Sponsored By
AAIDD – AUCD – The Arc of the US - ANCOR – AAIDD Gerontology Division - RRTC on Aging & DD at the University of Illinois at Chicago
No Registration Fees – You Pay Your Ordinary Long Distance Telephone Charges
REGISTRATION REQUIRED: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/835020752
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 pm EST
Moderator: Elizabeth A. Perkins, PhD, President AAIDD Gerontology Division
Topic: DEMENTIA AMONG ADULTS with DOWN SYNDROME: Individual Differences in Risk and Progression
Speaker: Wayne Silverman, PhD., Director of Intellectual Disabilities Research, Department of Behavioral Psychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) and Associate Director of the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center at KKI and Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Silverman and his colleagues have been studying effects of aging and Alzheimer’s disease on adults with intellectual disability, especially adults with Down syndrome, for over 20 years. Dr. Silverman is an AAIDD Fellow and a past Board member, as well as the immediate past President of The Academy on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Webinar Description: This presentation will provide an overview of currently available information on progression of dementia among adults with Down syndrome. General background material will be presented regarding the connection between Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease, and findings from a large ongoing research program will be presented with an emphasis on individual differences in age of onset of dementia (i.e., risk) and rate of symptom progression.
Additional findings regarding the effectiveness of “cognitive enhancing” medications will also be discussed, as will evidence supporting possible strategies for delaying declines in cognitive and functional abilities in vulnerable individuals.
Target Audience: Anyone interested in dementia and aging with intellectual disability, but especially anyone interested in planning services for elderly individuals with intellectual disability.
FUTURE WEBINARS
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!! 3rd Wednesday of the Month 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. EST
February 17th, 2010: Principles of Medical Ethics in Health Care Provision
Speaker: Michael Henderson, M.D. University of Rochester, Strong Medical Center
Moderator: Renee Pietrangelo, Executive Director ANCOR
March 17th, 2010: Self Advocates Speak
Speaker: Pending
Moderator: Pending
April 21st, 2010: End of Life through a Cultural Lens
Speaker: Tawara D. Goode, MA, Director, National Center for Cultural Competence and Associate Director, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development; Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center.
All About Developmental Disabilities (AADD) is Atlanta's preeminent resource on developmental disabilities, providing support services to families for more than 55 years. We are often the one place where people with developmental disabilities can go to achieve personal empowerment, family stability and community participation. AADD provides family support; public policy and advocacy; and community engagement.
Showing posts with label Recommended. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recommended. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Father: Utah Man Who Inspired 'Rain Man' Dies
By DOUG ALDEN
The Associated Press
December 22, 2009
SALT LAKE CITY — The man who inspired the title character in the Oscar-winning movie "Rain Man" has died.
Kim Peek was 58. His father, Fran, says Peek had a major heart attack Saturday morning and was pronounced dead at a hospital in the Salt Lake City suburb of Murray.
Peek was a savant with a remarkable memory and inspired writer Barry Morrow when he wrote "Rain Man," the 1988 movie that won four Academy Awards.
Fran Peek said his son met Morrow at a convention in the early 1980s and the writer was taken with Peek's knack for retaining everything he heard. Morrow wrote the script, and the movie went on to win Oscars for best film and best actor for Dustin Hoffman, whose repetitive rants about being an excellent driver and the "People's Court" about to start were a hit with moviegoers.
Although the character was technically fictional, Fran Peek said his son was every bit as amazing as Hoffman's portrayal of him. And Kim's true character showed when he toured the world, helping dispel misconceptions about mental disabilities.
"It was just unbelievable, all the things that he knew," Fran Peek said Monday. "He traveled 5,500 miles short of 3 million air miles and talked to nearly 60 million people — half have been students."
In his later years, Peek was classified as a "mega-savant" who was a genius in about 15 different subjects, from history and literature and geography to numbers, sports, music and dates. But his motor skills were limited; he couldn't perform some simple tasks like dressing himself.
NASA scientists had been studying Peek, hoping that technology used to study the effects of space travel on the brain would help explain his mental capabilities.
Fran Peek says the funeral will be next Tuesday in Taylorsville. Details were pending.
___
http://www.ajc.com/
http://www.accessatlanta.com/atlanta-movies/father-utah-man-who-251022.html?cxntlid=thbz_hm © 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Copyright 2009, The Associated Press.
The Associated Press
December 22, 2009
SALT LAKE CITY — The man who inspired the title character in the Oscar-winning movie "Rain Man" has died.
Kim Peek was 58. His father, Fran, says Peek had a major heart attack Saturday morning and was pronounced dead at a hospital in the Salt Lake City suburb of Murray.
Peek was a savant with a remarkable memory and inspired writer Barry Morrow when he wrote "Rain Man," the 1988 movie that won four Academy Awards.
Fran Peek said his son met Morrow at a convention in the early 1980s and the writer was taken with Peek's knack for retaining everything he heard. Morrow wrote the script, and the movie went on to win Oscars for best film and best actor for Dustin Hoffman, whose repetitive rants about being an excellent driver and the "People's Court" about to start were a hit with moviegoers.
Although the character was technically fictional, Fran Peek said his son was every bit as amazing as Hoffman's portrayal of him. And Kim's true character showed when he toured the world, helping dispel misconceptions about mental disabilities.
"It was just unbelievable, all the things that he knew," Fran Peek said Monday. "He traveled 5,500 miles short of 3 million air miles and talked to nearly 60 million people — half have been students."
In his later years, Peek was classified as a "mega-savant" who was a genius in about 15 different subjects, from history and literature and geography to numbers, sports, music and dates. But his motor skills were limited; he couldn't perform some simple tasks like dressing himself.
NASA scientists had been studying Peek, hoping that technology used to study the effects of space travel on the brain would help explain his mental capabilities.
Fran Peek says the funeral will be next Tuesday in Taylorsville. Details were pending.
___
http://www.ajc.com/
http://www.accessatlanta.com/atlanta-movies/father-utah-man-who-251022.html?cxntlid=thbz_hm © 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Copyright 2009, The Associated Press.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
How to Get Early Intervention Autism Therapy for Your Child
By Nancy Shute
U.S. News & World Report
December 4, 2009
The good news is that it looks like very early intervention programs for children with autism really do help. The bad news is that services can be hard to find, and expensive.
Toddlers who participated in a study testing the Early Start Denver model for early intervention showed improved language skills and IQ, compared with children who didn’t get the specialized training, which emphasizes social skills and communication. The intensive therapy, which included 20 hours a week at home with a trained therapist and additional time working with parents, increased the IQ of the children by 18 points, compared with 7 IQ points in children who got more standard therapy.
Researchers and pediatricians have increasingly thought “the earlier, the better” when it comes to autism treatment, but this is the first hard evidence that working intensively with children who are younger than 2½ helps reduce the social and language deficits typical of autism. The study, which involved 48 children ages 18 months to 30 months, was published online Monday in Pediatrics.
This indicates it’s even more important that children suspected of having autism spectrum disorders get evaluated and treated as early as possible. In 2007, the American Academy of Pediatrics said all pediatricians should screen children for symptoms of autism at 18 and 24 months, so the family pediatrician is a good first stop. But don’t stop there. “The pediatrician may be saying, ‘Let’s wait and see,’ ” says Geraldine Dawson, a coauthor of the new study. Dawson is the chief science officer for Autism Speaks, an advocacy group, and a research professor at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. “I think one of the things that this study underscores is that parents should really pay attention to their own instincts and find a doctor who will listen to their concerns and then make an appropriate referral,” she says.
If your child is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, finding and paying for treatment can be a struggle. Here’s the basic route:
Find your state’s early intervention program, which should help you find and pay for treatments. Federal law requires states to provide early intervention services for children with developmental delays through age 3. The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities has a searchable database that will connect you with the early intervention services office in your state. Your pediatrician also can help steer you to your state program.
Push hard to get your child evaluated as quickly as possible. The state-mandated multidisciplinary evaluation and assessment is designed to observe your child’s physical, cognitive, and social development, then decide if your child needs early intervention. The evaluation is free through the state’s early intervention program, but waits can be frustrating.
Some parents opt to pay for evaluations themselves rather than wait. Autism Speaks, an advocacy group, has a “100 Day Kit” designed to help speed the evaluation process and make a family’s first 100 days after receiving an autism diagnosis less painful.
Find treatment in your area. The early intervention services offered vary widely from state to state. The Individual Family Service Plan created as a result of your child’s evaluation should spell out what services will be provided to your child and family and tell what the state will pay for (that varies from state to state, too). The National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders has a list of scientifically validated autism treatments. The Autism Society of America’s Autism Source database lists services by ZIP code, but its list is far from complete.
Ask other parents how they’re getting the services their child needs. Parents who have been there are fabulous sources of tested advice and support. Internet support groups and listservs are a great place to find parents who share your concerns, whether they’re in your county or in another country. The Children’s Disabilities Information list of autism groups is a good place to start finding the parents who can help guide you in finding the right help for your child.
See if your state requires insurers to pay for autism therapy. Fifteen states have passed laws that require insurers to pay for early intervention therapy when state programs do not. It’s also included in health reform proposals in Congress. For more information on insurance coverage, check out autismvotes.org.
Do the therapy yourself. Dawson and Sally Rogers have written a book, The Early Start Denver Mode for Young Children With Autism, that parents can use themselves if they haven’t found a therapist trained in the method. (Here’s a video of one Early Start Denver therapy session. It looks like fun.) Dawson also recommends Wendy Stone’s Does My Child Have Autism? as a guide to finding good services fast.
“There are things that parents can do,” Dawson says. “These very young kids can participate in an intervention in a meaningful way, and parents can learn these strategies.”
http://health.usnews.com/blogs/on-parenting/2009/12/02/how-to-get-early-intervention-autism-therapy-for-your-child.html
http://www.usnews.com/health
US News & World Report
Editorial Offices:1050 Thomas Jefferson Street NWWashington, DC 20007202-955-2000
Copyright © 2009 U.S.News & World Report LP
U.S. News & World Report
December 4, 2009
The good news is that it looks like very early intervention programs for children with autism really do help. The bad news is that services can be hard to find, and expensive.
Toddlers who participated in a study testing the Early Start Denver model for early intervention showed improved language skills and IQ, compared with children who didn’t get the specialized training, which emphasizes social skills and communication. The intensive therapy, which included 20 hours a week at home with a trained therapist and additional time working with parents, increased the IQ of the children by 18 points, compared with 7 IQ points in children who got more standard therapy.
Researchers and pediatricians have increasingly thought “the earlier, the better” when it comes to autism treatment, but this is the first hard evidence that working intensively with children who are younger than 2½ helps reduce the social and language deficits typical of autism. The study, which involved 48 children ages 18 months to 30 months, was published online Monday in Pediatrics.
This indicates it’s even more important that children suspected of having autism spectrum disorders get evaluated and treated as early as possible. In 2007, the American Academy of Pediatrics said all pediatricians should screen children for symptoms of autism at 18 and 24 months, so the family pediatrician is a good first stop. But don’t stop there. “The pediatrician may be saying, ‘Let’s wait and see,’ ” says Geraldine Dawson, a coauthor of the new study. Dawson is the chief science officer for Autism Speaks, an advocacy group, and a research professor at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. “I think one of the things that this study underscores is that parents should really pay attention to their own instincts and find a doctor who will listen to their concerns and then make an appropriate referral,” she says.
If your child is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, finding and paying for treatment can be a struggle. Here’s the basic route:
Find your state’s early intervention program, which should help you find and pay for treatments. Federal law requires states to provide early intervention services for children with developmental delays through age 3. The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities has a searchable database that will connect you with the early intervention services office in your state. Your pediatrician also can help steer you to your state program.
Push hard to get your child evaluated as quickly as possible. The state-mandated multidisciplinary evaluation and assessment is designed to observe your child’s physical, cognitive, and social development, then decide if your child needs early intervention. The evaluation is free through the state’s early intervention program, but waits can be frustrating.
Some parents opt to pay for evaluations themselves rather than wait. Autism Speaks, an advocacy group, has a “100 Day Kit” designed to help speed the evaluation process and make a family’s first 100 days after receiving an autism diagnosis less painful.
