Victory in the House – November 11, 2005



[pic]

e-NEWS August 12, 2008

Dear Family and Friends,

There are 2 more special education workshops remaining that you may be interested in attending. Special Education You Can Do It! are FREE trainings being presented by PAI and EFRC at San Diego City College, 1313 Park Blvd. Rm. A-15, San Diego, CA 9210

Tuesday, August 12th - Demystifying the IEP process

Tuesday, August 19th -Ongoing Advocacy, Discipline, Due Process & Compliance Complaints. Details can be found at

In this eNEWS Issue You Will Find Information on:

• Inclusive Volunteer Fair

• Public Policy Fellowship

• AD/HD Webinars

• DOJ Proposed Changes in ADA Regulations

• Adaptive Sports Programs & Challenge Air

• Together We Grow

• First 5 San Diego Public Awareness Campaign

• College Venture Program for Students with Learning Disabilities

----------------------------------------------------------------

UPCOMING EVENTS:

For event details go to

By clicking on an Event link you may view the event details.

Local:

8/12/08 Demystifying the IEP process

8/15/08 Classroom Behavior Management

8/19/08 Ongoing Advocacy, Discipline, Due Process, Compliance Complaints

8/17/08 Walk for Developmental Disabilities

9/12/08 Violence, Abuse & Trauma Conference

9/19 & 20 San Diego County Autism Society Fall Conference

9/24/08 Health and Wellness Forum

9/27/08 FAACT Conference

Regional:

9/18/08 The Magic of Connections Mentoring Summit - Anaheim 10/08/08 Supported Life Institute Conference - Sacramento

----------------------------------------------------------------

UPCOMING EFRC SUPPORT GROUPS:

For details:

Some support groups do not meet during the summer months, so please be sure to call and verify before attending any meeting.

----------------------------------------------------------------

OPPORTUNITIES:

Everyone Can Serve! 2008 - An Inclusive Volunteer Fair for People with and without Disabilities at the Blind Community Center of San Diego, located at 1805 Upas Street in Balboa Park (Accessible by public transportation via Zoo Drive stop). 10:00am - 1:00pm. It is free to attend or set up an agency recruitment booth. Tables will be provided to participating volunteer agencies on a first come, first serve basis. Due to limited space, we are asking volunteer agencies and individual and group attendees to register. Contact Karen Leventhal at (310) 825-667 or kleventhal@mednet.ucla.edu. DEADLINE TO REGISTER: September 1, 2008. Registration Form

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is once again accepting applications from Emerging Leaders with Disabilities to apply for AAPD's 2009 PAUL G. HEARNE LEADERSHIP AWARD. This year, AAPD will recognize three (3) Hearne Award recipients at our 2009 Leadership Gala in Washington,D.C., present them each with $10,000 cash, and include each in AAPD's 2009 Leadership Initiatives. Application deadline is 5:00pm EST on September 30, 2008. In 2009, The American Association of People with Disabilities will once again recognize those outstanding individuals personifying leadership, advocacy, and dedication to and for the disability community at large. Three individuals, who are emerging as leaders in the cross-disability civil rights movement, will each receive $10,000 to help them continue their progress as leaders and further connect their work with the national grassroots of AAPD. The recipients of the 2009 Hearne Leadership Awards will also have an opportunity to meet and network with national disability leaders at the AAPD Leadership Gala in Washington, DC in March 2009. U.S. residents with any type of disability are eligible to apply. Details can be found at or call 1-800-840-8844 or e-mail aapdhearne@.

----------------------------------------------------------------

REFERENCE POINTS:

Public Policy Fellowship Offers Families Leadership Opportunity

Parents or family members of people with developmental or intellectual disabilities can now apply for an exciting one-year Public Policy Fellowship in Washington D.C. The individual must have excellent leadership skills and be actively working in some way towards the enhancement of inclusive services and supports for people with disabilities. The goal of the fellowship, which is sponsored by the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation, is to prepare emerging family advocates for leadership in the area of public policy, both in their home state and nationally. The application deadline is August 15, 2008; more information can be found at

8/13/08 "Preparing Your Ad/Hd Child-And Yourself-For College" Webinar, 9:00 - 10:00 Pm Est

