Special Olympic Prom Party

Come join McAuley girls for

A Night of Games, Crafts, and Dancing

May 15th
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Dress up in Prom attire or something fun and dressy!

Open to Special Olympic Participants 13 years old and under

Every child will have a McCauley partner!s

RSVP by May 11th to Special Olympics 271-2606

Parents may drop off children or stay to watch the fun!

Learning to Live on Less

When Life Throws A Curve Ball: Learn to Live on Less Program


with participating agencies Catholic Charities, Consumer Credit Counseling Service, and Nutrition Council


When: May 22, 2009 8:30 am until 12:15 pm

Where: Corpus Christi Church Undercroft 2012 Springdale Road

RSVP to Sandy Keier at (513) 241-7745 before May 15, 2009

Community Resource Information Fair

Join the Center for Infants and Children iwth Special Needs and the Special Needs Resource Dirctory for this free opportunity to meet with professionals, community agencies and companies specializing in:

Medical Support
Community Programs and Services
Recreation
Home Health
Financial Planning
Plus More!!!


June 1, 2009
10 am until 3 pm
Cincinnati Children's Fifth Third Bank Auditorium
(across from cafeteria)

Transistion to High School and Beyond ...

Parents are invited to attend "Transistioning to High School and Beyond: Options, Services, and Supports" brought to you by Northwest School District in Partnership with Mt. Healthy Local Schools, Center for Regional Education Services/Hamilton County and Education Service Center.


When? April 2, 2009 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Who? Students with special needs grades 8-12 (Teachers, Counselors, and others seeking transition information)

Where? Northwest Education Resource Center 331o Compton Road, Cincinnati, OH 45251



For additional information, please contact Reena Fish at 513-205-8725 or Deborah Stroud at 513-922-2300

18 or Older with a Disability Label?

Do you have a physical or mental condition that prevents you from working and earning a living?

At age 18, Social Security no lnger counts parents' income and resources when determining eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). If approved, you can receive up to $632/monthly in SSI and qualify for Medicaid, comprehensive health coverage.

To learn more about how you might qualify, Sue Denny, Social Security Administrator, will be holding workshop at Oak Hills High School at 3200 Ebenezer Road, Cincinnati Media Center.

This workshop is designed for parent who have a son or daughter 18-22 years old as of May 2009. During this session, you and your son or daughter will begin the SSI application process with SS representatives.

Seating is limited and advance reservations is strongly recommended by April 24, 2009. To register, contact Sue Denny at susan.denny@ssa.gov or (513) 357-5507

If you have general questions, contact Deborah Stroud, Work Study Coordinator at Oak Hills Schools at stroud_d@oakhills.hccanet.org or 513-922-2300.

Elisabeth's Science Project

A few days ago, I attended my daughter's science exhibit focusing on the human body made by her classmates at Bobby B. Fairfax. Except for the written descriptions on the wall, it was no ordinary science exhibit. The focus for her wasn't entirely about becoming more familiar with the function of each body part on exhibit there. The focus was to allow her to explore in an environment that challenged her individual area of skill and ability.

Elisabeth's contribution was explaining the "tongue." Instead of explaining the "tongue" through her usual fixation of self-stimming, her teacher gave her visual cues to explain the tongue using her techtalk. She also make a model of the tongue that was small enough to place in her hand for sensory input, but large enough so it wouldn't end up in her mouth.


Elisabeth was engaged in a purposeful and meaningful environment that was challenging for her. At the "hand" exhibit, she was reaching out to objects that that would buzz, clang, or crash on touch. At the lung exhibit, she was provided appropriate sensory stimulation holding baggies made to look like lungs that inflated and deflated on touch making a crinkly sound. I think her favorite was the "nose" exhibit station where her fellow student pressed a button to make a "sneeze" from a spray bottle.



What I learned from the students who put on the Science Exhibit at the school, is that when we create opportunities for children to learn according to their personal area of development, skill level, and ability, they will succeed.

Elisabeths' New Do

I really great stylist, Rachel Hayden, from Milford's Salon VIP did a beautiful job, don't you think?

My Daddy & I Went To A Dance!!!!

Springfield Township hosted the first annual Father and Daughter Dance following in the footsteps of a "Father and Daughter Dance" that's been part of Finneytown's tradition for many years... Here are a few photos of Elisabeth and her Dad!