Find treatment in your area. The early intervention services offered vary widely from state to state. The Individual Family Service Plan created as a result of your child’s evaluation should spell out what services will be provided to your child and family and tell what the state will pay for (that varies from state to state, too). The National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders has a list of scientifically validated autism treatments. The Autism Society of America’s Autism Source database lists services by ZIP code, but its list is far from complete.
Ask other parents how they’re getting the services their child needs. Parents who have been there are fabulous sources of tested advice and support. Internet support groups and listservs are a great place to find parents who share your concerns, whether they’re in your county or in another country. The Children’s Disabilities Information list of autism groups is a good place to start finding the parents who can help guide you in finding the right help for your child.
See if your state requires insurers to pay for autism therapy. Fifteen states have passed laws that require insurers to pay for early intervention therapy when state programs do not. It’s also included in health reform proposals in Congress. For more information on insurance coverage, check out autismvotes.org.
Do the therapy yourself. Dawson and Sally Rogers have written a book, The Early Start Denver Mode for Young Children With Autism, that parents can use themselves if they haven’t found a therapist trained in the method. (Here’s a video of one Early Start Denver therapy session. It looks like fun.) Dawson also recommends Wendy Stone’s Does My Child Have Autism? as a guide to finding good services fast.
“There are things that parents can do,” Dawson says. “These very young kids can participate in an intervention in a meaningful way, and parents can learn these strategies.”
http://health.usnews.com/blogs/on-parenting/2009/12/02/how-to-get-early-intervention-autism-therapy-for-your-child.html
http://www.usnews.com/health
US News & World Report
Editorial Offices:1050 Thomas Jefferson Street NWWashington, DC 20007202-955-2000
Copyright © 2009 U.S.News & World Report LP
Friday, November 20, 2009
AADD's "Conversations That Matter: The Art of Adovacy" Held in Gwinnett County on November 16
What kind of advocate do you want to be?
This was the question posed to attendees at AADD’s (All About Developmental Disabilities) "Conversations That Matter: The Art of Advocacy", November 16, at the Busbee Center in Gwinnett County.
More than 75 parents of children with disabilities and professionals working in the field, learned directly from their legislators about the budget challenges for this upcoming session as well as how best to approach legislators about issues of importance to them.
Thanks to Senator Renee Unterman, Senator Curt Thompson and Representative Melvin Everson for their active participation in the meetings.
Rita Young, Director of Public Policy for AADD, provided information on the Unlock The Waiting List campaign and provided training on how to advocate. She challenged attendees to connect with each other, discuss effective ways to advocate for individual issues to strengthen the communities of support for individuals with disabilities and encouraged participants to get involved during the upcoming legislative session.
The programs were made possible thanks to support and partnership with GCDD (Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities), Community Action Pioneers of Gwinnett, and the Unlock the Waiting List campaign.
Be on the look out for similar events in Savannah and Ben Hill this winter.
State Bar Association Presents Important Continuing Legal Education Programs on Compliance Issues and Disability Discrimination in Employment
"Finding the Bottom Line: Rights of People with Disabilities in NYS"
by New York State Bar Association News Release
ALBANY, NY (11/18/2009)(readMedia)-- The New York State Bar Association will host an important series of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs next month that will provide a road map for attorneys as they advise clients on a host of disability, discrimination and compliance issues. The program, titled "Finding the Bottom Line: Rights of People with Disabilities in New York State," will review and analyze current federal, state and local disability laws and will examine how they relate to potential discrimination actions in the areas of employment, public and private sector public accommodations and housing. The programs will be presented in Rochester on December 1st; New York City on December 4th; and Albany on December 9th.
Presented by the State Bar's Committee on Continuing Legal Education and co-sponsored by the Committee on Issues Affecting People with Disabilities, the Labor and Employment Law Section, and that section's Equal Employment Opportunity Law Committee and its Individual Rights and Responsibilities Committee, the CLE program will offer 6.5 credit hours of professional practice and/or practice management.
Among the topics to be covered are "Who Is Protected," "What Is a Covered Entity and What Are Its Obligations" and "Housing Requirements" as related to the federal Americans with Disabilities Amendment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Housing Act, as well as New York State and local laws. Program attendees also will learn about remediation options, including mediation, administrative and court litigation and differences in the availability of compensatory and punitive damages, among other remedies and strategies.
"The significant changes in the law made by last year's amendments to the ADA, as well as the newly proposed regulations and evolving case law, make it critical for attorneys representing employees, employers and others to keep up to date on the ADA, FMLA, New York State Human Rights Law and New York City Human Rights Law," said Nancy Halleck, chair of the Committee on Issues Affecting People with Disabilities. "This CLE provides an excellent opportunity for attorneys to catch up on all of these changes and get a refresher course on existing laws. The faculty we have assembled comprises experts in disability, employment and housing law with experience in litigation and compliance. Participants will leave this workshop with a clear understanding of the changes in the law, and how it all fits together around the state. I urge all attorneys practicing disability and employment law to attend."
In a related event, as part of the United Nation's celebration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, New York City regional program co-chair Mark H. Leeds, Esq. has been invited to present copies of this CLE course program book to United Nations officials on December 3rd.
Ms. Akiko Ito, Chief of the United Nations Secretariat for the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, said, "As we celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the United Nations appreciates the contribution of the New York State Bar Association's continuing legal education program, 'Finding the Bottom Line - Rights of People with Disabilities in New York State,' to efforts that recognize and promote the rights of persons with disabilities. We look forward to working further with the New York State Bar Association in this cause."
A complete listing of participants for each of the three local area panels is provided below.
Tuesday, December 1st Radisson Hotel Rochester Riverside; 120 Main Street East; Rochester
Melinda R. Saran, Esq., (Local Chair), University at Buffalo Law School, Buffalo * Mairead E. Connor, Esq., Law Offices of Mairead E. Connor, PLLC, Syracuse * Matthew J. Fusco, Esq., Chamberlain D'Amanda, Rochester * Michael Hanley, Esq., Empire Justice Center, Rochester * Amy L. Hemenway, Esq., Harter, Secrest & Emery LLP, Buffalo * Michael Mul, Esq., Empire Justice Center, Rochester * Sharon P. Stiller, Boylan, Brown, Code, Vigdor and Wilson, Rochester.
Friday, December 4th New York Hilton and Towers; 1335 Ave of the Americas; NYC
Mark H. Leeds, Esq., (Local Chair), Riverdale * Dennis R. Boyd, Esq., Dennis R. Boyd Legal Advocacy and Consulting Services, New York City * Patricia A. Cody, Esq., Wormser Kiely Galef & Jacobs LLP, New York City * John P. Herrion, Esq., New York State Division of Human Rights, Bronx * Alan M. Koral, Esq., Vedder Price, P.C., New York City * Rachel J. Minter, Esq., Law Office of Rachel J. Minter, New York City* Jason R. Mischel, Esq., New York City Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities * Donald L. Sapir, Esq., Sapir & Frumkin, White Plains * Jo Anne Simon, Esq., Jo Anne Simon, PC, Brooklyn.
Wednesday, December 9th Crowne Plaza Albany; State & Lodge Streets; Albany
Simeon Goldman, Esq., (Local Chair), Disability Advocates Inc, Albany * Beth A. Bourassa, Esq., Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna LLP, Albany * Ronald G. Dunn, Esq., Gleason Dunn Walsh & O'Shea, Albany * John P. Herrion, Esq., New York State Division of Human Rights, Bronx * Gregory K. Jones, Esq., New York State Commission on Quality of Care and Office of Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities, Albany * Alan M. Koral, Esq., Vedder Price, P.C., New York City * Tara L. Moffett, Esq., Girvin & Ferlazzo, Albany * Cliff Zucker, Esq., Disability Advocates Inc., Albany.
For further information on this CLE program series or to register to attend, please visit the following Web sites:
Rochester Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Radisson Hotel Rochester Riverside
www.nysba.org/disabilityroc
New York City Friday, December 4, 2009
The New York Hilton
www.nysba.org/disabilitynyc
Albany, December 9, 2009
Crowne Plaza Albany Hotel
www.nysba.org/disabilityalb
Founded in 1876, the 76,000-member New York State Bar Association is the official statewide organization of lawyers in New York and the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. The State Bar's programs and activities have continuously served the public and improved the justice system for more than 130 years.
Contact Information
Nick Parrella, 518-487-5532
http://readme.readmedia.com/Finding-the-Bottom-Line-Rights-of-People-with-Disabilities/983321
by New York State Bar Association News Release
ALBANY, NY (11/18/2009)(readMedia)-- The New York State Bar Association will host an important series of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs next month that will provide a road map for attorneys as they advise clients on a host of disability, discrimination and compliance issues. The program, titled "Finding the Bottom Line: Rights of People with Disabilities in New York State," will review and analyze current federal, state and local disability laws and will examine how they relate to potential discrimination actions in the areas of employment, public and private sector public accommodations and housing. The programs will be presented in Rochester on December 1st; New York City on December 4th; and Albany on December 9th.
Presented by the State Bar's Committee on Continuing Legal Education and co-sponsored by the Committee on Issues Affecting People with Disabilities, the Labor and Employment Law Section, and that section's Equal Employment Opportunity Law Committee and its Individual Rights and Responsibilities Committee, the CLE program will offer 6.5 credit hours of professional practice and/or practice management.
Among the topics to be covered are "Who Is Protected," "What Is a Covered Entity and What Are Its Obligations" and "Housing Requirements" as related to the federal Americans with Disabilities Amendment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Housing Act, as well as New York State and local laws. Program attendees also will learn about remediation options, including mediation, administrative and court litigation and differences in the availability of compensatory and punitive damages, among other remedies and strategies.
"The significant changes in the law made by last year's amendments to the ADA, as well as the newly proposed regulations and evolving case law, make it critical for attorneys representing employees, employers and others to keep up to date on the ADA, FMLA, New York State Human Rights Law and New York City Human Rights Law," said Nancy Halleck, chair of the Committee on Issues Affecting People with Disabilities. "This CLE provides an excellent opportunity for attorneys to catch up on all of these changes and get a refresher course on existing laws. The faculty we have assembled comprises experts in disability, employment and housing law with experience in litigation and compliance. Participants will leave this workshop with a clear understanding of the changes in the law, and how it all fits together around the state. I urge all attorneys practicing disability and employment law to attend."
In a related event, as part of the United Nation's celebration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, New York City regional program co-chair Mark H. Leeds, Esq. has been invited to present copies of this CLE course program book to United Nations officials on December 3rd.
Ms. Akiko Ito, Chief of the United Nations Secretariat for the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, said, "As we celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the United Nations appreciates the contribution of the New York State Bar Association's continuing legal education program, 'Finding the Bottom Line - Rights of People with Disabilities in New York State,' to efforts that recognize and promote the rights of persons with disabilities. We look forward to working further with the New York State Bar Association in this cause."
A complete listing of participants for each of the three local area panels is provided below.
Tuesday, December 1st Radisson Hotel Rochester Riverside; 120 Main Street East; Rochester
Melinda R. Saran, Esq., (Local Chair), University at Buffalo Law School, Buffalo * Mairead E. Connor, Esq., Law Offices of Mairead E. Connor, PLLC, Syracuse * Matthew J. Fusco, Esq., Chamberlain D'Amanda, Rochester * Michael Hanley, Esq., Empire Justice Center, Rochester * Amy L. Hemenway, Esq., Harter, Secrest & Emery LLP, Buffalo * Michael Mul, Esq., Empire Justice Center, Rochester * Sharon P. Stiller, Boylan, Brown, Code, Vigdor and Wilson, Rochester.
Friday, December 4th New York Hilton and Towers; 1335 Ave of the Americas; NYC
Mark H. Leeds, Esq., (Local Chair), Riverdale * Dennis R. Boyd, Esq., Dennis R. Boyd Legal Advocacy and Consulting Services, New York City * Patricia A. Cody, Esq., Wormser Kiely Galef & Jacobs LLP, New York City * John P. Herrion, Esq., New York State Division of Human Rights, Bronx * Alan M. Koral, Esq., Vedder Price, P.C., New York City * Rachel J. Minter, Esq., Law Office of Rachel J. Minter, New York City* Jason R. Mischel, Esq., New York City Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities * Donald L. Sapir, Esq., Sapir & Frumkin, White Plains * Jo Anne Simon, Esq., Jo Anne Simon, PC, Brooklyn.
