Via Services hopes to give stressed-out parents of special-needs children a night off

When Sherwin Bacalso was about 4, his parents worried that he wasn’t talking yet. They hoped that he was just a late bloomer, but they were wrong.

Now a 10-year-old with a beaming smile, Sherwin still rarely speaks. He loves to play with bubbles and gadgets, but like many children with autism, he struggles to communicate. When he receives speech therapy, he howls and growls in frustration. Rocking his chair back and forth, he slaps at his knees and yowls with all his might.

“It’s baby steps,” explains his mother, Shirley Bacalso, a cheerful and patient woman who is accustomed to the ruckus Sherwin makes. Her fondest hope is to one day hear her son say “I love you” on his own. “He gets so upset that he can’t express himself.”

For parents like Bacalso, taking care of their children is often a full-time job, with anxiety such a constant that the very notion of a night off seems like an impossible dream. Getting a few hours to breathe out is more than they can imagine. That’s the plan at Via Services, a community support group for people with special needs across Santa Clara County. They are planning to launch a Parents Night Out. Once a month, parents will know they have a safe place to drop off the kids. For three precious hours, these stressed-out parents will get the break they so desperately need.

Wish Book readers can help parents like Bacalso by raising $19,320 to cover the cost of a monthly Parents Night Out, from food and staffing to supplies.

“A lot of the children who come here can’t be left with just any babysitter. A lot of them are a flight risk. They might try to escape. Even grandma may not be able to cope with a special-needs child,” says Amy Churchill, director of Via’s First Step Early Intervention program. “That leaves parents without any respite.”

Watching as her four-year-old, Allister, frolics around with a balloon, Bacalso confesses she is often pierced by worry. She holds fast to the hope that some day Allister will be able to take care of his older brother, who may never be independent.

“We tell him all the time, you have to watch out for Sherwin,”

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PHOTOS BY NHAT V. MEYER — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Shirley Bacalso sits with her sons Allister, 4, left, and Sherwin, right, 10, at the Rotary PlayGarden in San Jose last month.

Sherwin Bacalso, left, 10, plays with his brother Allister, 4, at the Rotary PlayGarden in San Jose. Sherwin receives regular therapy sessions at Via Services, a support group that offers a monthly night respite night for parents of special needs...