Hurricane Katrina Long Term Recovery Research

Researchers at the Center for Disability and Development at Texas A&M
University are conducting a study on the long-term recovery survivors from
Hurricane Katrina who have diabetes or a disability. If selected,
individuals will participate in either an interview, telephone survey, or a
focus group and be eligible for up to $50.00 in compensation. Interested
individuals or their guardians (if applicable) should contact the Texas A&M
project using their toll free number at 1-866-578-4366. All calls will be
confidential and consent procedures will be carefully followed with all
potential participants.





We are conducting a study on the long term recovery of survivors from
Hurricane Katrina. We would like to ask your assistance in disseminating our
project information below to groups and individuals who might be interested
in participating. A flyer is also attached in the case you would like to
post this information.


Please contact Christy Knight, Data Coordinator, at
Texas A&M University at cnknight@ag.tamu.edu if you have further questions
or suggestions for other groups who we might be interested in disseminating
information about this study.

************************************************************************



Principal Investigator: Laura M. Stough, PhD
Department of Educational Psychology

Support Group: Parents of Children w/ Neurobiological Disorders

For parents, grandparents, caregivers and others who are concerned about a child experiencing SERIOUS EMOTIONAL Disorders or has been diagnosed with or exhibits symptoms of a neurobiological disorder or mental illness.

When? The first Saturday of each month 1-2:20 p.m.

Where? At Children's Hospital, College Hill Campus, 5642 Hamilton Avenue, Cincinnati 45224

Sponsored by NAMI Hamilton County, call the NAMI office 513-351-3500 for more info.

Facilitated by Carin Ives


NAMI of Hamilton Country is a partipating member of Community Shares of Greater Cincinnati

Parent/Family Leadership Series

Found this information in Elisabeth's backpack and thought it looked interesting for families who have children who are not cognition-track students. (I guess that means kids who are severe or delayed in cognition development...)



Starting Dec. 11, 2008, State Support Team 13, in collaboration with regional trainers, will offer interactive, hands-on, sessions related to Special Education System topic. Family members may attend all or any of the sessions. A $20 gift card, to help defray expenses, willbe provided to parents and family members at each session (one card per family.)

Sessions will be held at CRES (former SERRC building) from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. the 2nd Thursday of each month, December through May. The sessions will cover basic informaiton about topics related to the needs of learners with disabilities, including an intervention/prevention model fo learners who are not successful in school, adademically or behaviorially. Ohio's new operation standardss will be applied to each topic area.

Those who attend all six series sessions willb e invted to attend more advanced, in-depth, training at a Spring Leadership Institute in May and June of 2009.


When:

December 11, 2008 Special Educati
January 8, 2009, Intervention and Evaluation
February 12, 2009 IEP Development
March 12, 2009 Behavior Planning
April 9, 2009 Transition (Birth to "World of Work")
May 14, 2009 Communication


Where:

CRES 1301 Bonnell, 3rd floor
Cincinnati, 45215

To register:

Call Terry 563-0045

Questions about Series call Sue Bitsko 513-674-4261

In case of bad weather, please call 563-0045 for information

Accepting the Retarded ....

We lived next door to a group home in Roselawn for 11 years which proved to be an eye opening experience in preparing for Elisabeth who was not born yet. This article is a constant reminder about the uphill battle against ignorance and fear which is the only real handicap our family and friends face in life:

From the

New York Times

Accepting the Retarded, As Long as They're Old...



By JOSEPH BERGER
Published: November 14, 2008
EASTCHESTER


Long Island Westchester
Connecticut New Jersey


THE house on Claudet Way looks unremarkable — another handsome ranch on a winding suburban lane of comfortable families, lingering empty nesters and ghosts that haunt the shrubs at Halloween time.

What makes the house stand out is its residents — four elderly men and three elderly women who are mentally retarded. The house is a group home, an effort to let the residents feel the same delights of suburban living that others do by placing them in a residential rather than institutional setting.

So far it has worked out. After 14 years, the neighbors, some of whom first objected to a group home locating on the block, have more than made peace with it. Children even drop by for treats at Halloween and get big smiles and waves from the residents.

But now the house is at the center of another of those not-in-my-backyard flare-ups. The residents at Claudet Way need to move out to a setting better able to deal with their accumulating frailties — one that at a minimum is suited to wheelchairs. In their place, Westchester Jewish Community Services, the nonprofit agency that operates the home, wants to move in six men in their 20s and 30s who have developmental problems.

Some neighbors are protesting, making their objections known to the agency and to local government officials. They say they worry about these younger, sturdier men wandering onto their lawns and walks. They worry that cars belonging to visitors will clog the tranquil street.

“I care about them molesting children who won’t be able to go out unattended,” said Paul D. Warner, a retired professor of auditing who has lived on the block since 1971.