Wednesday, December 9th Crowne Plaza Albany; State & Lodge Streets; Albany
Simeon Goldman, Esq., (Local Chair), Disability Advocates Inc, Albany * Beth A. Bourassa, Esq., Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna LLP, Albany * Ronald G. Dunn, Esq., Gleason Dunn Walsh & O'Shea, Albany * John P. Herrion, Esq., New York State Division of Human Rights, Bronx * Gregory K. Jones, Esq., New York State Commission on Quality of Care and Office of Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities, Albany * Alan M. Koral, Esq., Vedder Price, P.C., New York City * Tara L. Moffett, Esq., Girvin & Ferlazzo, Albany * Cliff Zucker, Esq., Disability Advocates Inc., Albany.
For further information on this CLE program series or to register to attend, please visit the following Web sites:
Rochester Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Radisson Hotel Rochester Riverside
www.nysba.org/disabilityroc
New York City Friday, December 4, 2009
The New York Hilton
www.nysba.org/disabilitynyc
Albany, December 9, 2009
Crowne Plaza Albany Hotel
www.nysba.org/disabilityalb
Founded in 1876, the 76,000-member New York State Bar Association is the official statewide organization of lawyers in New York and the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. The State Bar's programs and activities have continuously served the public and improved the justice system for more than 130 years.
Contact Information
Nick Parrella, 518-487-5532
http://readme.readmedia.com/Finding-the-Bottom-Line-Rights-of-People-with-Disabilities/983321
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Disabled Riders to Bing: Undo Switch in Transit Service
BY MATT HELMSFREE
PRESS STAFF WRITER
Detroit Free Press
Detroit, Michigan
November 19. 2009
People with disabilities and senior citizens called on Detroit leaders Wednesday to reverse an apparent decision to switch providers of specialized MetroLift rides that serve those who have trouble using regular buses.
The city announced earlier this month that Veolia Transportation would no longer be a provider of paratransit services. Officials said Veolia terminated its contract with the city Nov. 6.
But Veolia officials said Wednesday that the city stopped making payments in February, started contracting with other companies and has refused to discuss the issue. Veolia has provided paratransit services for the Detroit Department of Transportation since 1999 and was contracted through 2011.
Veolia has sued the city in U.S. District Court in Detroit, seeking nearly $10 million for breach of contract.
At a news conference Wednesday, representatives from Veolia and groups including the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit & Vicinity and the RainbowPUSH Coalition urged Mayor Dave Bing to reverse DDOT's decision on Veolia.
"We're hoping Mayor Bing will call a meeting, bring the parties together and try to resolve it," said Isaac Robinson, political director for the Michigan Teamsters Joint Council No. 43, which represents Veolia drivers.
Bing's office released a statement saying the city will continue to provide paratransit service but not commenting on Veolia's allegations.
"The City of Detroit is required by Federal Transit Administration regulations to provide paratransit service. Veolia was one of the vendors who provided this service until Nov. 6, when Veolia terminated their contract," Edward L. Cardenas, Bing's spokesman said. "Representatives of DDOT, including members of the mayor's staff, have had several meetings with Veolia and its lawyers in an attempt to resolve this dispute. The matter is now in court.
"There has been no interruption in services as DDOT continues to provide paratransit service to nearly 1,200 riders daily through licensed and certified vendors operating over 400 vehicles."
Robinson said 125 unionized drivers will lose their jobs if the city stands by its decision, and the people they served worry that the new contractors aren't providing service that meets Americans with Disabilities Act mandates.
Quintin Williams, 49, of Detroit, who is paraplegic and a disability volunteer coordinator for the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, said riders have been complaining about bad service.
"The program is not meeting the needs of the disability community or the senior citizens who use it," Williams said.
Contact MATT HELMS: 313-222-1450 or mhelms@freepress.com
http://www.freep.com/article/20091119/NEWS01/911190465/1322/Disabled-riders-to-Bing-Undo-switch-in-transit-service
Copyright © 2009 ... Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights, updated March 2009.
PRESS STAFF WRITER
Detroit Free Press
Detroit, Michigan
November 19. 2009
People with disabilities and senior citizens called on Detroit leaders Wednesday to reverse an apparent decision to switch providers of specialized MetroLift rides that serve those who have trouble using regular buses.
The city announced earlier this month that Veolia Transportation would no longer be a provider of paratransit services. Officials said Veolia terminated its contract with the city Nov. 6.
But Veolia officials said Wednesday that the city stopped making payments in February, started contracting with other companies and has refused to discuss the issue. Veolia has provided paratransit services for the Detroit Department of Transportation since 1999 and was contracted through 2011.
Veolia has sued the city in U.S. District Court in Detroit, seeking nearly $10 million for breach of contract.
At a news conference Wednesday, representatives from Veolia and groups including the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit & Vicinity and the RainbowPUSH Coalition urged Mayor Dave Bing to reverse DDOT's decision on Veolia.
"We're hoping Mayor Bing will call a meeting, bring the parties together and try to resolve it," said Isaac Robinson, political director for the Michigan Teamsters Joint Council No. 43, which represents Veolia drivers.
Bing's office released a statement saying the city will continue to provide paratransit service but not commenting on Veolia's allegations.
"The City of Detroit is required by Federal Transit Administration regulations to provide paratransit service. Veolia was one of the vendors who provided this service until Nov. 6, when Veolia terminated their contract," Edward L. Cardenas, Bing's spokesman said. "Representatives of DDOT, including members of the mayor's staff, have had several meetings with Veolia and its lawyers in an attempt to resolve this dispute. The matter is now in court.
"There has been no interruption in services as DDOT continues to provide paratransit service to nearly 1,200 riders daily through licensed and certified vendors operating over 400 vehicles."
Robinson said 125 unionized drivers will lose their jobs if the city stands by its decision, and the people they served worry that the new contractors aren't providing service that meets Americans with Disabilities Act mandates.
Quintin Williams, 49, of Detroit, who is paraplegic and a disability volunteer coordinator for the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, said riders have been complaining about bad service.
"The program is not meeting the needs of the disability community or the senior citizens who use it," Williams said.
Contact MATT HELMS: 313-222-1450 or mhelms@freepress.com
http://www.freep.com/article/20091119/NEWS01/911190465/1322/Disabled-riders-to-Bing-Undo-switch-in-transit-service
Copyright © 2009 ... Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights, updated March 2009.
Monday, November 16, 2009
The Rosalynn Carter Institute Will Host a Session on Caregiving
The Rosalynn Carter Institute Will Host a Session on Caregiving at the 2010 Aging in America Conference, March 19, 2010
The Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI) will host a session at the 2010 Aging in America Conference called "Expanding Access to Evidence-Based Programs for Caregivers".
For more information: www.RosalynnCarter.org
The session will be held Friday, March 19, 2010 from 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. This session will present the RCI’s model for support and will address important factors that determine effective implementation of evidence-based programs for caregivers: reaching family caregivers; tailoring programs to meet needs; securing organizational buy-in and leveraging partnerships. The session will end with the presentation of a position paper that builds the case for better caregiver support systems.
This session is held in conjunction with the 2010 Annual Conference of the American Society on Aging and the National Council on Aging, being held March 15-19 in Chicago, Illinois. Pre-registration is required, the $35 fee includes lunch. Attendees must be registered for the Aging in America Conference. Session is limited to 300, so secure your space early! For more information visit: www.RosalynnCarter.org.
For more details about the Aging in America Conference, visit: http://www.agingconference.org/AiA10/index.cfm Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving, 800 Georgia Southwestern State University Dr., Americus, GA 31709.
The Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI) will host a session at the 2010 Aging in America Conference called "Expanding Access to Evidence-Based Programs for Caregivers".
For more information: www.RosalynnCarter.org
The session will be held Friday, March 19, 2010 from 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. This session will present the RCI’s model for support and will address important factors that determine effective implementation of evidence-based programs for caregivers: reaching family caregivers; tailoring programs to meet needs; securing organizational buy-in and leveraging partnerships. The session will end with the presentation of a position paper that builds the case for better caregiver support systems.
This session is held in conjunction with the 2010 Annual Conference of the American Society on Aging and the National Council on Aging, being held March 15-19 in Chicago, Illinois. Pre-registration is required, the $35 fee includes lunch. Attendees must be registered for the Aging in America Conference. Session is limited to 300, so secure your space early! For more information visit: www.RosalynnCarter.org.
For more details about the Aging in America Conference, visit: http://www.agingconference.org/AiA10/index.cfm Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving, 800 Georgia Southwestern State University Dr., Americus, GA 31709.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Autism Study Could Find Answers in Magic
Autistic People Lack Joint Attention Skills and Can't Be Fooled by Magicians' Tricks
By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES
ABC News
Nov. 10, 2009
The magician placed a coin atop an airtight rubber seal on a cup and -- abracadabra -- the shiny piece fell to the bottom of the cup.
But he didn't fool 8-year-old Stephen Shore, who was the only one among his fellow Boy Scouts who saw through the magic trick.
"People didn't see the slit in the piece of rubber," said Shore, now 48 and an assistant professor of special education teacher at New York's Adelphi University. "I went up and just kind of pushed my finger into the slit."
Illusions are the stock and trade of magicians but researchers at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Ariz., want to know why people like Shore, who fall along the autism spectrum, are not so easily fooled.
Shore has lived his entire life with autism, a neurological disorder often marked by joint-attention deficits, or difficulty reading social signals; the same kind that a magician deliberately uses to throw attention away from the deception.
"Someone on the autism spectrum is looking exactly where the magician doesn't want him to look," Shore said.
Scientists Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen Macknik, co-authors of the upcoming book
"Neuro Magic," are seeking funding to begin research that they hope will use magic as a tool for the diagnosis and treatment of autism -- despite some parents' fear that such research is too limited in scope.
"What magicians do is get people to attention with an incredible degree of depth and labor," said Macknik, director of Barrow's Laboratory of Behavioral Neurophysiology.
"Misdirection is a bit of a misnomer -- that the magician is trying to get you not to pay attention," he said. "But that's not the case. They want to control where you are especially paying attention."
An estimated 1 in 150 children -- or about 1 percent of all children -- are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, a group of developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
The CDC considers autism an urgent public concern and says the sheer numbers warrant a concerted national response.
But, so far, there are no medical tests so doctors must rely on a child's behavior to make a diagnosis, usually by age 2. Early detection is key, experts say, so children can get intervention therapies.
Martinez-Conde, the study's lead investigator, has devoted her research to eye movements in the field of visual neuroscience.
Humans share information and grasp the thoughts and intentions of others through eye contact and gestures. Long before infants speak, they communicate and learn by following the gaze of others and use their own eye contact and gestures to direct those around them.
To read more go to http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Autism/autism-diagnoses-treatments-found-study-magic/Story?id=8988702&page=2
To read page 3 go to http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Autism/autism-diagnoses-treatments-found-study-magic/Story?id=8988702&page=3
To read page 4 go to http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Autism/autism-diagnoses-treatments-found-study-magic/Story?id=8988702&page=4
External links are provided for reference purposes. ABC News is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites. Copyright © 2009 ABC News Internet Ventures.
By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES
ABC News
Nov. 10, 2009
The magician placed a coin atop an airtight rubber seal on a cup and -- abracadabra -- the shiny piece fell to the bottom of the cup.
But he didn't fool 8-year-old Stephen Shore, who was the only one among his fellow Boy Scouts who saw through the magic trick.
"People didn't see the slit in the piece of rubber," said Shore, now 48 and an assistant professor of special education teacher at New York's Adelphi University. "I went up and just kind of pushed my finger into the slit."
Illusions are the stock and trade of magicians but researchers at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Ariz., want to know why people like Shore, who fall along the autism spectrum, are not so easily fooled.
Shore has lived his entire life with autism, a neurological disorder often marked by joint-attention deficits, or difficulty reading social signals; the same kind that a magician deliberately uses to throw attention away from the deception.
"Someone on the autism spectrum is looking exactly where the magician doesn't want him to look," Shore said.
Scientists Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen Macknik, co-authors of the upcoming book
"Neuro Magic," are seeking funding to begin research that they hope will use magic as a tool for the diagnosis and treatment of autism -- despite some parents' fear that such research is too limited in scope.