8/20/08 "Sleep Issues And Ad/Hd" Webinar, 9:00 - 10:00 Pm Est

9/3/08 "Beyond Diagnosis And Medications: Managing Your Ad/Hd" Webinar, 9:00 - 10:00 P.M. Est

9/10/08 "It's September! Getting Your Kids Organized For The School Year!" Webinar, 9:00 - 10:00 Pm Est



Journal Of Disability Culture And Literature

"Breath & Shadow" is a monthly journal of disability culture and literature. A project of AbilityMaine, "Breath & Shadow" is the only online literary journal with a focus on disability. It is also unique in being the sole cross-disability literature and culture magazine written and edited entirely by people with disabilities. In "Breath & Shadow" you will find poetry, fiction, essays, interviews, drama, and other writing that examines the human experience of living with disability. Check it out on-line at:

REFERENCE POINTS was launched with the initial support from the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition . REFERENCE POINTS is administered by the TATRA Project at PACER Center , and funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration.

----------------------------------------------------------------

INPUT NEEDED FROM THE COMMUNITY:

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) 

Department of Justice Proposes Vast Changes in ADA Regulations 

YOUR COMMENTS URGENTLY NEEDED - deadline for comments is August 18, 2008. TO SEE DRAFT COMMENTS, visit

 

The Department of Justice recently issued major proposed revisions to its regulations implementing Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Some of DOJ's changes are excellent, and urgently needed. It is important that the disability community laud these, to support DOJ against industry attack. Good proposals include adoption of the new 2004 ADAAG, stronger hotel reservation and ticketing provisions, recognition of psychiatric service animals, additional companion seating in theaters and stadiums, and stronger provisions for effective communication for people with hearing, visual, and speech disabilities. There are also many changes that would radically reduce the rights of people with disabilities. For example, DOJ proposes:

A significant weakening of the readily achievable barrier removal requirement for public accommodations;

A significant reduction of elements required to be accessible in state and local government facilities;

An exemption for all existing facilities from the new recreation and playground rules;

and many others.

 

DOJ must receive a flood of comments from the disability community in favor of a strong, comprehensive ADA. Comments must defend the principle of individual, case-by-case assessment, which DOJ is largely abandoning in favor of many blanket reductions. We must remind DOJ that the ADA is already carefully crafted to take the needs of covered entities into account, and that reductions to our civil rights would be a devastating blow to our daily lives.

Extensive draft comments, by topic, are available on the DREDF website to help you write your own comments. The list of topics is also below. The website also has information about how to file your comments, as well as tips on commenting and a link to the proposed regulations.

 

Important: Your comments will have the most impact if you revise our drafts to add your own thoughts, and especially your own personal experiences or those of friends, family, colleagues or clients with disabilities. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD: SEND IN YOUR COMMENTS!

----------------------------------------------------------------

RECREATION:

8/16/08 DSA Family Social Summer Fiesta

8/23/08 Splash for Cash from 11:00am - 4:00pm

Pool Party and splash for cash fundraiser for Fragile X Center of San Diego. For details, visit or call 760-434-6290.

9/3/08 Free Style Dance Class Wednesdays from 6:30-7:30pm

8-week dance class for persons with developmental disabilities (6 yrs and up) offered by the City of Chula Vista Recreation Department Therapeutics Section. Learn basic hip-hop steps, line dances and movements to your favorite tunes. Class held at the Parkway Community Center, located at 385 Park Way, Chula Vista. Register by calling Carmel Wilson at 619-409-5800. wednesdays from sept 3 - oct 22

9/6/08 Challenge Air

For kids ages 7-17.  This is a fun day for kids with special needs.  They get to FLY in a PLANE! For details, visit

----------------------------------------------------------------

RESOURCES:

Do You Know About Together We Grow? Find out about this great program in San Diego and Oceanside! For military families -Learn more about their NACCRRA funded Child Care Programs and

EFMP GWOT Respite Care Policy

New Urgent Care Service in the South Bay

Beginning August 11, 2008 Urgent Care and Convenient Expanded Service Hours are Available at the Chula Vista Family Clinic, located at 865 3rd Avenue, Suite 133, Chula Vista 91910, 619-662-4100. Monday thru Friday, 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays, 10:00 a.m. - 6 p.m. No appointment needed/ Walk-ins Welcomed! Medi-Cal, Healthy Families and Medicare Accepted. Hablamos Español.

