Soap for a cause

FINDLAY — Cortney (Cromberg) Butler needs training for an emotional support dog for her 7-year-old autistic son Tobias. The single mom, who has three special needs children, also needs a way to help pay for the portion of the bill not covered by OhioRISE — a specialized Medicaid managed care program for children and youth with complex behavioral health needs. "When I got the diagnosis of his autism, I started researching different ways to help him long term. And one thing I came across was the ability to have a service dog and how helpful they can be," she said. Cortney decided it was time for a dog. "I have all this soap because it's been a hobby. So everything that people have bought from me recently has gone towards a service dog," she said. The Findlay woman started making soap about four years ago after surgery required her to stay in the hospital several days. To help pass the time, she watched soap making how-to videos. She bought a kit online and practiced, then started using the creations on her children. Cortney said the all-natural ingredients in the soap have helped her son's eczema. Some of her fragrances include Peridot, Milk Chocolate Shake, Tobacco and Bay Leaf and Bloodstone. She said her children are very artistic and creative. A fun exercise she likes to do is give them each a piece of paper with a little square drawn on it to represent a bar of soap. Then she tells them to come up with a new combination of scents that she might make. "So I'm involving them and getting them creative and I've made a few of the soaps that they really liked," she said. "To see their faces light up when they see something that I made that they created, it's the most amazing feeling." Irisa, 9, her oldest daughter, has ODD (oppositional defiance disorder). She's been seeing a psychiatrist since she was young and undergoes therapy. Irisa has an emotional support cat named Sabrina. Tobias is severely autistic but high functioning and smart, Cortney said. He has had severe food allergies since he was born, which requires that he have access to an EpiPen at all times. "I've been asking myself since my son was very young, what am I going to do for him when he's older? How am I going to help him when he's out in the world and learning, 'I can't eat this, I can't have that,'" she said. Her son can also be hard to understand because he stutters and has tics, she said. Someone offered them a free puppy — a black lab/pit bull mix. For his birthday in October, Tobias has already been requesting toys for the new family member he has named Mr. Brownies. Her youngest child, Illora, will be 5. She was diagnosed with moderate autism and sees a geneticist at Nationwide Children's Hospital because of a gene mutation that can cause a disorder called Noonan syndrome. "So we've just been through the wringer," said Cortney. But there's still time for fun and the children sometimes help her make soap, she said. "We mix the scents. We use colored pencils or crayons to color on it so it's kind of like a family affair," she said. Her oldest child is good at sketching, and her youngest daughter has helped make soap dough, which resembles clay, and can be used for tiny sculptures to decorate the bars. "It's just really fun for them. It involves them. It's creative," Cortney said. She credits her mother for believing in her. Cortney's mother gifted her the money to get started in the hobby. "It was just a fun thing for me to do. And at one point I was like, wow, maybe one day this could really be something. That was kind of the plan," she said. But she got divorced and is now a single mom. "My job currently is taking care of my children," she said. She said they're going to teach the puppy basic training through Glass City Canines in Findlay. As the dog gets older, he can also start doing task performances like getting the EpiPen and being sensitive to Tobias' allergies which can cause anaphylactic reactions like losing consciousness. "It's crazy and it's very scary. So having a dog that can sense that and be with him all the time is so incredible. I'm not sure why I never thought of it before," she said. Cortney said her mother instilled in her the life lesson of not taking anything for granted and trying to do her part. "So I don't want people to think I'm taking advantage of anything. I don't want a handout. I don't want to use my life's circumstances as a way to get things from people," she explained. "So the best thing that I could do is I have soap." Down the road, she hopes to also get a dog for Illora. The disorder causes her to bang her head to the point where she's given herself concussions. Cortney said a dog can learn to lean up against her daughter's back when she feels the need to rock and self-soothe. Soap prices start at $8 a bar and increase based on the design and the amount of work that goes into them. Cortney would eventually like to turn her hobby into a business that could help support her children. "I just don't have the means to do it. Right now I'm doing as much as I can with what I have," she said. "But it's fun to experiment and it's a release for me because I have so many duties to my children with their special needs, I barely have time for myself. But when I do have time, doing the soap is just so nice for me and I love what it brings to my family." On top of everything else, Cortney has her own health issues. She's dealing with lupus and has lower back problems that may require surgery. Her original dream was to go into the medical field to help women. Cortney had ovarian cancer when she was 18 and was told she needed to have children soon if she wanted them. "It kind of derailed my life's plans quite a bit. So my new dream is I want to take care of my family while still giving to other people because people find a joy in my soaps, just as much as I do," she said. To purchase soap, message her on Facebook at Cortney B. Cromberg or B&B Soapery.