"What magicians do is get people to attention with an incredible degree of depth and labor," said Macknik, director of Barrow's Laboratory of Behavioral Neurophysiology.
"Misdirection is a bit of a misnomer -- that the magician is trying to get you not to pay attention," he said. "But that's not the case. They want to control where you are especially paying attention."
An estimated 1 in 150 children -- or about 1 percent of all children -- are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, a group of developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
The CDC considers autism an urgent public concern and says the sheer numbers warrant a concerted national response.
But, so far, there are no medical tests so doctors must rely on a child's behavior to make a diagnosis, usually by age 2. Early detection is key, experts say, so children can get intervention therapies.
Martinez-Conde, the study's lead investigator, has devoted her research to eye movements in the field of visual neuroscience.
Humans share information and grasp the thoughts and intentions of others through eye contact and gestures. Long before infants speak, they communicate and learn by following the gaze of others and use their own eye contact and gestures to direct those around them.
To read more go to http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Autism/autism-diagnoses-treatments-found-study-magic/Story?id=8988702&page=2
To read page 3 go to http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Autism/autism-diagnoses-treatments-found-study-magic/Story?id=8988702&page=3
To read page 4 go to http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Autism/autism-diagnoses-treatments-found-study-magic/Story?id=8988702&page=4
External links are provided for reference purposes. ABC News is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites. Copyright © 2009 ABC News Internet Ventures.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Service Dog a Calming Presence For Entire Family
Chancer trained to deal with child who has fetal alcohol syndrome
By Helena Oliviero
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
North Fulton County News
November 6, 2009
Eleven-year-old Morasha Winokur never knows what to expect from her brother, Iyal, when riding the school bus home together.
Iyal Winokur, 11, hangs out with his service dog Chancer at his Roswell home. Iyal has fetal alcohol syndrome and can have tantrums. Chancer helps to calm him.
Morasha Winokur, 11, wrote a book about life with her brother. Both were adopted from Russian orphanages.
Iyal Winokur was diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome when he was 4.
Chancer is believed to be the first dog trained to help a child with fetal alcohol syndrome. The dog nuzzles Iyal Winokur's neck or puts his paw on him when he has a tantrum.
Or he might get in her face and yell.
What is predictable is this: Once they get to their Roswell home, Iyal will see his dog, Chancer, and settle down.
For Morasha and her family, Chancer has made home a little more peaceful for the family and for Iyal, 11, who has fetal alcohol syndrome.
Before the dog arrived, Iyal was fidgety and prone to outbursts, often directed at his sister.
“He would say my name over and over. Morasha. Morasha. He would sing it. He would yell it,” Morasha said. “But now, he is more interested in Chancer.”
Chancer is believed to be the country’s first-ever service dog trained to deal with a child who has fetal alcohol syndrome, which is caused by women who drink alcohol while pregnant.
Morasha shares her experience of growing up with Iyal and how life has changed with Chancer in a book she wrote: “My Invisible World: Life with My Brother, His Disability & His Service Dog.”
The book, which Morasha decided to start writing three years ago, was published by Better Endings New Beginnings and recently hit book stores across metro Atlanta.
“I wanted to educate people. I want people to know women shouldn’t drink alcohol when they are pregnant,” Morasha said. “And I wanted to share our story.”
She writes of Iyal: “If he wants attention, he is like a big baseball mitt. All the attention goes directly to him and everyone tries to catch his ball and hold on. In fact, he gets so much attention that there are times I feel like no even realizes I am there. This is when my invisible world gets really big, and I feel really small.”
A diagnosis
When Donnie, a TV producer at the time, and Harvey Winokur, a rabbi, met in 1997, they were both in their early 40s and eager to start a family. They got married less than three months after their first date and, after a few months of failed fertility treatments, went to plan B: adoption.
Working with an agency that focuses on Russian adoptions, they waited only a few months before they were given a video of Morasha and Iyal, born just two days apart and living in separate orphanages. In the videos, each lasting only about three minutes, Morasha and Iyal, both just more than a year old, appeared malnourished and very small for their age. Donnie and Harvey thought all the babies really needed was a loving home.
Once home, Iyal started walking almost immediately. Morasha took a bit more time. Many people mistook the two for twins and for the first two years they seemed like twins. They played with the same toys; they read books in matching rocking chairs.
But when Iyal started preschool, his parents noticed troubling behavior. He began to have frequent angry outbursts and tantrums.
And then one day a report came home from the preschool: Iyal got on a bike and purposely ran into another child.
“I knew that was not right. That was not acceptable,” mother Donnie Winokur said.
A developmental pediatrician diagnosed Iyal with FAS when he was 4 years old.
FAS is considered the extreme end of a spectrum of disorders known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). The group of disorders can range from mild to severe and can include abnormal facial features, poor coordination, hyperactive behavior, poor memory and low IQ. Iyal’s condition is considered to be in the severe range.
“At first, the diagnosis is just words on a paper,” said his mother, who is featured in a video about the disorder made by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and posted on its Web site, and is also the executive director of the newly created Georgia chapter of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS). “And there’s no substance until you start living with it and you start having different fears and different levels of grieving. And you live your life like you are in constant anticipation of a hurricane.”
Over time, the age and developmental gap between Morasha and Iyal has widened. Though both are in the sixth grade, Iyal is in special education classes and has a teacher’s aide who works with him full time.
He reads at about the third-grade level, but his mother worries he might never be able to live independently as an adult. Morasha’s worries are more immediate. Her brother’s unpredictable behavior is so demanding, she gets left out.
“Iyal will get his way,” their mother acknowledges. “I tell Morasha to go with it. It’s hard for her. It’s not fair. Life is not fair. But it’s still OK. And everybody deserves to be loved and have a family.”
Still, the Winokurs were determined to find a way for the whole family to cope with Iyal’s disability.
So two years ago, Donnie Winokur saw a brochure about service dogs and contacted 4 Paws for Ability. The Ohio-based organization, which trains about 100 dogs a year, mostly for autistic children, had never trained a dog for FAS. But the executive director, Karen Shirk, agreed to give it her best shot.
A dog to the rescue
The Winokurs sent the trainer video footage of Iyal in full-fledged tantrums, sobbing and thrashing about, and unable to sit still at the kitchen table.
After watching the video, Shirk picked Chancer, a golden retriever with deep brown eyes, for Iyal. She believed Chancer’s calm demeanor would make him a good fit.
“We needed a dog of a larger size and not the kind of dog that would feed off of Iyal’s emotions,” said Shirk. “A dog that wouldn’t be afraid of Iyal’s meltdowns and a dog that would go with the flow. And that was Chancer.”
The Association of Pet Dog Trainers is unaware of any other dogs trained to assist a child with FAS.
Shirk said she’s already training two more FAS dogs out of requests from parents who heard about Iyal’s dog.
To train Chancer, Shirk used Iyal’s tantrums as “signals” or “commands” for the dog. Chancer was trained to disrupt erratic behavior by “nuzzling” Iyal’s neck or putting his paw on Iyal when he had a tantrum. But if Iyal thrashes about violently, Iyal’s mother will order Chancer to stay back so he won’t get hurt.
When Iyal seems jittery or unable to sit still, Chancer will lay his 90-pound body across Iyal’s legs to help calm him down. Chancer also gives Iyal lots of sloppy kisses.
“Chancer was happy. His brown eyes sent signals of dog happiness. ...” Morasha wrote in her book.
Since Chancer joined the family, the outbursts have declined, as well as the intensity. Iyal started opening up about his feelings and his illness.
“He would say: ‘Why does God make me break things?’ And he said, ‘Why did my birth mother drink alcohol?’ ” Donnie Winokur said.
And then one day, he showed concern for Chancer.
“Did Chancer’s mommy drink alcohol when Chancer was in her tummy?” he asked his mother.
A calm family
On a recent afternoon, Morasha and Iyal eat a bowl of cereal after arriving home on the school bus. Iyal fusses because he wants chocolate, but he settles on Reese’s Puffs cereal.
After they finish the snack, Morasha calls a friend.
Iyal goes directly to Chancer.
Chancer licks Iyal’s face. Iyal hugs his dog.
“Happy, you make me happy,” Iyal says to his dog.
Iyal then retreats to a room downstairs to play video games. With Chancer at his feet, Iyal seems content.
And so does the entire family.
“Chancer has softened the hard edges,” said Donnie Winokur. “We needed another character in the play. ... And that was Chancer.”
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are caused by a woman drinking alcohol during pregnancy.
FASDs refers to conditions that can range from mild to severe and can include abnormal facial features, poor coordination, hyperactive behavior, poor memory and low IQ.
It is estimated that fetal alcohol syndrome, a severe form of a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, occurs in about 1 of every 1,000 births. But the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports the number of all alcohol-related conditions resulting from prenatal exposure of alcohol could be as high as 1 in every 100 live births.
A woman who drinks any alcohol throughout the pregnancy is at risk since there is no known amount of alcohol that is safe to drink while pregnant, but larger amounts of alcohol and binge drinking are more harmful than drinking smaller amounts.
To see the CDC video of Iyal’s story, go to www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fasd/videos/index.html
Source: CDC, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and American Academy of Pediatrics.
Bita Honarvar, bhonarvar@ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/north-fulton/service-dog-a-calming-188966.html
© 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By Helena Oliviero
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
North Fulton County News
November 6, 2009
Eleven-year-old Morasha Winokur never knows what to expect from her brother, Iyal, when riding the school bus home together.
Iyal Winokur, 11, hangs out with his service dog Chancer at his Roswell home. Iyal has fetal alcohol syndrome and can have tantrums. Chancer helps to calm him.
Morasha Winokur, 11, wrote a book about life with her brother. Both were adopted from Russian orphanages.
Iyal Winokur was diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome when he was 4.
Chancer is believed to be the first dog trained to help a child with fetal alcohol syndrome. The dog nuzzles Iyal Winokur's neck or puts his paw on him when he has a tantrum.
Or he might get in her face and yell.
What is predictable is this: Once they get to their Roswell home, Iyal will see his dog, Chancer, and settle down.
For Morasha and her family, Chancer has made home a little more peaceful for the family and for Iyal, 11, who has fetal alcohol syndrome.
Before the dog arrived, Iyal was fidgety and prone to outbursts, often directed at his sister.
“He would say my name over and over. Morasha. Morasha. He would sing it. He would yell it,” Morasha said. “But now, he is more interested in Chancer.”
Chancer is believed to be the country’s first-ever service dog trained to deal with a child who has fetal alcohol syndrome, which is caused by women who drink alcohol while pregnant.
Morasha shares her experience of growing up with Iyal and how life has changed with Chancer in a book she wrote: “My Invisible World: Life with My Brother, His Disability & His Service Dog.”
The book, which Morasha decided to start writing three years ago, was published by Better Endings New Beginnings and recently hit book stores across metro Atlanta.
“I wanted to educate people. I want people to know women shouldn’t drink alcohol when they are pregnant,” Morasha said. “And I wanted to share our story.”
She writes of Iyal: “If he wants attention, he is like a big baseball mitt. All the attention goes directly to him and everyone tries to catch his ball and hold on. In fact, he gets so much attention that there are times I feel like no even realizes I am there. This is when my invisible world gets really big, and I feel really small.”
A diagnosis
When Donnie, a TV producer at the time, and Harvey Winokur, a rabbi, met in 1997, they were both in their early 40s and eager to start a family. They got married less than three months after their first date and, after a few months of failed fertility treatments, went to plan B: adoption.
Working with an agency that focuses on Russian adoptions, they waited only a few months before they were given a video of Morasha and Iyal, born just two days apart and living in separate orphanages. In the videos, each lasting only about three minutes, Morasha and Iyal, both just more than a year old, appeared malnourished and very small for their age. Donnie and Harvey thought all the babies really needed was a loving home.
Once home, Iyal started walking almost immediately. Morasha took a bit more time. Many people mistook the two for twins and for the first two years they seemed like twins. They played with the same toys; they read books in matching rocking chairs.
But when Iyal started preschool, his parents noticed troubling behavior. He began to have frequent angry outbursts and tantrums.
And then one day a report came home from the preschool: Iyal got on a bike and purposely ran into another child.
“I knew that was not right. That was not acceptable,” mother Donnie Winokur said.
