Therapeutic Activity Aide (TAA)

Marklund makes everyday life possible for people with profound disabilities. It is a not-for-profit organization that serves infants, children, teens and adults with developmental disabilities and special health care needs. Claire Haverkampf, R.N., and her husband, Stan, founded Marklund during the Christmas holidays of 1954 when they began to foster Mark William Lund, a little boy born with Down Syndrome and severe cardiac complication. After opening their expanded Northlake home to more children with developmental disabilities, the Haverkampfs and their two children moved their "family" to a larger home they build in Bloomingdale. Today, we are proud to say that the Haverkampfs' vision has grown into four campuses--The Marklund Hyde Center, a 6-home adult residential campus and day services facility in Geneva, and the Marklund Philip Center and Marklund Wasmond Center, two medically complex/DD residential and DT facilities in Bloomingdale and Elgin, The organization also includes the Marklund Day School in Geneva, Bloomingdale and Elgin, which provides specialized education for children ages 3-21 with multiple medical needs and those on the autism spectrum, as well as the Nathan Education Center in Elgin which offers specialized day services to those who have transitioned out of special education programs.