Performing "POWER TO THE PEOPLE WHO CARE: A Warrior Mama's Manifesto," winner of the 2016 Newberry Library Soapbox Speech Awards
Pardon the personal bio... this is a website in transition. The need to connect and intersect our movements for social justice is more crucial than ever - and yet, most of us are still clawing our way out of individualist lifestyles. I pay my bills by working as an independent contractor for Early Intervention - a state program that helps families of children with developmental differences, yet keeps them isolated and disconnected. I witness caregivers in action every day, and I know that their life-giving work is crucial to human evolution. Our caregivers are society's peacemakers, our antidotes to a culture of violence - we must amplify their voices! If you agree, and you want to collaborate on this work, get in touch - or stay tuned, and see how this website evolves.
Hi! I’m Kate. In the past decade, I have played many roles: teacher, tutor, performer, developmental therapist and parent coach, infant massage specialist, and facilitator of social playgroups, in clinics, schools, homes, and community settings.
But the job that has impacted my life more than any other is motherhood. As a single mom, I know firsthand how amazing parenting can be - and how lonely and stressful it can be! Parents are the experts on their children, and they are their children’s first teachers - we collaborate best when we honor family wisdom. My highest priority is family ownership of the educational process. In individual family work, I use a coaching model in which I help you to take a deeper look at your child's behavior; notice your own strengths and needs; and interact with your children in ways that will maximize their potential. Aiming for whole family wellness, and finding support, community, and self-care time for parents are also key to this work.
In recent years, my focus has been on creating space where parents can build community. No one should have to feel alone while raising future generations - but sadly, many people do. For two years, I ran a developmental playgroup at Albany Park Community Center, for families of children with and without disabilities. This family-centered, popular education-inspired program - everyone teaches, and everyone learns - was a huge success! It was also a mentoring/internship program for adult students from Albany Park's English as a Second Language program, who gained valuable classroom experience, and for future social workers from The Erikson Institute for Child Development. Sadly, our groups are now on hold due to a lack of funding. But group learning is in high demand - and it’s a great way for educators & providers to work smarter, not harder. Parents have so much to teach each other, and when they gather, they build their social capital - which is proven to improve health, access to resources, and life outcomes!
Hi! I’m Kate. In the past decade, I have played many roles: teacher, tutor, performer, developmental therapist and parent coach, infant massage specialist, and facilitator of social playgroups, in clinics, schools, homes, and community settings.
But the job that has impacted my life more than any other is motherhood. As a single mom, I know firsthand how amazing parenting can be - and how lonely and stressful it can be! Parents are the experts on their children, and they are their children’s first teachers - we collaborate best when we honor family wisdom. My highest priority is family ownership of the educational process. In individual family work, I use a coaching model in which I help you to take a deeper look at your child's behavior; notice your own strengths and needs; and interact with your children in ways that will maximize their potential. Aiming for whole family wellness, and finding support, community, and self-care time for parents are also key to this work.
In recent years, my focus has been on creating space where parents can build community. No one should have to feel alone while raising future generations - but sadly, many people do. For two years, I ran a developmental playgroup at Albany Park Community Center, for families of children with and without disabilities. This family-centered, popular education-inspired program - everyone teaches, and everyone learns - was a huge success! It was also a mentoring/internship program for adult students from Albany Park's English as a Second Language program, who gained valuable classroom experience, and for future social workers from The Erikson Institute for Child Development. Sadly, our groups are now on hold due to a lack of funding. But group learning is in high demand - and it’s a great way for educators & providers to work smarter, not harder. Parents have so much to teach each other, and when they gather, they build their social capital - which is proven to improve health, access to resources, and life outcomes!
Groups are also a wonderful way for parents to find their voice, and to blossom as advocates. In a time when a free and appropriate public education is increasingly endangered - especially for people with disabilities, people of color, and people in low-income communities - family involvement is more important than ever! As a Caring Economy Conversation partner, I hold workshops where participants examine the social prejudices that make it so hard to secure funding for caring work - be it education, social services, elder, disability, and family care, or domestic work. Caregivers mingle, connect with one another, share their stories, and talk about how we can make our crucial, life-giving work more visible. For more about this exciting new project, please see my article We Are Worth More: Caregivers Unite to Amplify their Voices, at the blog for the Center for Partnership Studies.
Please click on What We Do to find out more about my work. As an independent provider, I do miss the community of working in a school, clinic, or nonprofit. But I go where the need is, and countless families need more connections and more customized support - not a formula, or a top-down program that tells them what to do, but a dynamic partnership that recognizes their strengths and responds to their concerns, hopes, and dreams. From day to day, I keep busy juggling different things, from home-based play therapy, to infant massage coaching to help parents bond with their babies, to interactive workshops for parents and providers, to writing and advocacy projects. But all the work I do stems from a commitment to partnership. I trust in people's ability to figure out what they need. I'm always learning from my students. And my ultimate desire is to find, and honor, the goodness and the unique talents inside every person who I meet.
A big thank-you to my amazing daughter Delfa for all the artwork on this site!
My work with families owes so much to all that she has taught me.
Kate Duva (fka O'Rourke), M.Ed, DT, CEIM
Certified Teacher in Early Childhood Education & Early Childhood Special Education
Credentialed Developmental Therapist and Evaluator - Illinois Early Intervention
Certified Educator of Infant Massage - Infant Massage USA & IAIM
Certified Caring Economy Advocate