A developmental pediatrician diagnosed Iyal with FAS when he was 4 years old.
FAS is considered the extreme end of a spectrum of disorders known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). The group of disorders can range from mild to severe and can include abnormal facial features, poor coordination, hyperactive behavior, poor memory and low IQ. Iyal’s condition is considered to be in the severe range.
“At first, the diagnosis is just words on a paper,” said his mother, who is featured in a video about the disorder made by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and posted on its Web site, and is also the executive director of the newly created Georgia chapter of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS). “And there’s no substance until you start living with it and you start having different fears and different levels of grieving. And you live your life like you are in constant anticipation of a hurricane.”
Over time, the age and developmental gap between Morasha and Iyal has widened. Though both are in the sixth grade, Iyal is in special education classes and has a teacher’s aide who works with him full time.
He reads at about the third-grade level, but his mother worries he might never be able to live independently as an adult. Morasha’s worries are more immediate. Her brother’s unpredictable behavior is so demanding, she gets left out.
“Iyal will get his way,” their mother acknowledges. “I tell Morasha to go with it. It’s hard for her. It’s not fair. Life is not fair. But it’s still OK. And everybody deserves to be loved and have a family.”
Still, the Winokurs were determined to find a way for the whole family to cope with Iyal’s disability.
So two years ago, Donnie Winokur saw a brochure about service dogs and contacted 4 Paws for Ability. The Ohio-based organization, which trains about 100 dogs a year, mostly for autistic children, had never trained a dog for FAS. But the executive director, Karen Shirk, agreed to give it her best shot.
A dog to the rescue
The Winokurs sent the trainer video footage of Iyal in full-fledged tantrums, sobbing and thrashing about, and unable to sit still at the kitchen table.
After watching the video, Shirk picked Chancer, a golden retriever with deep brown eyes, for Iyal. She believed Chancer’s calm demeanor would make him a good fit.
“We needed a dog of a larger size and not the kind of dog that would feed off of Iyal’s emotions,” said Shirk. “A dog that wouldn’t be afraid of Iyal’s meltdowns and a dog that would go with the flow. And that was Chancer.”
The Association of Pet Dog Trainers is unaware of any other dogs trained to assist a child with FAS.
Shirk said she’s already training two more FAS dogs out of requests from parents who heard about Iyal’s dog.
To train Chancer, Shirk used Iyal’s tantrums as “signals” or “commands” for the dog. Chancer was trained to disrupt erratic behavior by “nuzzling” Iyal’s neck or putting his paw on Iyal when he had a tantrum. But if Iyal thrashes about violently, Iyal’s mother will order Chancer to stay back so he won’t get hurt.
When Iyal seems jittery or unable to sit still, Chancer will lay his 90-pound body across Iyal’s legs to help calm him down. Chancer also gives Iyal lots of sloppy kisses.
“Chancer was happy. His brown eyes sent signals of dog happiness. ...” Morasha wrote in her book.
Since Chancer joined the family, the outbursts have declined, as well as the intensity. Iyal started opening up about his feelings and his illness.
“He would say: ‘Why does God make me break things?’ And he said, ‘Why did my birth mother drink alcohol?’ ” Donnie Winokur said.
And then one day, he showed concern for Chancer.
“Did Chancer’s mommy drink alcohol when Chancer was in her tummy?” he asked his mother.
A calm family
On a recent afternoon, Morasha and Iyal eat a bowl of cereal after arriving home on the school bus. Iyal fusses because he wants chocolate, but he settles on Reese’s Puffs cereal.
After they finish the snack, Morasha calls a friend.
Iyal goes directly to Chancer.
Chancer licks Iyal’s face. Iyal hugs his dog.
“Happy, you make me happy,” Iyal says to his dog.
Iyal then retreats to a room downstairs to play video games. With Chancer at his feet, Iyal seems content.
And so does the entire family.
“Chancer has softened the hard edges,” said Donnie Winokur. “We needed another character in the play. ... And that was Chancer.”
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are caused by a woman drinking alcohol during pregnancy.
FASDs refers to conditions that can range from mild to severe and can include abnormal facial features, poor coordination, hyperactive behavior, poor memory and low IQ.
It is estimated that fetal alcohol syndrome, a severe form of a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, occurs in about 1 of every 1,000 births. But the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports the number of all alcohol-related conditions resulting from prenatal exposure of alcohol could be as high as 1 in every 100 live births.
A woman who drinks any alcohol throughout the pregnancy is at risk since there is no known amount of alcohol that is safe to drink while pregnant, but larger amounts of alcohol and binge drinking are more harmful than drinking smaller amounts.
To see the CDC video of Iyal’s story, go to www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fasd/videos/index.html
Source: CDC, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and American Academy of Pediatrics.
Bita Honarvar, bhonarvar@ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/north-fulton/service-dog-a-calming-188966.html
© 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday, November 06, 2009
Facts About Healthy Hearing
From the Starkey Hearing Foundation
The complexities of health care science often obscure simple facts that every person should know. This is definitely true in the realm of hearing health, where thousands are actively doing permanent damage to their hearing without even knowing it.
So, here are things everyone should know about hearing health:
-People today are losing their hearing two-and-a-half times faster than their parents or grandparents.
-It’s not just old people at risk of hearing problems. We are living longer so making smart listening choices while we’re young is more important than ever.
Choose listening devices wisely.
-Hearing problems can contribute to many health problems, including depression, hypertension and a diminished immune system.
-In most cases, hearing problems develop slowly and imperceptibly.
Only 16 percent of physicians routinely screen for hearing loss. Ask to be screened!
-Most hearing loss can be prevented by using a little bit of common sense.
-Start protecting your hearing now.
-Within a few years, estimates have the number of Americans experiencing hearing loss at more than 40 million.
-Avoid prolonged noise and even short bursts of very loud sound, both of which can damage your hearing.
-While hearing loss is not reversible, most age-related or noise-related loss can be managed.
Just as eyeglasses are used to correct most vision problems, hearing instruments are used to treat most kinds of hearing loss. Any treatment starts with a hearing screening by a doctor or hearing professional.
Preventative Steps to Protect Your Hearing or the Hearing of a Loved One
Anyone can protect their hearing by following a few, very easy steps to keep the sounds loud and clear!
-Avoid prolonged exposure to entertainment devices, such as MP3 players, televisions, stereos, etc.
-If you are in a noisy restaurant or environment and find yourself constantly asking “what?”, the noise level may be too loud.
-If you are wearing the popular “ear bud” headsets and the people around you can hear the music, it’s too loud.
-When using personal listening devices, check manufacturer’s data on how to set noise volume controls for your children.
-When attending concerts or loud sporting events, wear filtered ear plugs to control your personal noise level. Have your children wear ear protection, too!
-Wear hearing protection when doing lawn work or operating loud equipment such as chain saws, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, etc.
-Set an example for your children and discuss the reason for wearing hearing protection.
-Ask your doctor to screen your hearing annually, or visit a licensed audiologist or hearing specialist. Most of these tests are free!
http://www.soundmatters.org/news_hearinghealth.php
http://sotheworldmayhear.org/aboutus/
© 2009. Sound Matters - A Starkey Hearing Foundation Initiative. All Rights Reserved. Trademarks used are properties of their respective owners. The soundmatters.org domain has been donated by Soundmatters International, Inc. http://www.soundmatters.com/
The complexities of health care science often obscure simple facts that every person should know. This is definitely true in the realm of hearing health, where thousands are actively doing permanent damage to their hearing without even knowing it.
So, here are things everyone should know about hearing health:
-People today are losing their hearing two-and-a-half times faster than their parents or grandparents.
-It’s not just old people at risk of hearing problems. We are living longer so making smart listening choices while we’re young is more important than ever.
Choose listening devices wisely.
-Hearing problems can contribute to many health problems, including depression, hypertension and a diminished immune system.
-In most cases, hearing problems develop slowly and imperceptibly.
Only 16 percent of physicians routinely screen for hearing loss. Ask to be screened!
-Most hearing loss can be prevented by using a little bit of common sense.
-Start protecting your hearing now.
-Within a few years, estimates have the number of Americans experiencing hearing loss at more than 40 million.
-Avoid prolonged noise and even short bursts of very loud sound, both of which can damage your hearing.
-While hearing loss is not reversible, most age-related or noise-related loss can be managed.
Just as eyeglasses are used to correct most vision problems, hearing instruments are used to treat most kinds of hearing loss. Any treatment starts with a hearing screening by a doctor or hearing professional.
Preventative Steps to Protect Your Hearing or the Hearing of a Loved One
Anyone can protect their hearing by following a few, very easy steps to keep the sounds loud and clear!
-Avoid prolonged exposure to entertainment devices, such as MP3 players, televisions, stereos, etc.
-If you are in a noisy restaurant or environment and find yourself constantly asking “what?”, the noise level may be too loud.
-If you are wearing the popular “ear bud” headsets and the people around you can hear the music, it’s too loud.
-When using personal listening devices, check manufacturer’s data on how to set noise volume controls for your children.
-When attending concerts or loud sporting events, wear filtered ear plugs to control your personal noise level. Have your children wear ear protection, too!
-Wear hearing protection when doing lawn work or operating loud equipment such as chain saws, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, etc.
-Set an example for your children and discuss the reason for wearing hearing protection.
-Ask your doctor to screen your hearing annually, or visit a licensed audiologist or hearing specialist. Most of these tests are free!
http://www.soundmatters.org/news_hearinghealth.php
http://sotheworldmayhear.org/aboutus/
© 2009. Sound Matters - A Starkey Hearing Foundation Initiative. All Rights Reserved. Trademarks used are properties of their respective owners. The soundmatters.org domain has been donated by Soundmatters International, Inc. http://www.soundmatters.com/
Program Helps Students With Disabilities Get Textbooks
By Laura Diamond
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
When Kevin Roberts needs a textbook he goes to his college's disabled student services office for help. The office secures digital versions of the text so that Roberts, who is blind and wears hearing aids in both ears, can use a computer program that reads the material to him.
It used to take colleges up to a month to get an alternative text delivered to students. But a new national partnership involving a Georgia group makes it possible for students to get the material in about three or four days.
"When I was in high school I didn't have access to anything like this," said Roberts, a student at Columbus Technical College. "Now I can work on my computer and study just like any other student."
More than 650 college across the country use the AccessText Network, a new online database aimed at making it easier for students who are blind, dyslexic or have other print-related disabilities to get specialized textbooks.
Federal law requires colleges to give students with disabilities equal access to course materials, but getting copies that accommodate students' needs is challenging, said Christopher Lee, director of the Alternative Media Access Center, a state-wide initiative started by the University System of Georgia to provide technology and alternative texts to students with disabilities. The center is a partner in the new network with the Association of American Publishers.
Typically, each college must track down the publisher of each textbook one of its students with disabilities needs. Then the college has to ask for an electronic file, if it exists. Then it has to be converted to a format students can use. The process can take up to a month, Lee said.
In the meantime students don't have their texts and can't complete assignments, said Sarah Rogers, who is dyslexic and a senior at Toccoa Falls College.
The new network streamlines the process by serving as a go-between for colleges and publishers, said Bruce Hildebrand, executive director for higher education at the publishers' association. The network cuts down on the paperwork required to protect copyrights and makes it possible for colleges to share the time and resources it takes to convert the textbook into files for students, he said.
Publishing companies paid about $1 million total to develop the network, Hildebrand said. The program is currently free but organizers said they will charge colleges an annual fee starting in July ranging from $375 to $500, depending on the institution's size.
Rogers, an English major, said the process makes it possible for her to read assigned books and participate in class discussions.
"You don't want to have to go to a professor and ask for any accommodations," she said. "I don't want any labels or anything special. I just want to do my work."
http://www.ajc.com/news/program-helps-students-with-184848.html
© 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
When Kevin Roberts needs a textbook he goes to his college's disabled student services office for help. The office secures digital versions of the text so that Roberts, who is blind and wears hearing aids in both ears, can use a computer program that reads the material to him.
It used to take colleges up to a month to get an alternative text delivered to students. But a new national partnership involving a Georgia group makes it possible for students to get the material in about three or four days.
"When I was in high school I didn't have access to anything like this," said Roberts, a student at Columbus Technical College. "Now I can work on my computer and study just like any other student."