“It’s not right, because they shouldn’t put that much stress and fear on the parents,” said Lois Schneider, a former schoolteacher who raised a son and daughter a few doors away. “I mean, children should be able to play, and there shouldn’t be a fear that they might be accosted or bothered.”

The agency has been through this kind of tumult with almost every one of its 12 group homes in Westchester, which accommodate a total of 85 men and women. And according to Dale Wang, the agency’s director of community relations, in 30 years the agency has not had a single serious case of harm to a neighbor.

“People are afraid of what they don’t know,” she said.

Residents of the suburbs tend to want their streets to be as close as possible to the soothingly normal land of “Leave It to Beaver” and “Dick Van Dyke.” But outside 1960s television, suburban families are seldom typical. Families split up in divorces, others come from foreign cultures, others include children with disabilities, and a neighborhood sometimes has to deal with the ripples. In the case of mentally retarded children, society has to find ways to allow them to function as independently as possible as they grow up.

Steven R. Yellen, the agency’s assistant executive director, said mentally retarded people, like everyone else, have a right to live where they choose.

A model for what the neighbors on Claudet Way can expect is not too far away on Cannon Lane, a similar group home for younger men. On Election Day, the seven residents — all between 30 and 60 — came home from jobs doing mailing or stacking books, and then, as most Americans did, they went off to vote.

Jeffrey — the agency asked that last names be omitted to protect the residents’ privacy — had made up his mind.

“Don’t forget to vote for Obama,” he urged his housemates. “He’s a good senator.”

Warren, looking skeptical, thought otherwise. He was voting for John McCain.

“He’ll make a good president,” Warren said. “He knows what he’s talking about.”

Upstairs, Michael, a bashful, balding man of 31 who works part time in the Larchmont Public Library, was tidying his already orderly room. Michael sometimes gets annoyed with housemates for borrowing his CDs without asking. But he also has a sign pinned to his bookshelves that lists “10 Things I Like About Myself,” including “I like that I am funny and I make people laugh.”

The agency has not yet picked out the six younger men who would be moved to Claudet Way, but it says it will screen them and provide a staff of about 18 to care for them. It will permit some residents to move freely about town and require round-the-clock supervision for others.

“We don’t think this is a scary place,” Ms. Wang said.

Usually, the agency sets up a house after receiving requests from enough parents who realize that they won’t be around forever and that their grown children will need to learn to live on their own. In the case of the Claudet Way house, the agency, which commonly takes clients from all religions, also wants to set up a kosher home for the offspring of observant Jews.

The agency is accredited and financed by the State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, and the move — which would require renovations to the ranch house — is being delayed during the austerity of a fiscal crisis. The older residents will remain for now. Nevertheless, the agency is preparing for the day the project resumes, and it expects the controversy to die down.

Ms. Wang knows from experience. She was here 14 years ago when there was a hubbub over the first residents at Claudet Way.

“I also remember that months later when we had a holiday party, the neighbors came by,” she said. “And everything was very friendly.”

E-mail: joeberg@nytimes.com

Bridge School News Network Interview

I came across this interview with Pegi Young put together by kids from The Bridge School which is known for teaching specialized communication for children who are experiencing global or developmental delays in speech. Here's another interview with their famous supporter, Rock-n-roll legend Neil Young. Looky here!


The interview is a reminder that however we as a society either perceive or define as "loss" or "disability" will be our kid's only handicap in life. It is also a reminder that survival is a gift. A blessing. And that as parents we have a direct responsibility to teach our children all the survival skills they need for their future regardless how they come into this world.

Since no one can prepare us for this journey, it is even more important for parents to educate themselves about different teaching aides, methodologies, and technologies that will help children access their right to a special education according to their ability.


How parents go about accessing these resources will vary depending on each child's ability or special diagnosis. Generally, it's best to find the advocacy organization in town once a medical diagnosis is identified by a medical professional. Just google in the name of the "diagnosis" and "Cincinnati" and "advocacy" and start there.


Every community should have a Bridge School. But we don't. I think the closest thing we have in Cincinnati is the Perlman Center. The therapists at Perlman provide evaluations that will determine the best technologies for child's ability.


If your child is not following a typical pattern of cognition development, MR/dd schools are geared for non-curriculum track. Also try the Springer School which is a private school on the eastside of Cincinnati focusing on learning disabilities.


