Special Education News

Find Fulfillment With A Career In Special Education

2011-10-17T13:16:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately, children who have disabilities do exist, and they need teachers who have compassion, patience, and the knowledge to help them strive to reach their potential, no matter what it is! This is the field of special education, which has grown in its importance and demand, and makes a very fulfilling career choice.

You are such a person but you also have others depending upon you to put food on the table. No worries, this is not an impossible dream! You can enroll into an online degree program and do the work from home.

First of all, you will more than likely need a Master's degree to find employment, which is required by most states and is regulated by the National Teacher's Association. Upon your completion, there will be an exam for licensing, so don't forget to research the various institutions offering degrees to make sure of their accreditation. However, if you do not have an undergraduate degree in education, you can still enroll into the special education Master's degree.

This is an area of teaching that will allow you to think outside the box in order to find new ways to help your students reach their goals. Within your courses, you will have instruction in the psychology of education and the many legal issues facing the special education teacher in today's world. Also, you will have training in the many forms of handicaps that your students have to face up to and including mental disorders that cause learning problems. It is also important that you are able to identify any new obstacle that will need attention and care.

What has changed in the past several years is what a special needs teacher can do and what she or he is trained to do. Whether or not it is in the juvenile justice system or in a long-term care facility for children, teachers will always be needed to help with all levels of education, along with providing training for daily living skills that most of us take for granted. You could also open up your own practice for counseling students and their parents to help them face the many hurdles of growing up with disabilities.

The teaching of these children involves evaluating and implementing a course of teaching through comprising an IEP which is an individualized education program. These link all individuals who will be part of the education of that student. It also lets everyone know how the student is progressing and if there needs to be a change in the program due to a setback or a goal being reached.

Along with how to teach a child with learning problems is what has occurred or the reason for one's situation. Autism, mental health diseases, birth defects, and/or any harm that has occurred to the brain is taught and various forms of teaching that have the best results for each will be a vital part of your education. Also, through modern technology, there are now many devices that can be of benefit in helping teach a special needs child.

Balancing General and Special Education Services

2011-10-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

Historically, special education services delivery was on a pull-out model. This means that the child was removed from the general education classroom for separate instruction. It may be the child was in a self-contained classroom (all day placement) or in a resource classroom (maximum of half-day placement).

As a result of lawsuits, most districts have shifted from pull-out to inclusion models for everything except speech and language, occupational and/or physical therapy, and specialized assistance for the hearing or visually impaired students. These remain pull-out because the instruction is individualized and intense for short lengths of time, usually 1-3 times per week for 15-30 minutes a session.

In the inclusion model, students receive the same instruction as their general education peers. Sometimes the special education teacher or assistant is in the classroom with the child to assist instruction and/or task completion. Most of the time, the student remains in the general education classroom and is expected to behavior and work as all other students.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Both models of special education services delivery will succeed and fail for different reasons. Some children need the full-day pull-out model because they cannot handle the changes and demands of a general education classroom. They may be able to handle the instructional demands, but their behaviors may be out of control and/or hazardous to them and/or others in the room. They may lack the foundations in reading, writing and/or mathematics to do any work in the general classroom; instructional content is often limited to low-level instruction and work assignments, because the available materials simplify the content.

The partial day pull-out model allows more intensive instruction in targeted subject areas where children need extra assistance or instruction. Since it is only partial day, students mingle the rest of the day with their peers. Unfortunately, their social interactions may be affected, because others often do not understand what special education services are and will tease the students who leave. The ridicule of thoughtless peers affect many who give up hope of ever being in the general education classroom.

Inclusion allows students to receive instruction, especially in upper elementary grades where children learn about science and social studies. While having the advantage of more socially-appropriate interactions among students, inclusion has some drawbacks for instruction. Many children are slower to develop than their peers. They may have language deficiencies or cognitive delays that affect their ability to understand the instruction and do their assignments. Even with adult assistance, the instruction usually is not modified in any way so they understand what they are learning. An example is that, in some states, all students must take physics or chemistry to graduate; these are not appropriate classes for children with mild to severe disabilities.

Inclusion instruction keeps going, no matter whether or not a child is ready for the next level of instruction. Many children end up doing assignments that mean nothing simply to get them out of their face so they can move on. They are not being educated but being housed for the convenience of administrators who make the decisions.

Considerations for Services Delivery

The IEP team, including parents, need to consider many factors when they design the implementation plan: time of day, content instructional periods, services providers' schedules and availability, the child's ability to perform in a group setting (behavior and/or mastery of prerequisite content), level of supports needed for the child to perform, medication schedules, equipment/technology availability, and so on.

