Shortly after arriving in Dehra Dun in 2003, Barbara happened to meet Jo and her daughter while shopping for dress fabric. She had done community based rehabilitation in another country for quite a few years and was planning to get involved with that sort of work during her time in Dehra Dun. But, what Jo told her about the Early Intervention Center sounded so interesting that she thought she would go and check that out before looking at other volunteer work possibilities. Barbara is an Occupational Therapist and has been working with kids for more than 2 decades and when she met Dr Linda and saw the Early Intervention center she immediately wanted to spend lots of time there! She was very impressed with the dedication of the staff. That impression has remained over the years she has been there.

Barbara’s husband brought them to Dehra Dun and the plan in 2002 was that they might stay as long as 4 years. Well, Charles is very happy in his work and so is Barbara so they are now planning to stay until the spring of 2011. Barbara thinks that getting down on the floor and playing with the kids in ways that help them sit, stand and walk better is just plain fun and of course there is the great reward of seeing a child make progress. She tries to use her years of experience with CP kids to make sure that each child is getting the activities they need to progress. These days she is teaching the therapists how to make splints and other assistive devices.

Barbara and Charles have 3 grown children, all of whom are married and are living in the US. Now they have 5 grandchildren.