We must also pay attention to what our politicians are doing. Schools that are having difficulty passing tax levies in communities already paying high property taxes are schools that are in need of strong advocacy. So it is very important that we sound the bell educating our representatives at the local, state, and federal levels of government to make sure our children are not lost in the financially drained mainstream schools. We need to hold these politicians accountable. We need to hold the schools accountable.


Make sure you know who these people are.

Respite Care in Cincinnati, Ohio

My personal experience as been with the Redwood Rehabilitation Center on Orphanage Road off Dixie Highway in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky. It is a stellar organization and should be used as a model for the excellent care facilities.

the Arc of Hamilton County has several programs to help with cover costs for respite services:

Family Resource Services Program can help families pay for respite services. A sliding fee scale is used to determine the percentage a family will pay for services. The program provides funds for families who are eligible to receive MRDD services.

Parents' Night Out can provide funds to hire a sitter for a child with a disability.

The Children's Home of Cincinnati offers a Child Care Program for day care and kindergarten readiness for children ages 3 months through 5 years of age. Children with special needs are accepted, but they must be able to function in their day care and preschool program settings.

Evening Star is a program of Fellowship Baptist Church in Mainville, Ohio, that provides respite services once a month for families that have a child with a disability and their siblings. Families do not have to be church members to participate.


Max's Home a day care center for medically fragile children, is a division of Maxim Healthcare Services. It provides medical treatment, adaptive education and respite for families who have children with special health care needs. Infants and children ages 6 weeks through teenagers are eligible for treatment.

MR/dd
has respite services available for eligible families. Contact your Service Facilitator to begin the process.

Nat. Child Care Information Centerdeveloped by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides information and resources on child care and early childhoold education.

Ohio Department of Job and Family Services provides a daycare facility locator.

St. Joseph Home of Cincinnati
offers a respite program with 24-hour personal and medical services for medically fragile and developmentally disabled infants and young adults.

Wright's Law and IEP

Wright's Law Web site has a great ARTICLE about writing IEPs or "individualized education plan."

From our own experience, it involves first identifying the child's strengths & abilities. What is this child capable of doing? This might involve having your child accessed by a team of early childhood experts before meeting with the school's psychologist.

To connect with the early childhood experts you need to contact an intervention team through a specialized organization or advocacy group. (DSA, NCPA, CAB, etc.) Most children's hospitals locally will have a list of local organizations and agencies that provide early intervention and education for new parents. It is CRITICAL that parents begin this journey early before the child is 3 years old.

Initially, our daugher's psychological accessment put her at a very, very young age so we wrote her IEP based on measurable goals and objectives according to her abilities based on where she is "developmentally." Her education plan isn't focused on academics. Not yet, anyway. Her education plan is focused on what SHE can do, not what her peers are doing.

We would have her in a classroom with her peers if that would be appropriate for her but it's not. She isn't anywhere near their "cognition" so she attends a therapeutic-based school where the focus isn't driven by academic standards or achievement.

That's our choice and fortunately we still have this alternative thanks to "continuum of alternative placement."

Advocacy 101 with Patricia Bauer

I can't remember if I have Patricia Bauer's web-blog indexed. She keeps a great collection of newsworthy articles on her webblog for easy references and her site is especially helpful if you are a new parent to a child who has disability labels.

From her website:

Patricia E. Bauer is a journalist who has served as senior editor of the Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine; special assistant to the publisher of the Washington Post; reporter and bureau chief at the Washington Post, and pundit on public affairs television in Los Angeles. Her articles have appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times and many other publications.

Bauer is a former member of an Institutional Review Board (IRB) at UCLA, where she participated in the ethical review of federally funded medical research on human subjects, and has addressed national and regional conferences on the rights of patients and people with disabilities. During the Carter years, she worked in the White House press office as editor of the White House News Summary.

She is a member of the President’s Leadership Council at Dartmouth College, the Pacific Council on International Policy, and the board of trustees of the Riverview School in East Sandwich, Massachusetts.

Bauer and her husband are among the founders of the Pathway Program at UCLA, a post-secondary program for young adults with intellectual disabilities. They are the parents of two young adults, one of whom has Down syndrome and is a survivor of leukemia

Stiller's Tropic Thunder Blunder

Listen to NPR Interview here with Elisabeth's friend Lennard J. Davis, a professor of disability studies at the University of Illinois, who isn't amused by the use of the word "retard."

YOU GO LENNARD!!!

STILLER'S Tropic Thunder Blunder

The review from our film critic Moria MacDonald in Seattle who says "no delivery"
HERE

Take Elisabeth's advice:

1)Stay home.
2)Watch your kids instead.
3)Count your blessings.