In the pull-out model, it is possible for children to receive too many services. They become dependent upon the adults for structuring their world and providing motivation to complete tasks; learning becomes optional. In the inclusion model, it is possible for children to receive too little services. Their ability to understand the content and processes may be limited and there is no "going back" to prerequisite skills that were missed or incompletely mastered. Adult time, room capacity, and schedules impact instruction and work behavior. In either model, the adults' expectations for the students may be low and limit the child's own goals and expectations.

Finding the Right Balance

The goal for receiving special education services should be for the child to develop the skills that will enable him/her to perform in the regular classroom. Keeping a child in a special education setting too long can be just as damaging as removing them from services too early. Just because the child may be eligible does not mean it is in the child's best interest to continue protecting the child. The child must develop an internal awareness of being able to be like others, to receive instruction and complete tasks like others do. The child must develop a work ethic and pride in accomplishment; these are attitudes and skill necessary for him/her to be a productive employee as an adult. Ensuring success is just as damaging as setting a child up for failure.

Three Types of Therapy to Motivate Students

2011-10-17T13:10:00.001-07:00

Three Types of Therapy to Motivate Students are: Touch therapy, music therapy and visual therapy. In my experience, these tools have proved beneficial in the achievement of my students.

1. Touch therapy can be used in the classroom with wisdom. Many teachers employ touch therapy as part of the morning routine. Shaking the hand or giving a high five to each student as they walk through the door proves very beneficial in building that necessary teacher/student relationship required for learning. We must be very careful in this day and age with hugs and light touches in the regular classroom. However, with the developmentally delayed students touches are a necessary part of their learning. Lightly touching a student's hand or arm or leg can give them the stimulation they need to respond to an instruction to move. Sometimes smoothing on lotion can calm a child to get them to perform the task required. When working in preschool and especially with developmentally delayed students touch is very important. Pulling a child close or holding a hand can calm the child and get them to do the necessary task required.

2. Music therapy can enhance a classroom environment. Carefully chosen music can lift spirits and encourage students to work. I was in a classroom where a teacher used a play list on his computer as the background music for his class. His selection of music worked very well until the commercial came on. I had a wonderful collection of Mozart that I loved, however, when I brought it to the classroom I found I could not use it because the variety of loud and soft passages in the music distracted my students. Once I had a visiting student and he said the violins in the music made him feel sad. I have also found some religious music could be used if it was instrumental only. That way the words were not offensive to the certain students. A collection of music may not work for every class every time. Each class is different. I can tell when the music is right when my students are working and happy.

3. Visual therapy is an interesting concept. Having scenes of nature and cool colors can calm students and help them learn better. I have to remember to keep the number of scenes down. Too many beautiful pictures can be distracting and that defeats the purpose of the calm environment. Bright colors are used often in preschool classrooms especially because the students are learning their colors. Cool colors versus warm colors stimulate a calm environment. Visual therapy also helps with healing. Therefore if I have students that are struggling emotionally at home coming to a calm environment at school relieves some of the tension. Visual therapy differs from vision therapy. Vision therapy is done by ophthalmologists and can be very helpful to students when there is a vision problem. Visual therapy is something a teacher can employ to calm a class and create a valuable learning environment. Some parents think exploring sensory therapy first can eliminate the need for behavior therapy and interventions.

In my experience I have found these three types of therapy very beneficial to motivating the learning of my students. The three types of therapy are: 1. Touch therapy. 2. Music therapy. 3. Visual therapy.

Special Education Language - 10 Acronyms You Should Know

2011-10-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

The Special Education system in Ontario has a language of its own. If you are the parent of a child who has been recently identified as exceptional by the school board, you can get lost in the language during your first school meetings. There are many acronyms that are used by school administrators and school staff and most often they don't think about the fact that parents may not understand their "language". So it's up to the parents to become knowledgeable about the language of special education. In this article, I am going to explain the meanings of ten of the most important acronyms in special education.

IEP - Individual Education Plan.

The IEP is a document that lists the strengths and needs, and the programs, services, accommodations and supports that are required by a particular student. It lists the annual goals in each alternative or modified subject area, as well as the learning expectations for each term, which are determined by the student's strengths and needs. A student does not have to be formally identified as an exceptional student to receive an IEP. But if the student is formally identified by an IPRC, it is a requirement of the Regulation 181/98 of the Education Act that they receive an IEP.

IPRC - Identification, Placement and Review Committee.