Urgent Care Services include common non-life threatening illnesses for

adults and children, colds & sore throats, urinary tract infections, minor

cuts & burns, sinus & ear infections, allergies, sprains, strains & simple

fractures, fever, and "Just don't feel good" conditions. **Chula Vista Family

Clinic is a division of San Ysidro Health Center

is a NEW website where parents of children with special needs can network. It was created by a mom who has kids with special needs and was an employee of the Warmline Family Resource Center in Sacramento. While speaking at a conference two years ago, she was asked to create.

First 5 San Diego is launching its first major Public Awareness Campaign to   promote the importance of the first five years of a child’s life; developmental checkups and increase awareness of First 5 San Diego programs that families with children 0 through 5 can access for little or no cost. The campaign will emphasize healthy development check-ups.  The target audience is women ages 18-35 with an income of $50,000 or less.  On August 11, 2008 the First 5 San Diego Public Awareness Campaign (Campaign) will begin with the rollout of key messages on radio and television, a movie theater ad and a new design for First 5 San Diego’s website.  On September 1, 2008 bus shelter, search engine and mall displays will be rolled out. 

First 5 San Diego will now have a single phone number where parents, caregivers and others can access information about First 5 programs and services.  In a partnership with 211, First 5 San Diego’s “warm line,” 1-888-5 FIRST 5, will be staffed by 211 Information and Referral Specialists.  This toll-free number will appear on all of the public awareness materials. Educational materials will be distributed at Wal Mart, Food 4 Less, Community Clinics, San Diego WIC locations and Planned Parenthood locations.

Israeli-developed device allows paraplegics to walk again

An Israeli company has developed a revolutionary quasi-robotic system that will enable wheelchair users to walk again.

Argo Medical Technologies' wearable upright mobility system, or "exoskeleton," was specially designed for individuals with lower-limb disabilities. In a clip the company posted on the video-sharing Web site YouTube, a man described as having been confined to a wheelchair for over 20 years is shown walking, descending stairs and even driving a car.

Dr. Amit Goffer PhD, founder and director of Argo, and ReWalk's developer, explained the project's goal to ISRAEL21c. "What we want to do is have the person wake up in the morning, put on clothes, put on the ReWalk, go to work and go throughout the day, wearing it," Goffer said. From Ha'aretz News at July 21, 2008.

Bellevue Community College Venture Program for Students with Learning Disabilities in Washington state - This is a Non-Transfer, comprehensive Associate Degree program designed to prepare postsecondary, highly motivated young adults with learning, cognitive, and intellectual challenges for the workplace and independent living.  The vision is for the students to live self-sufficient, fulfilled lives with meaningful participation in society by offering educational and practical skills in academics, workplace development, and social/life skills.  Using an integrated curriculum, Venture students will be prepared for independence and entry-level employment in a variety of settings. 

 

To learn more about the Venture Program’s Associate in Occupational and Life Skills degree, join us for an informational and Q&A session.

 

WHEN:              Thursday, August 14, 2008

                        6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

 

LOCATION:        Bellevue Community College North Campus

                        10700 Northup Way Rm. 273

                        Bellevue, WA  98004

VENTURE IN ACTION

You are invited to tour our facility, observe a class, and hear more about the fabulous educational opportunity being offered to students with learning disabilities.  Our next tour date is:

   Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Information/Q&A:  9:00-9:45 a.m. North Campus Room 272

View a Class:  9:45-10:15 a.m.

Contact Becky at rboberg@bcc.ctc.edu or (425)564-2844

 

----------------------------------------------------------------

INSPIRATION FOR THE WEEK:

"Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born." 

- Dale E. Turner

----------------------------------------------

If you enjoyed this eNEWS, please consider forwarding it to

friends and family to spread the word of upcoming workshops

and events, links to new sites and up-to-date information

about the special needs community. FORWARD TO A FRIEND

This e-NEWS has been brought to you by

Exceptional Family Resource Center.

If you have comments or would like to unsubscribe,

please contact us at info@

Visit or call 1-800-281-8252

August 12, 2008

Exceptional Family Resource Center does not promote or recommend any therapy, treatment, institution, etc. and does not espouse any particular political, educational or religious views. Inclusion of information or resources does not necessarily imply promotion or recommendation by EFRC. Content is provided for informational purposes only.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download