Please Say Something, Don't Just Stare ...

It happens everywhere we go with Elisabeth. People stare. They stare and stare and stare and stare. I've become very self conscious about it.

Most of the time, I'm pretty creative or bring it to Elisabeth's attention that she has an audience and to be on her best behavior. If she's slurping or sliming, I usually tell her that's not going to go over big with her new friends.

Most people don't know the changes of cloths we go through or the amount of care we put into making our children presentable so they fit in with the rest. I can have Elisabeth ready for a shopping trip and by the time we leave, she's ready for a shirt change, a hair comb, lotion on her hands to work out the rubbery raisin skin, or whatever it takes to make her "presentable. Her sister's are very focused on "the look" that will get Elisabeth the desired attention and "the look" that will disgust people and stop them from coming up to her.

Today while in Target, two girls about about Elisabeth's age just stared. One even looked at her and said, "that's so gross" referring to Elisabeth's preoccupation with her tongue and chew aids. It hurt. It hurt Elisabeth.

At the Limited Too, recently, a group of girls probably younger than Elisabeth reacted the same way using the "R" word and laughed. Fortunately, her younger sister was trying on clothes while this was happening.

I guess I'm writing this because I want people to know it's okay to come up to us and say hello or even help me distract Elisabeth from being so fixated on her hand, fingers, cloths or hair. If you're with your children, remember children learn from example. They'll do or say what you, the adult, will do or say.

In this situation, it's okay to say "hello." If your kids ask "what wrong with her" tell them you don't know.

Should it matter?

You would be surprised how easy it is to get a smile from our kids. When people say "hello" she usually stops she's doing long enough to wave or smile.

PLEASE BOYCOTT TROPIC THUNDER

AAPD Condemns Portrayal of Disabled Character, Use of the Word 'Retard' in 'Tropic Thunder'

Last update: 6:29 p.m. EDT Aug. 11, 2008

WASHINGTON, Aug 11, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ --

Depiction of character and repeated use of word "horrifying" The largest cross-disability membership organization in the U.S. on Monday condemned all of the entities involved in creating, producing and marketing the movie "Tropic Thunder" for the use of the word "retard" and their portrayal of an intellectually disabled character in the movie.

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) helped organize a coalition of disability groups that have come together to boycott the film. Members of the coalition, including AAPD's President and CEO, Andrew Imparato, met with DreamWorks executives last week to discuss concerns about the film.

The movie is a movie-industry spoof depicting a caricature of an intellectually disabled person -- a character called "Simple Jack," played by actor Ben Stiller's character -- which is a continuation of the horrifying portrayal of disabled characters in entertainment.

AAPD is also disgusted at the use of the word "retard" numerous times in the movie and promotional items for the film, including the promotional slogan, "Once upon a time there was a retard," in the now-defunct Web site for the movie-within-a-movie, "Simple Jack."

"Both the use of this word and the appalling portrayal of an intellectually disabled character in this movie are incredibly damaging to people with intellectual disabilities," Imparato said after viewing the film Monday. "This movie perpetuates use of a hateful word the disability community is trying to eradicate from our country's vocabulary. Although the movie is considered satire, this depiction of a person with intellectual disabilities is far from funny."

"One of the biggest challenges for people with intellectual disabilities is when society encourages this portrayal of them," said Cheryl Senenbrenner, Chair of the American Association of People with Disabilities board, whose 38-year-old sister, Tara Warren, has Down Syndrome. "It's almost the worst adversity they face. People like Tara can do phenomenal things. She's very highly accomplished."

"As a person with a disability, the movie didn't make me feel good," said AAPD board member and President of Self-Advocates of Indiana, Inc. Betty Williams after viewing the film Monday. "I felt really horrible hearing them say the 'r' word so many times, so easily."

AAPD is also disappointed that the filmmakers included in the movie reportedly discussed the potentially offensive content of the movie with other groups before moving forward with production, but did not hold similar consultations with the disability community.

AAPD issued a joint statement as part of the coalition, which includes the Special Olympics, Arc of the United States and the National Council on Independent Living, criticizing the film and calling on Hollywood to remedy the harm that is being done by the film.


The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the country's largest cross-disability membership organization, organizes the disability community to be a powerful voice for change - economically, politically, and socially. AAPD was founded in 1995 to help unite the diverse community of people with disabilities, including their family, friends and supporters, and to be a national voice for change in implementing the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To learn more, visit the AAPD website: http://www.aapd.com.

SOURCE American Association of People With Disabilities http://www.aapd.com