The IPRC is composed of at least three persons, one of whom must be a principal or supervisory officer of the school board. At annual meetings, where the parents are invited to attend, the committee decides whether or not the student should be identified as exceptional and if so, which category of exceptionality. They also decide on an appropriate placement for the student. The parents can either agree to the decisions, or appeal the decisions.

OEN - Ontario Education Number

Parents will notice the OEN on school documents such as the report card. A unique OEN is assigned to every student across the province by the Ministry of Education. The same number will follow the student through his or her elementary and secondary education and will be indicated on all of his or her school records.

OSR - Ontario Student Record

The OSR is a record of a student's educational progress through school. The contents are to be used by school staff for the purpose of "improvement of instruction" of the student, according to the Education Act. Parents are to be told about the purpose of the OSR and its contents. They must be allowed to have access to all of the information contained in the OSR.

EQAO - Education Quality and Accountability Office

EQAO is an arm's-length agency that provides information about student achievement in Ontario, based on periodic assessments. This is basically to see how the teachers, the school boards, and the educational system in general are performing. When students are in grade 3 and again in grade 6 they are required to take reading, writing, and math tests administered by the EQAO. They are also required to take a math test in grade 9. However, the principal is authorized to exempt students from taking any or all of the tests if they are unable to participate for reasons such as a developmental disability.

SERT- Special Education Resource Teacher

There is usually one in every school. As the name implies this teacher is a resource for regular classroom teachers. He or she consults with classroom teachers regarding students who have IEPs and are placed in the regular class. In fact the SERT is usually the lead person in charge of developing the IEP for these students. Sometimes small groups of students are withdrawn from the regular class to a resource room for more intensive instruction in math and language. This class is run by the SERT.

EA - Educational Assistant

EAs are assigned to classrooms, either regular class or small placement, to support students as part of a multidisciplinary team. They also help teachers with non-instructional tasks. In some school boards, EAs may have the same duties as described below for SNAs.

SNA - Special Needs Assistant

The SNA supports students with special educational needs, usually in a special education classroom, under the supervision of a special education teacher. In addition to helping with their learning needs, duties may include assisting with the students' safety and physical needs, including hygiene and feeding, as well as assisting with therapy sessions.

ABA - Applied Behaviour Analysis

ABA methods are best known for treating people with autism and other developmental disabilities.ABA methods are based on scientific principles of learning and behaviour to build useful repertoires of behaviour and reduce problematic ones. The undesired behaviour(s) are clearly defined and recorded, and the antecedents and reinforcers of the undesired behaviour(s) are analysed. Individualized programs are developed based on this information. The teacher must collect and analyze the data on an ongoing basis in order to measure the student's progress in each of the program areas. The program must be altered as necessary to maintain or increase a student's success.

TEACCH - Treatment and Education of Autistic and Communication related handicapped Children.

Intervention strategies include clear and explicit expectations, physical and visual structure, schedules, work systems and task organization. The goal is to allow children with autism to develop skills so that they can be independent of direct adult prompting.

These ten acronyms are just the tip of the iceberg. Take some time to learn some of the "language" of Special Education and you will be a better advocate for your son or daughter with special needs.

Educating Special Needs Children in Mainstream Schools

2011-10-15T08:05:00.000-07:00

These days finding a special needs child in a mainstream school would be like finding an "Enter" key on a keyboard.

The concept of institutionalised care and education is almost a thing of the past. Though some circles still feel special needs kids and adults do not have a place in mainstream society, thankfully these groups are diminishing as the decades roll on.

The placement of Special needs kids in mainstream school has many benefits to the special needs child but also the school community as a whole. Mainstream school kids get to know the disabled child for the person inside the body, not the outward disability. This goes a long way to improving social acceptance of the special needs kids both now as a child in school and later as an adult in the community.

As a parent of a disabled child I often liken the use of Special School facilities to taking a bath without any water or taking a flight in a plane without wings.

Just like we need water to take a bath we also need a "normal" social setting to educate special needs kids about society and interacting in it. The use of Special Education facilities is like taking a mainstream school student to the desert to teach them to swim.

I should pause to explain that this article is written out of frustration due to a long run battle for our child to be accepted at a mainstream school on a permanent basis. The closest we have ever been able to get was 4 days at a mainstream school and 1 day at special education - with this likely to expand each year until she was a permanent pupil at the special education school.

As parents we are in no way against the Specialised Education our daughter requires. We do however, feel this Extra support could and should be made available to her at a mainstream school. She should have the ability to have lunch with her siblings, participate in Lunchtime activities with mainstream kids, Attend sporting events - whether participating or cheering - and generally socialise with her age group peers.