More than 650 college across the country use the AccessText Network, a new online database aimed at making it easier for students who are blind, dyslexic or have other print-related disabilities to get specialized textbooks.
Federal law requires colleges to give students with disabilities equal access to course materials, but getting copies that accommodate students' needs is challenging, said Christopher Lee, director of the Alternative Media Access Center, a state-wide initiative started by the University System of Georgia to provide technology and alternative texts to students with disabilities. The center is a partner in the new network with the Association of American Publishers.
Typically, each college must track down the publisher of each textbook one of its students with disabilities needs. Then the college has to ask for an electronic file, if it exists. Then it has to be converted to a format students can use. The process can take up to a month, Lee said.
In the meantime students don't have their texts and can't complete assignments, said Sarah Rogers, who is dyslexic and a senior at Toccoa Falls College.
The new network streamlines the process by serving as a go-between for colleges and publishers, said Bruce Hildebrand, executive director for higher education at the publishers' association. The network cuts down on the paperwork required to protect copyrights and makes it possible for colleges to share the time and resources it takes to convert the textbook into files for students, he said.
Publishing companies paid about $1 million total to develop the network, Hildebrand said. The program is currently free but organizers said they will charge colleges an annual fee starting in July ranging from $375 to $500, depending on the institution's size.
Rogers, an English major, said the process makes it possible for her to read assigned books and participate in class discussions.
"You don't want to have to go to a professor and ask for any accommodations," she said. "I don't want any labels or anything special. I just want to do my work."
http://www.ajc.com/news/program-helps-students-with-184848.html
© 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Principals Want More Special Education Teachers, Consistency In IDEA
By Shaun Heasley
For Disabilityscoop
November 4, 2009
Lawmakers should work to increase the number of special education teachers and establish consistency in the implementation of services when Congress meets next year to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a group of school principals says.
The recommendations are just two resulting from a task force of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. The group composed of middle and high school principals, assistant principals and college-level educators came together beginning in 2007 to assess the current state of IDEA and recommend changes for the 2010 reauthorization.
The recommendations released this week are:
• Help schools recruit and retain special education teachers.
• Boost opportunities for training and professional development for school staff working with students who have disabilities.
• Ensure that students have a transition plan with goals for life after high school by the time they are in the eighth grade or reach age 14.
• Research best practices for instruction and strategies to use with students who have various disabilities. Then, establish model individualized education plans (IEPs) and transition plans following these practices for school districts to base their own plans on.
• Create consistency across school districts so that student information can be easily transferred when a student moves to a new school.
• Improve year end evaluations so that IEP teams can better assess a student’s progress.
• Create incentives for highly qualified teachers to gain certification in special education as well as general education.
• Standardize language used across school districts to define a student’s disability and level of need.
• Fully fund IDEA.
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/11/04/idea-recommendations/6044/
Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.
For Disabilityscoop
November 4, 2009
Lawmakers should work to increase the number of special education teachers and establish consistency in the implementation of services when Congress meets next year to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a group of school principals says.
The recommendations are just two resulting from a task force of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. The group composed of middle and high school principals, assistant principals and college-level educators came together beginning in 2007 to assess the current state of IDEA and recommend changes for the 2010 reauthorization.
The recommendations released this week are:
• Help schools recruit and retain special education teachers.
• Boost opportunities for training and professional development for school staff working with students who have disabilities.
• Ensure that students have a transition plan with goals for life after high school by the time they are in the eighth grade or reach age 14.
• Research best practices for instruction and strategies to use with students who have various disabilities. Then, establish model individualized education plans (IEPs) and transition plans following these practices for school districts to base their own plans on.
• Create consistency across school districts so that student information can be easily transferred when a student moves to a new school.
• Improve year end evaluations so that IEP teams can better assess a student’s progress.
• Create incentives for highly qualified teachers to gain certification in special education as well as general education.
• Standardize language used across school districts to define a student’s disability and level of need.
• Fully fund IDEA.
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/11/04/idea-recommendations/6044/
Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.
Friday, October 30, 2009
DON’T MISS IT !!! SPADD General Meeting
Please plan to join us for a SPADD General Meeting.
November 2, 2009 at 1:00pm
Location: The Frazer Center
1815 Ponce de Leon Ave., NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
Agenda:
Beverly Rollins
Update/Question & Answer on
Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities
SPADD Committees will be discussing status of work groups:
Committees:
1. Meaningful Participation in System/Process Design
2. Effective Rate & Allocations
3. Unfunded Mandates
4. Redundant Oversight-Multiple Standards
Thursday, October 29, 2009
The Mike Ching Story!
Employing the Disabled is a Great Idea!
Celebrating Disability Employment Awareness Month!
Job: IBM Research
Mike Ching is blind. But for the better part of his life, he didn't consider himself disabled. Born with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative retinal disease in which the eyes' photoreceptor cells gradually die, Mike's parents always made a point of differentiating people who had poor vision from those who were "handicapped." Initially, this distinction didn't make much difference.
During his early years in school, Mike was able to read with a hand-held magnifier. By high school, he needed the aid of CCTV, but he was still able to adapt and make the grade. In fact, it was self-accommodation that first prompted Mike to use his creativity and innate problem-solving skills to take his love of computers to a new level. Of course if you ask Mike, his efforts were less a stroke of creative genius than pure teenage laziness.
"As a young kid, I loved video games. At that point, it was all about how far you could get within the game, so I figured out how to modify the character code so that I could advance to higher levels. When I got to high school, my vision had deteriorated enough that it became hard to write on paper. I was a typical teenager... too lazy to really work at writing. So for example, in physics, I just wrote programs to solve the problems for me. In my mind, using the computer was fun and it saved me time. It wasn't something I realized I was really good at until later, in college," he says.
It was during college that Mike first came face-to-face with his disability. Having emigrated from a tight-knit community in Taiwan to a small town in New Jersey at the age of 10, Mike had never even met another person with a disability until he got to Stanford University in 1992.
Initially, being around other people with disabilities made Mike extremely uncomfortable. "My vision was getting progressively worse and I think that distinction my parents had always made between having vision problems and being 'handicapped' prejudiced me. On some level, I was beginning to realize that I had more than a 'little problem' and it was terrifying. Meeting other blind people was like looking into a mirror and seeing something I wasn't ready to see. I didn't want to acknowledge my disability," remembers Mike.
By his junior year in college, Mike could no longer read with any kind of magnifying technology. He was in effect, completely blind. Even though he knew the staff at Stanford's Disability Resource Center quite well, he never really looked into the full range of services offered by the university until he was close to graduating. As a result many basic tasks, like navigating campus streets and hallways, became an overwhelming challenge, despite the fact that he'd memorized the vast majority of the school's landscape. Although Mike says his friends may have noticed only minor changes in his personality at the time, for him, it was a major turning point.
"People who knew me best probably just thought I was more quiet than usual. But I was devastated. When I first got to Stanford, I was ambitious—a gung-ho computer science major with big plans for my career. But I was unprepared for my disability catching up with me. I wasn't scared of being blind as much as losing my quality of life. I wanted to get married, have a family, and a career. For a while, I just gave up," he says.
Feeling the limitations of his disability prompted Mike to change his major from computer science to something he felt was more manageable, economics. It was a decision he would regret for several years. After graduating with his undergraduate degree in economics and watching classmates with similar grades and backgrounds head off to Wall Street and other exciting opportunities, Mike found himself faced with more hurdles. Getting interviews wasn't a problem. But prospective employers who were so enthusiastic during phone interviews often found that the position "wasn't a good fit" after meeting Mike in person and realizing that he was blind. Finally, family connections helped him secure a job with an Internet start-up.
Eventually, Mike regained his focus and realized that he needed to go back to school to finish the computer science degree he started. Equipped with only his natural technological aptitude and without any significant educational background in computer science, he elected to take a phased approach to earning his master's degree. In 2000, he began taking community college classes, ultimately moving on to continuing education extension classes at the University of California, Irvine. Even though he wasn't an official full-time student, Mike couldn't resist a chance to see what kind of internships the best companies in the industry had to offer the university's computer science students, so he snuck into a recruiting fair on campus, found the IBM booth, and scheduled an interview.
When he arrived for the interview, administrators in the college recruiting office realized he wasn't a full-time student, but lucky for Mike, they let him stay for the interview anyway. Mike credits the first person he met at IBM with helping him make a major shift in attitude about work and his disability. "Susan Hom made a huge difference for me," he says. "There was a hiring freeze at the time and although she said she couldn't hire me as an intern unless I was formally accepted to a graduate program, her primary focus was on my abilities, not my blindness. As soon as I got accepted to Stanford's masters program in computer science, she immediately offered me a co-op working with the IBM DB2® team, and ultimately became a mentor."
After obtaining his master's degree and completing his internship at IBM, Mike had a number of excellent career prospects with Microsoft, IBM, Amazon, and Deloitte & Touche. Ultimately though, he chose to join IBM Research, which he says is the perfect place for him since it's an environment that gives him the freedom to work in the areas in which he can make the most difference. Since his first auspicious interview with IBM, Mike has regained the ambition, creativity, and drive that were so much a part of his personality as a college freshman at Stanford. He was promoted into IBM management after just two years with the company, an impressive accomplishment by any standards. He gives IBM a lot of credit for helping him realize his career goals.
"I don't need a lot of physical accommodations, although IBM has always done a good job of providing me with continuous upgrades to my screen reader software. To me, the biggest accommodation that IBM offers is accommodation of attitude. When I came to interview here, many of the managers I spoke with had previously interacted with blind IBM employees in some capacity. People here are focused on my abilities and what I have to offer because personal experience tells them my disability is not an issue. It's helped me define what I want and pursue it," Mike says.
Today as a manager, Mike gives his employees the kind of advice he probably wishes someone had given him years ago, "I tell my employees, 'You have to tell me what you want. Tell the world what you want, so people can help you find the opportunities you need.' Almost everything I've learned about being a manager, I've learned by doing. If you wait until you're 100 percent ready, you'll never make the move." Now that's vision.
http://www-03.ibm.com/able/news/ching.html
Human Ability and Accessibility Center
Profiles of human ability
Celebrating Disability Employment Awareness Month!
Job: IBM Research
Mike Ching is blind. But for the better part of his life, he didn't consider himself disabled. Born with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative retinal disease in which the eyes' photoreceptor cells gradually die, Mike's parents always made a point of differentiating people who had poor vision from those who were "handicapped." Initially, this distinction didn't make much difference.
During his early years in school, Mike was able to read with a hand-held magnifier. By high school, he needed the aid of CCTV, but he was still able to adapt and make the grade. In fact, it was self-accommodation that first prompted Mike to use his creativity and innate problem-solving skills to take his love of computers to a new level. Of course if you ask Mike, his efforts were less a stroke of creative genius than pure teenage laziness.
"As a young kid, I loved video games. At that point, it was all about how far you could get within the game, so I figured out how to modify the character code so that I could advance to higher levels. When I got to high school, my vision had deteriorated enough that it became hard to write on paper. I was a typical teenager... too lazy to really work at writing. So for example, in physics, I just wrote programs to solve the problems for me. In my mind, using the computer was fun and it saved me time. It wasn't something I realized I was really good at until later, in college," he says.
It was during college that Mike first came face-to-face with his disability. Having emigrated from a tight-knit community in Taiwan to a small town in New Jersey at the age of 10, Mike had never even met another person with a disability until he got to Stanford University in 1992.
Initially, being around other people with disabilities made Mike extremely uncomfortable. "My vision was getting progressively worse and I think that distinction my parents had always made between having vision problems and being 'handicapped' prejudiced me. On some level, I was beginning to realize that I had more than a 'little problem' and it was terrifying. Meeting other blind people was like looking into a mirror and seeing something I wasn't ready to see. I didn't want to acknowledge my disability," remembers Mike.
By his junior year in college, Mike could no longer read with any kind of magnifying technology. He was in effect, completely blind. Even though he knew the staff at Stanford's Disability Resource Center quite well, he never really looked into the full range of services offered by the university until he was close to graduating. As a result many basic tasks, like navigating campus streets and hallways, became an overwhelming challenge, despite the fact that he'd memorized the vast majority of the school's landscape. Although Mike says his friends may have noticed only minor changes in his personality at the time, for him, it was a major turning point.
