What is AIM for the Handicapped?

AIM (Adventures In Movement) for the Handicapped, Inc. is a national non-profit organization founded in Dayton, Ohio, in 1958 and our national and only office is located at 945 Danbury Rd, Dayton, Ohio, 45420. Dr. Jo A. Geiger, National Executive Director, in cooperation with dedicated doctors and educators, combined their knowledge and talents in testing and evaluating various movement exercises that would be most beneficial and easily adaptable to individuals with visual, hearing, emotional, learning, orthopedic, or coordination problems. The AIM Method of Specialized Movement Education is the result of their combined efforts.

AIM helps mentally challenged, visually impaired, hearing impaired, physically handicapped, attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities, severe behavior disorder (SBD), severe behavior handicap (SBH), autism, the geriatric population, and other children and adults with special needs reach their highest potential through the AIM method. There is never a charge to handicapped children or their parents for our service, and no child is ever turned away. All funds are derived through donations from individuals, foundations, businesses, corporations, organizations, memberships, and fund raising events.

History of AIM

AIM began as an experiment with four blind children. A group of volunteers worked to see how basic movement could be accomplished. Could these children learn to walk, hold their heads erect, achieve simple motor skills? In a few short months the answer came...yes! But something more was happening... After their lesson, the classroom teacher noticed a great eagerness to learn! They seemed more relaxed and their attention span was increasing! The principal of the blind school told his friend, the principal of the deaf school what was happening, and he asked the obvious question, "Could it help his students?"

One must remember that this was the late 1950's, and so little was known about or being done to help handicapped children. Movement was now helping the blind and yes, it was going to do the same for the deaf. But what about other children with other problems? The time had come to put all of this on paper, and thus the AIM Method of Specialized Movement Education was written by Dr. Jo A. Geiger (biography) and AIM (Adventures in Movement) for the Handicapped was born.

The new group wanted the organization to be run differently from other groups. How many children could be served on a "slim" budget? How can we make every dollar possibly go to help the children? The answer was simple--use volunteers and office buildings, schools, and hospitals already in place. So the task began!

Day after day, teachers were trained; men, women, old, young, business people, classroom teachers, housewives, and retired people. The AIM Method was being used for the blind and deaf, and now with great success with the mentally disabled. Next came the children with orthopedic problems, then those with emotional or learning disabilities. At long last, our program was in place for all handicapped children and we were able to focus on our goal to help all "our" special kids reach their highest potential through AIM for the Handicapped, Inc.

Since our humble beginnings in 1958 with that first group of four blind children and the hope and dream of making their lives a little easier and a little brighter, AIM has undergone tremendous growth and expansion. Today, handicapped children are served in cities throughout the United States of America and in seven foreign countries. Sounds good, doesn't it? It does and we're very proud of all the children that we've helped, but we're told that the demands for our services in years to come will be many times greater. We've just barely scratched the surface reaching those who need us--and we need your help!