The concept of splitting Education between 2 facilities due to a disability is like splitting a child's world in half. Its saying "Its ok to be called 'normal' a couple of days a week and 'disabled' for the rest of the week".

The teachers call it "getting the best of both worlds". Unfortunately we don't live in 2 worlds. We live in one world and we should all be accepted as equal within it regardless of race, colour, ability, disability or orientation.

Deadbeat state: Illinois owes 5 Billion in unpaid bills - forcing businesses & non for profits to borrow money, cut jobs services

2011-10-15T07:48:00.000-07:00

SPRINGFIELD — Drowning in deficits, Illinois has turned to a deliberate policy of not paying billions of dollars in bills for months at a time, creating a cycle of hardship and sacrifice for residents and businesses helping the state carry out some of the most important government tasks.

Once intended as a stop-gap, the months-long delay in paying bills has now become a regular part of the state’s budget management, forcing businesses and charity groups to borrow money, cut jobs and services and take on personal debt. Getting paid can be such a confusing process that it requires begging the state for money and sometimes has more to do with knowing the right people than being next in line.

As of early last month, the state owed on 166,000 unpaid bills worth a breathtaking $5 billion, with nearly half of that amount more than a month overdue and hundreds of bills dating back to 2010, according to an Associated Press analysis of state documents.

The true backlog is even higher because some bills have not yet been approved for payment and officially added to the tally. This includes the Illinois health care agency, which says it is sitting on about $1.9 billion in bills from Medicaid providers because there’s no money to pay it.

While other states with budget problems have delayed paying their bills, the backlog in Illinois is unmatched, experts say. Year after year, Illinois builds its budget on the assumption that it will pay its bills months late — essentially borrowing money from businesses and nonprofits that have little choice but to suffer the financial hardship.

The unpaid bills range from a few pennies to nearly $25 million. In early September, for example, Illinois owed $55,000 to a small-town farm supply business for gasoline, $1,000 to a charity that provides used clothing to the poor and $810,000 to a child-nutrition program.

Even death involves delays in Illinois. Funeral homes were waiting for $2.8 million in overdue reimbursement for burying indigent people.

Leigh Ann Stephens wrote a letter in August “asking, pleading” for $50,000 the state owed to the DuPage Center for Independent Living, where she is executive director. It was the third time in two years that she had sent a hardship letter warning the center, which helps people with disabilities live outside of costly nursing homes, would close if it wasn’t paid.

The letter got results, for now, but it hasn’t reversed cuts. Stephens has laid off one of eight employees, stopped opening on Fridays, cut back hours for part-time workers and reduced salaries 7.5 percent for herself and the other full-time worker. Like their clients, most of the employees are disabled, coping with blindness, loss of hearing, cerebral palsy and more.

“This is not just a job for me. It’s a way of life,” Stephens said. “I can be angry. I can be sad. I can be so mad that I cry. I have thrown things across the room.”

The delays have prompted relatively little public outcry, perhaps because so much attention has been focused on other budget battles or there is no one politician or agency to blame. It also reflects resignation from some vendors who no longer expect the corruption-plagued Illinois government to function properly.

“We’ve become accustomed to it. Being angry is not going to change it,” said Suzanne Young, who has had a hard time getting the state to pay her business, Rockford Map Publishers.

Illinois leaders join in bemoaning the crisis but haven’t been able to find a solution.

“God, how much more can our people take?” said Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, a veteran politician responsible for trying to pay a seemingly infinite stack of bills with the finite amount of money approved by legislators and the governor.

“I really feel terrible every day that we can’t pay these bills and people are going to be hanging out there for six months, seven months,” Topinka said.

Delaying payments during tough times is nothing new for Illinois, though past delays were shorter and more limited. Under former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, big spending collided with a recession that sent state revenue spiraling downward. Illinois could no longer afford to pay its bills and the backlog exploded.

The backlog continued to grow even after Blagojevich was impeached and later convicted on corruption charges that included trying to sell or trade President Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat. He is awaiting sentencing.

Blagojevich’s replacement, Democrat Pat Quinn, raised income taxes and trimmed spending, but that money was gobbled up by other needs, primarily rising pension costs. Under budget agreements with legislative leaders, all Democrats, bills continued to go unpaid.

As recently as June 2008, Illinois paid its bills seven days after state agencies finished the paperwork. A year later the delay had reached 99 days. It stood at 118 days in June of this year, the comptroller’s office said.

Who gets paid sometimes depends on who complains the loudest or can get a politician to step in.