"People who knew me best probably just thought I was more quiet than usual. But I was devastated. When I first got to Stanford, I was ambitious—a gung-ho computer science major with big plans for my career. But I was unprepared for my disability catching up with me. I wasn't scared of being blind as much as losing my quality of life. I wanted to get married, have a family, and a career. For a while, I just gave up," he says.
Feeling the limitations of his disability prompted Mike to change his major from computer science to something he felt was more manageable, economics. It was a decision he would regret for several years. After graduating with his undergraduate degree in economics and watching classmates with similar grades and backgrounds head off to Wall Street and other exciting opportunities, Mike found himself faced with more hurdles. Getting interviews wasn't a problem. But prospective employers who were so enthusiastic during phone interviews often found that the position "wasn't a good fit" after meeting Mike in person and realizing that he was blind. Finally, family connections helped him secure a job with an Internet start-up.
Eventually, Mike regained his focus and realized that he needed to go back to school to finish the computer science degree he started. Equipped with only his natural technological aptitude and without any significant educational background in computer science, he elected to take a phased approach to earning his master's degree. In 2000, he began taking community college classes, ultimately moving on to continuing education extension classes at the University of California, Irvine. Even though he wasn't an official full-time student, Mike couldn't resist a chance to see what kind of internships the best companies in the industry had to offer the university's computer science students, so he snuck into a recruiting fair on campus, found the IBM booth, and scheduled an interview.
When he arrived for the interview, administrators in the college recruiting office realized he wasn't a full-time student, but lucky for Mike, they let him stay for the interview anyway. Mike credits the first person he met at IBM with helping him make a major shift in attitude about work and his disability. "Susan Hom made a huge difference for me," he says. "There was a hiring freeze at the time and although she said she couldn't hire me as an intern unless I was formally accepted to a graduate program, her primary focus was on my abilities, not my blindness. As soon as I got accepted to Stanford's masters program in computer science, she immediately offered me a co-op working with the IBM DB2® team, and ultimately became a mentor."
After obtaining his master's degree and completing his internship at IBM, Mike had a number of excellent career prospects with Microsoft, IBM, Amazon, and Deloitte & Touche. Ultimately though, he chose to join IBM Research, which he says is the perfect place for him since it's an environment that gives him the freedom to work in the areas in which he can make the most difference. Since his first auspicious interview with IBM, Mike has regained the ambition, creativity, and drive that were so much a part of his personality as a college freshman at Stanford. He was promoted into IBM management after just two years with the company, an impressive accomplishment by any standards. He gives IBM a lot of credit for helping him realize his career goals.
"I don't need a lot of physical accommodations, although IBM has always done a good job of providing me with continuous upgrades to my screen reader software. To me, the biggest accommodation that IBM offers is accommodation of attitude. When I came to interview here, many of the managers I spoke with had previously interacted with blind IBM employees in some capacity. People here are focused on my abilities and what I have to offer because personal experience tells them my disability is not an issue. It's helped me define what I want and pursue it," Mike says.
Today as a manager, Mike gives his employees the kind of advice he probably wishes someone had given him years ago, "I tell my employees, 'You have to tell me what you want. Tell the world what you want, so people can help you find the opportunities you need.' Almost everything I've learned about being a manager, I've learned by doing. If you wait until you're 100 percent ready, you'll never make the move." Now that's vision.
http://www-03.ibm.com/able/news/ching.html
Human Ability and Accessibility Center
Profiles of human ability
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
HUD OFFERS $20 MILLION TO HELP SENIORS AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES CONTINUE TO LIVE INDEPENDENTLY AT HOME
News Release
HUD No. 09-166
Lemar Wooley (202) 708-0685
www.hud.gov/news/
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is offering $20 million in grants to help elderly residents and non-elderly residents with disabilities the services they need to continue to live independently in their own homes. HUD is making these grants available through the its Service Coordinator Program that will support the hiring of service coordinators to help frail and at-risk elderly individuals and persons with disabilities access health care, meals and other critical support services.
"HUD is helping to provide older Americans and those with disabilities with safe, affordable housing. These grants will help provide the services they need to allow them to remain in their homes, connected to their communities and friends, rather than face unnecessary institutionalization," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.
These grants will be awarded to owners of privately owned multifamily housing developments that receive money from HUD to house low-income individuals. The owners or their management companies will use the funding offered today to either hire or contract service coordinators with backgrounds in providing social services, especially to the frail elderly and people with disabilities, to assist their residents with special needs.
HUD will award grants to approximately 100 applicants.
Applications may be downloaded from HUD's website. Applications are due on or before November 5,2009.
http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr09-166.cfm&CFID=6805004&CFTOKEN=67772646
HUD No. 09-166
Lemar Wooley (202) 708-0685
www.hud.gov/news/
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is offering $20 million in grants to help elderly residents and non-elderly residents with disabilities the services they need to continue to live independently in their own homes. HUD is making these grants available through the its Service Coordinator Program that will support the hiring of service coordinators to help frail and at-risk elderly individuals and persons with disabilities access health care, meals and other critical support services.
"HUD is helping to provide older Americans and those with disabilities with safe, affordable housing. These grants will help provide the services they need to allow them to remain in their homes, connected to their communities and friends, rather than face unnecessary institutionalization," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.
These grants will be awarded to owners of privately owned multifamily housing developments that receive money from HUD to house low-income individuals. The owners or their management companies will use the funding offered today to either hire or contract service coordinators with backgrounds in providing social services, especially to the frail elderly and people with disabilities, to assist their residents with special needs.
HUD will award grants to approximately 100 applicants.
Applications may be downloaded from HUD's website. Applications are due on or before November 5,2009.
http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr09-166.cfm&CFID=6805004&CFTOKEN=67772646
Monday, October 26, 2009
Federal Organizations-Resources Related to Employment for People With Disabilities
Employing the Disabled is a Great Idea!
Celebrating Disability Employment Awareness Month!
OPM.gov Home
Federal Organizations-Resources
DisabilityInfo.gov DisabilityInfo.gov provides quick and easy access to comprehensive information about disability programs, services, laws and benefits.
Section508.gov Section 508 was enacted to eliminate barriers in information technology, to make available new opportunities for people with disabilities, and to encourage development of technologies that will help achieve these goals.
National Council on Disability (NCD) NCD provides advice to the President, Congress, and Executive Branch agencies to promote policies, programs, practices, and procedures that guarantee equal opportunity for all individuals with disabilities.
Federal Agencies
Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program The Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP), a program of the Department of Defense, provides assistive technology and services to people with disabilities, Federal managers, supervisors, IT professionals, and Wounded Services Members. CAP provides necessary accommodations FREE OF CHARGE to federal agencies.
U.S. Access Board The Access Board is an independent Federal agency devoted to accessibility for people with disabilities.
TARGET Center Provides assistive technology and ergonomic solutions to assist U.S. Department of Agriculture employees with disabilities.
Employment Laws Equal Employment Opportunity listing of laws which prohibit job discrimination.
WomensHealth.gov The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides information for women with disabilities, caretakers, health professionals, and researchers.
Workforce Recruitment Program The Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities (WRP) is a resource for Federal agencies and private businesses nationwide to identify qualified temporary and permanent employees from a variety of fields.
Disability Employment Policy The Office of Disability Employment Policy, at the U.S. Department of Labor, provides national leadership by developing and influencing disability-related employment policy and practice affecting the employment of people with disabilities.
Ticket to Work Program The Ticket to Work Program provides most people receiving Social Security benefits (beneficiaries) more choices for receiving employment services. Under this program the Social Security Administration (SSA) issues ticket to eligible beneficiaries who, in turn, may choose to assign those tickets to an Employment Network (EN) of their choice to obtain employment services, vocational rehabilitation services, or other support services necessary to achieve a vocational (work) goal.
Disability Resource Center The Disability Resource Center supports the U.S. Department of Transportation in the employment, advancement, and retention of people with disabilities through the use of state-of-the-art technology and proactive customer services.
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment The Department of Veterans Affair's Veterans Benefits Administration's Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) service is vested with delivering timely, effective vocational rehabilitation services to veterans with service-connected disabilities.
www.opm.gov/disability/Resources.asp
U.S. Office of Personnel Management 1900 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20415 (202) 606-1800 TTY (202) 606-2532
Celebrating Disability Employment Awareness Month!
OPM.gov Home
Federal Organizations-Resources
DisabilityInfo.gov DisabilityInfo.gov provides quick and easy access to comprehensive information about disability programs, services, laws and benefits.
Section508.gov Section 508 was enacted to eliminate barriers in information technology, to make available new opportunities for people with disabilities, and to encourage development of technologies that will help achieve these goals.
National Council on Disability (NCD) NCD provides advice to the President, Congress, and Executive Branch agencies to promote policies, programs, practices, and procedures that guarantee equal opportunity for all individuals with disabilities.
Federal Agencies
Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program The Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP), a program of the Department of Defense, provides assistive technology and services to people with disabilities, Federal managers, supervisors, IT professionals, and Wounded Services Members. CAP provides necessary accommodations FREE OF CHARGE to federal agencies.
U.S. Access Board The Access Board is an independent Federal agency devoted to accessibility for people with disabilities.
TARGET Center Provides assistive technology and ergonomic solutions to assist U.S. Department of Agriculture employees with disabilities.
Employment Laws Equal Employment Opportunity listing of laws which prohibit job discrimination.
WomensHealth.gov The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides information for women with disabilities, caretakers, health professionals, and researchers.
Workforce Recruitment Program The Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities (WRP) is a resource for Federal agencies and private businesses nationwide to identify qualified temporary and permanent employees from a variety of fields.
Disability Employment Policy The Office of Disability Employment Policy, at the U.S. Department of Labor, provides national leadership by developing and influencing disability-related employment policy and practice affecting the employment of people with disabilities.
Ticket to Work Program The Ticket to Work Program provides most people receiving Social Security benefits (beneficiaries) more choices for receiving employment services. Under this program the Social Security Administration (SSA) issues ticket to eligible beneficiaries who, in turn, may choose to assign those tickets to an Employment Network (EN) of their choice to obtain employment services, vocational rehabilitation services, or other support services necessary to achieve a vocational (work) goal.
Disability Resource Center The Disability Resource Center supports the U.S. Department of Transportation in the employment, advancement, and retention of people with disabilities through the use of state-of-the-art technology and proactive customer services.
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment The Department of Veterans Affair's Veterans Benefits Administration's Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) service is vested with delivering timely, effective vocational rehabilitation services to veterans with service-connected disabilities.
www.opm.gov/disability/Resources.asp
U.S. Office of Personnel Management 1900 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20415 (202) 606-1800 TTY (202) 606-2532
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE) is Coming to Atlanta
An Invitation from People First of Georgia
Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE) is coming to Atlanta - the meeting will focus on removing the "R" word - you are invited to join us for this important conversation - help make Georgia an "R" word free state - language is important! - words hurt!
Date: Friday October 30th
Time: 12:00 Noon to 2:00pm
Where: the Maloof Auditorium
The Maloof Auditorium is at 1300 Commerce Dr., Decatur, GA 30030, 1/2 block from the Decatur MARTA station on the fixed route pickup side where the bus loop is located. The building is near the corner of Commerce and Trinity. (This is where the DeKalb Commissioners meet.)
We will provide lunch - this event is collaboration of People First of Georgia, Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE), The Georgia Advocacy Office, The Center For Leadership in Disability and the ARC of Georgia.
If you have any questions call Cheri Mitchell at 678-755-6015 or email at cherimitchellg@gmail.com
Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE) is coming to Atlanta - the meeting will focus on removing the "R" word - you are invited to join us for this important conversation - help make Georgia an "R" word free state - language is important! - words hurt!
Date: Friday October 30th
Time: 12:00 Noon to 2:00pm
Where: the Maloof Auditorium
The Maloof Auditorium is at 1300 Commerce Dr., Decatur, GA 30030, 1/2 block from the Decatur MARTA station on the fixed route pickup side where the bus loop is located. The building is near the corner of Commerce and Trinity. (This is where the DeKalb Commissioners meet.)
We will provide lunch - this event is collaboration of People First of Georgia, Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE), The Georgia Advocacy Office, The Center For Leadership in Disability and the ARC of Georgia.
If you have any questions call Cheri Mitchell at 678-755-6015 or email at cherimitchellg@gmail.com
The Pamela Siebert Story!
