzmin was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy (CP) at birth. More

It is perhaps fitting that the tune on which children's songwriters and vocalists Greg and Steve ended their March 14 Bakersfield concert was titled "The World Is A Rainbow." They sang of "many kinds of colored flowers, many kinds of people, you be you, and I'll be me, look what happens when we stir it up, when we are together it is such a sight to see." Included in the audience that day were students from the Kern County Superintendent of Schools' severely disabled class at the Harry W. Blair Learning Center. It was an audience to which Greg Sclesa and Steve Millang could relate. What they do grew out of their experiences as special needs teachers in Los Angeles 32 years ago. "We worked seven years in special education and have a close affinity with these kids," said Sclesa. "We know its an audience that deserves a good time and that is what we try to provide. In the very beginning of our teaching years we worked with emotionally disturbed preschool children. The songs we wrote had to be simple but engaging enough to grab their attention. The good news we found is the same formula works for all children between the ages of about three and seven." As Greg and Steve played on March 14, it was almost magical watching the transformation going on out in the audience. More

What would bring a poor orphanage supervisor from China and a first-year preschool teacher from Redding, CA, to the triple-digit weather of Bakersfield, California, in June? The answer is MOVE -- a four-letter acronym for Mobility Opportunities Via Education -- a nonprofit organization that offers hope for children and adults with severe disabilities. MOVE International, headquartered in Bakersfield, held its annual training, June 21-24 at the Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office. Caregivers, trainers, teachers and occupational therapists from far away China, as well as Canada, New Zealand, Panama and the United Kingdom made the journey. "Why does MOVE attract so many people from so far," asked MOVE trainer Keith Whinnery, who travels each year from West Palm Beach, Florida, to teach the curriculum. "Parents of severely disabled children constantly hear what their children cannot do from people that do testing. MOVE welcomes parents by asking, 'what would you like your child to do?' And then, we set up a plan to try to make that happen. That gives them hope." More

Administrators from MOVE model sites throughout the U.S. and New Zealand gathered in Bakersfield for two days in November to share experiences, ideas and map future directions. "We view the MOVE model sites as the front line for innovation, education and to help maintain uniformity in the delivery of services by those charged with improving the quality of life for clients with severe disabilities," said David Schreuder, MOVE International executive director.

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It is perhaps an overused quotation, but when Confucius said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," he apparently was on to something that could well be the motto for an organization called MOVE International. MOVE stands for Mobility Opportunities Via Education, and on June 25 it completed its annual four-day training of basic providers and trainers at the Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office in Bakersfield. Single steps are what the training is all about. Each of the 80 participants, coming from as far away as Scotland and 10 of the United States, serves children for whom severe physical challenges have presented obstacles to sitting, standing and walking independently. More

Car lovers of all sorts, shapes and sizes dropped in on the second annual "Fabulous Fifty's Fun Car Show" on Oct. 9 hosted by Olive Knolls Church of the Nazarene in Bakersfield. The Old Friends of Bakersfield Car Club, which sponsored the show, was happy they did and so was MOVE International, the recipient of the more than $5,700 raised at the charity event. A $25 or $30 entry fee gave vintage car collectors and weekend restoration mechanics a chance to show off 1950s era vehicles. More

Retired Mobility Opportunities Via Education (MOVE) Administrator Linda Bidabe received the 2004 E.P. Maxwell/J. Schleifer Distinguished Service Award from EP (Exceptional Parent) Magazine and Major League Baseball on Aug. 6 at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles. Bidabe was escorted onto the field by U.S. Navy Rear Admiral and Worldwide Commander of all Navy SEALS (Ret.) Ray Smith, board director for EP Magazine. Smith then presented Bidabe with the award at home plate prior to the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. Afterwards, Bidabe, daughter Tanya Fulghum and grandchildren Nathan and Lauren were seated in VIP loge box seats to enjoy the game as guests of the Dodgers. More

As MOVE specialists sat quietly observing, Linda Bidabe, creator of MOVE, conducted an assessment profile of seven-year old Yovanni Valdez, a Blair MOVE student. Bidabe began by asking Yovanni what he wanted to be able to do. With a big smile he wiggled the blow-up bat in his hands, indicating he wants someday to play baseball. Yovanni, like many MOVE students, relies on equipment to help support his body while learning to sit, stand and walk. Yovannis mock assessment was just one facet of the seventh annual MOVE training events conducted June 23-26 in Bakersfield, California, the birth place of the MOVE Program. More

Since they could not take the children to Hawaii, the staff of the Harry E. Blair Learning Center in Bakersfield did the next best thing. They held a July 17 luau for them at Sequoia Middle School. There were plenty of leis in evidence, dishes of tropical fruit, Hawaiian music, a few grass skirts and even a pig roasted in banana leaves. More

As Linda Bidabe and Gerald Goebel fit Dane Snodgrass into the pacer, he was a little unsure. After all, this foreign piece of equipment had small wheels which would allow him to move, if he used his legs. Dane was taken to a sidewalk ramp. At the other end was his mother Holly. He looked up and Holly started calling to him. At first no movement. Then a first step More

Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Bakersfield, has obtained a $1,024,000 appropriation for MOVE, a program developed in Kern County that helps severely disabled children and adults gain mobility skills. More

A second round of funding has been secured by Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Bakersfield, to help build the MOVE International Training Center in southeast Bakersfield. MOVE provides training to parents and caregivers to teach severely disabled children and adults to learn to sit, stand and walk. More

Volunteers from the Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL) gave more than just their time to help MOVE (Mobility Opportunities Via Education) International with a recent charity fund raiser. Besides lending their free support to the June 23 MOVE ‘N to the Music event, AAL donated $800 to MOVE after the event. More

Temperatures may have been in the 100s but more than 140 people from around the world had a purpose in choosing Bakersfield as their destination during the week of June 17-25. They came to learn how to teach severely disabled children to sit, stand and walk independently and to spread the world about the curriculum that makes it happen, called MOVE. More