Employing the Disabled is a Great Idea!!
Celebrating Disability Employment Awareness Month!!!!
Job: IBM Software Engineer
A casual acquaintance might describe Pamela Siebert as a successful, attractive, and deaf professional. But her mother—who clearly knows best—more accurately sums up Pamela with an altogether different adjective: 'self–motivated'. Not only is she a successful IBM software engineer, but she is also an accomplished theatre lighting specialist, having participated in over 15 productions, including Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Pamela also held the title of Miss Deaf Kansas 2005-2007 and placed in the top six at the Miss Deaf America pageant last year. She is focused, driven and believes in success. Her positive mentality, outstanding work ethic, and talent would be an asset to any company, but she found a home with IBM, a company that she says, 'Understands employees with needs and is very good with providing accommodations upon request.'
Pamela always knew she wanted a career focused in technology. From an early age, she demonstrated an aptitude for programming and Web-site development. When it came time for her to enroll in college, her top two schools were the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and Gallaudet University. Both schools had a significant number of deaf students to help make learning and socialization easier for Pamela, but she ultimately chose to attend RIT where the classroom was fashioned after a mainstream environment (hearing and deaf students attended class together). RIT provided a wealth of accommodations to Pamela, including American Sign Language interpreters and note-takers for class. She also attended some classes where the teacher taught in American Sign Language. After graduating from RIT in 2003 with a Bachelors of Science in Information Technology, Pamela started her first full-time job with IBM as a quality assurance tester.
Early on in her quality assurance assignment, Pamela's manager asked her to be a beta advocate for a customer. She recalls being hesitant and wondering, 'How will this customer feel working with a deaf person?' Her main concern was that there would be communication issues, leaving the customer feeling uncomfortable. Luckily, Pamela's manager continued to encourage her to take advantage of this new opportunity. Pamela planned her meetings with the customer carefully. After informing the customer that she was deaf, she arranged for a sign language interpreter and remote captioning for their weekly calls. The remote captioning professional would dial in to the call and type online, providing real-time notes for Pamela to read. At the same time, Pamela would sign to the interpreter and the interpreter would speak aloud on the conference call. Once the customer understood the process and why there would be delays in conversation, they proved quite patient. The project was completed successfully and both Pamela and the customer were pleased with the experience.
That experience, among others, makes Pamela feel that society is becoming more accepting of people with disabilities. Not too long ago, people had very different attitudes and perceptions. Pamela relates, 'My mom, who is deaf too, endured high school without a sign language interpreter because her school did not want to pay for one or did not think there was a need.' In those days, her mother was considered 'low functional' compared to her hearing peers because she could not hear to participate the same way as the other students in class. Pamela hopes that accessibility will become a higher priority so schools, companies, and organizations will provide more accommodations and easier access to information and education. More than anything, Pamela feels this is important because people with disabilities need to 'contribute to the same society as their peers.'
Pamela has a theory about how to accomplish these goals, 'Accessibility needs to be cost-effective, reusable, and beneficial to people with disabilities and people without disabilities.' Assistive technologies, tools, and services shouldn't be viewed as an investment for one specific group of people, but as accommodations that can create a more productive and enjoyable experience for everyone. For example, having a captioning professional attend conference calls is valuable for all participants because Pamela can post the transcript of the call in a team room for everyone to access. This allows people who missed the call to read the details of the discussion and gives everyone an opportunity to revisit the information at their convenience.
Today, Pamela works with various IBM Informix® and IBM DB2® server products. She explains, 'Basically, I try to 'break' the products and catch any problems before the customers do. "She enjoys her job, her coworkers, and her company. Only one wish remains, 'I wish that everyone understood that accessibility is not a burden. If equal access was given to everyone, imagine the advancements we could make as a society."
IBM Informix® and IBM DB2® are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.
http://www-03.ibm.com/able/news/siebert.html
Celebrating Disability Employment Awareness Month!!!!
Job: IBM Software Engineer
A casual acquaintance might describe Pamela Siebert as a successful, attractive, and deaf professional. But her mother—who clearly knows best—more accurately sums up Pamela with an altogether different adjective: 'self–motivated'. Not only is she a successful IBM software engineer, but she is also an accomplished theatre lighting specialist, having participated in over 15 productions, including Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Pamela also held the title of Miss Deaf Kansas 2005-2007 and placed in the top six at the Miss Deaf America pageant last year. She is focused, driven and believes in success. Her positive mentality, outstanding work ethic, and talent would be an asset to any company, but she found a home with IBM, a company that she says, 'Understands employees with needs and is very good with providing accommodations upon request.'
Pamela always knew she wanted a career focused in technology. From an early age, she demonstrated an aptitude for programming and Web-site development. When it came time for her to enroll in college, her top two schools were the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and Gallaudet University. Both schools had a significant number of deaf students to help make learning and socialization easier for Pamela, but she ultimately chose to attend RIT where the classroom was fashioned after a mainstream environment (hearing and deaf students attended class together). RIT provided a wealth of accommodations to Pamela, including American Sign Language interpreters and note-takers for class. She also attended some classes where the teacher taught in American Sign Language. After graduating from RIT in 2003 with a Bachelors of Science in Information Technology, Pamela started her first full-time job with IBM as a quality assurance tester.
Early on in her quality assurance assignment, Pamela's manager asked her to be a beta advocate for a customer. She recalls being hesitant and wondering, 'How will this customer feel working with a deaf person?' Her main concern was that there would be communication issues, leaving the customer feeling uncomfortable. Luckily, Pamela's manager continued to encourage her to take advantage of this new opportunity. Pamela planned her meetings with the customer carefully. After informing the customer that she was deaf, she arranged for a sign language interpreter and remote captioning for their weekly calls. The remote captioning professional would dial in to the call and type online, providing real-time notes for Pamela to read. At the same time, Pamela would sign to the interpreter and the interpreter would speak aloud on the conference call. Once the customer understood the process and why there would be delays in conversation, they proved quite patient. The project was completed successfully and both Pamela and the customer were pleased with the experience.
That experience, among others, makes Pamela feel that society is becoming more accepting of people with disabilities. Not too long ago, people had very different attitudes and perceptions. Pamela relates, 'My mom, who is deaf too, endured high school without a sign language interpreter because her school did not want to pay for one or did not think there was a need.' In those days, her mother was considered 'low functional' compared to her hearing peers because she could not hear to participate the same way as the other students in class. Pamela hopes that accessibility will become a higher priority so schools, companies, and organizations will provide more accommodations and easier access to information and education. More than anything, Pamela feels this is important because people with disabilities need to 'contribute to the same society as their peers.'
Pamela has a theory about how to accomplish these goals, 'Accessibility needs to be cost-effective, reusable, and beneficial to people with disabilities and people without disabilities.' Assistive technologies, tools, and services shouldn't be viewed as an investment for one specific group of people, but as accommodations that can create a more productive and enjoyable experience for everyone. For example, having a captioning professional attend conference calls is valuable for all participants because Pamela can post the transcript of the call in a team room for everyone to access. This allows people who missed the call to read the details of the discussion and gives everyone an opportunity to revisit the information at their convenience.
Today, Pamela works with various IBM Informix® and IBM DB2® server products. She explains, 'Basically, I try to 'break' the products and catch any problems before the customers do. "She enjoys her job, her coworkers, and her company. Only one wish remains, 'I wish that everyone understood that accessibility is not a burden. If equal access was given to everyone, imagine the advancements we could make as a society."
IBM Informix® and IBM DB2® are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.
http://www-03.ibm.com/able/news/siebert.html
Program Helps Autistic Adults Find Jobs
Agency: Enable America, Inc.
Every other Tuesday, you'll find this group at St. Michael's Harbour in Hermitage. What brings them together is autism. They all have it and say their disability has prevented them from finding employment.
"I need help because I've been trying to find a job for a year, and I've had no such luck," Daniel Shuler said. Shuler just joined the group TAP, or Transition to Adulthood Program. It helps him and others find success after high school.
"There was really no support system there to help with employment and help people understand at a college level the difficulties he faces on a daily basis," TAP parent Kathy Modak said.
"Because of the social difficulties, they have a hard time navigating the world and the social world. So we developed the program to help them navigate and understand the social world and then how to look for a job," Christina Long, Director of Autistic Services at St. Michael's Harbor, said.
And the program's working. John Dutcher's been in it for a year now, and has gotten a job at Walmart. "It's changed me for the better. I'm more respectful of people because I have something to look forward to. I have a lot of friends in the program, and I wouldn't want it any other way," Dutcher said.
And it's giving hope to those just starting. "I'm hoping I inspire people, to show them there is help out there and to go for their goals, reach for the stars," Shuler said.
The non-profit group runs mainly on donations. To find out how you can help, visit www.stmichaelsharbour.com.
http://www.enableamerica.org/disability-news-2009-09-30-autismreport.html
Source: WYTV.com
© 2002 - 2009 Enable America, Inc.
Every other Tuesday, you'll find this group at St. Michael's Harbour in Hermitage. What brings them together is autism. They all have it and say their disability has prevented them from finding employment.
"I need help because I've been trying to find a job for a year, and I've had no such luck," Daniel Shuler said. Shuler just joined the group TAP, or Transition to Adulthood Program. It helps him and others find success after high school.
"There was really no support system there to help with employment and help people understand at a college level the difficulties he faces on a daily basis," TAP parent Kathy Modak said.
"Because of the social difficulties, they have a hard time navigating the world and the social world. So we developed the program to help them navigate and understand the social world and then how to look for a job," Christina Long, Director of Autistic Services at St. Michael's Harbor, said.
And the program's working. John Dutcher's been in it for a year now, and has gotten a job at Walmart. "It's changed me for the better. I'm more respectful of people because I have something to look forward to. I have a lot of friends in the program, and I wouldn't want it any other way," Dutcher said.
And it's giving hope to those just starting. "I'm hoping I inspire people, to show them there is help out there and to go for their goals, reach for the stars," Shuler said.
The non-profit group runs mainly on donations. To find out how you can help, visit www.stmichaelsharbour.com.
http://www.enableamerica.org/disability-news-2009-09-30-autismreport.html
Source: WYTV.com
© 2002 - 2009 Enable America, Inc.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
WORKSHOP for Parents of Students with Disabilities
Behavior Management Techniques Learned in the Classroom, Strengthened at Home
This workshop will provide parents with the tools to be consistent and effective with behavior management techniques at home by presenting concepts and methods teachers use in the classroom.
The agenda includes a Meet & Greet from 6:30 – 7:00 p.m. and an overview of behavior management techniques from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.
There will be a breakout session based on age group for more specific practices and for parents to ask questions from 8:15 to 9:00 p.m.
Presenting:
• Ms. Karen Barineau, Autism Specialist, DCSS
• Dr. Kent Logan, Autism Specialist,DCSS
• Dr. AJ Nkosi BCBA-D, Southern Behavioral Group
• Ms. Holly Steinkamp BCBA, DCSS
Due to budget constraints, refreshments will not be served.
Please plan accordingly.
• Date: October 27, 2009
• Time: 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM
• Location: Coralwood School
(2477 Coralwood Drive Decatur, GA 30033)
Sponsored by:
· Metro GLSR
· Developmental Disabilities
Council Of DeKalb County
· All About Developmental Disabilities
This workshop will provide parents with the tools to be consistent and effective with behavior management techniques at home by presenting concepts and methods teachers use in the classroom.
The agenda includes a Meet & Greet from 6:30 – 7:00 p.m. and an overview of behavior management techniques from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.
There will be a breakout session based on age group for more specific practices and for parents to ask questions from 8:15 to 9:00 p.m.
Presenting:
• Ms. Karen Barineau, Autism Specialist, DCSS
• Dr. Kent Logan, Autism Specialist,DCSS
• Dr. AJ Nkosi BCBA-D, Southern Behavioral Group
• Ms. Holly Steinkamp BCBA, DCSS
Due to budget constraints, refreshments will not be served.
Please plan accordingly.
• Date: October 27, 2009
• Time: 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM
• Location: Coralwood School
(2477 Coralwood Drive Decatur, GA 30033)
Sponsored by:
· Metro GLSR
· Developmental Disabilities
Council Of DeKalb County
· All About Developmental Disabilities
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)