Illinois grants “expedited payment” to vendors who say they’re on the verge of shutting down if they don’t get their money, but the process lacks clear rules. The Illinois governor and comptroller each say the other makes the final decision on payments, and documents show a letter of support from a legislator — Republican or Democrat — can often shake loose money for vendors.

Many states use the budget gimmick of delaying payments when money is tight, but Illinois is seen as the worst.

“I think you win the championship,” agreed Elizabeth Boris, an expert on nonprofit groups at the Urban Institute think tank.

California, another state notorious for budget troubles, had to issue IOUs to vendors at one point. But that was a temporary problem, not the way of life it has become in Illinois. California groups and businesses could get by with short-term loans. But many Illinois groups have maxed out their lines of credit and still don’t know when state money will start flowing smoothly again or how much to count on as they plan their financial year.

Illinois ranked No. 1 in the country in the percentage of nonprofit groups facing payment delays, an Urban Institute survey found. Eighty-three percent said late payments from state and local government were a problem in Illinois, compared to a nationwide average of 53 percent. That survey was conducted in 2009, when Illinois’ backlog was still in the middle of its dramatic rise.

“We are basically bankrolling the state. It’s a ridiculous situation,” said Abha Pandya, CEO of Asian Human Services, a Chicago organization awaiting payment on $609,000 in bills, some of them stretching back to November of last year. “It’s just absolutely awful and there seems to be no end in sight.”

#Source: The Associated Press By CHRISTOPHER WILLS Oct 14, 2011

Illinois: Pace Suburban Bus (& Paratransit) 2012 Budget Presentation Online Webinar - Video Oct 14, 2011

2011-10-14T11:32:00.000-07:00

Uploaded by PaceSuburbanBus on Oct 14, 2011

Public Hearing Locations, Dates and Times follow:

Dates and Locations

City of Chicago:

Monday, October 24, 2011

City of Chicago (North) Budget Public Hearing

11:00 am –1:00 pm

Sulzer Regional Library

4455 N. Lincoln

Chicago, IL 60625

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

City of Chicago (West) Budget Public Hearing

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Garfield Park Conservatory

Community Room

300 North Central Park Ave.

Chicago, Illinois 60624

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

City of Chicago (Southwest) Budget Public Hearing

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Arturo Velasquez

Westside Tech. Inst.

2800 S. Western Ave.

Chicago, IL 60608

Thursday, October 27, 2011

City of Chicago (South) Budget Public Hearing

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Olive Harvey College

Cafeteria

10001 S. Woodlawn

Chicago, IL 60628

Suburban:

Monday, October 17, 2011

Lake County Public Hearing

4:00pm - 6:00pm

Waukegan Public Library

Bradbury Room (lower level)

128 N. County Street

Waukegan, IL 60085

Monday, October 17, 2011

North Cook County Public Hearing

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Pace Headquarters

Board Room

550 W. Algonquin Road

Arlington Heights, IL 60005

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

McHenry County Public Hearing

4:30 pm – 6:00 pm

Crystal Lake Municipal

Complex, Council Chambers

100 W. Woodstock St.

Crystal Lake, IL 60014

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Will County Public Hearing

4:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Joliet Public Library

Meeting Rm. B (second level)

150 N. Ottawa St.

Joliet, IL 60432

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Kane County Public Hearing

4:30 pm -- 6:30 pm

Kane County Government Center

Auditorium, Ground Floor

719 S. Batavia Ave

Geneva, IL 60134

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Southwest Cook County Public Hearing

4:30 pm -- 6:30 pm

Oak Lawn Village Hall

Auditorium

9446 S. Raymond

Oak Lawn, IL 60453

Thursday, October 20, 2011

West Cook County Public Hearing

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Howard Mohr Community Center

7640 Jackson Blvd.

Forest Park, IL 60130

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

DuPage County Public Hearing

4:30 pm – 6:30 pm

DuPage County Government Center

Auditorium

421 N. County Farm Rd.

Wheaton, IL 60187

Thursday, October 27, 2011

South Cook County Public Hearing

4:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Homewood Village Hall

Board Room

2020 Chestnut

Homewood, IL 60430

If you have any questions, please contact Pace Customer Services at (847) 364-7223 "Option 3" (voice) or 847-364-5093 (TTY)

For more on Pace Suburban Bus visit: http://www.pacebus.com/

Letters on Closing Illinois State Institutions - shared by The Arc : Oct 13, 2011

2011-10-14T05:59:00.000-07:00

There are a number of Letters to the Editor in the Chicago Tribune today reacting to the Governor’s call to close Mabley and Jacksonville.

Community care for the disabled

Congratulations on your great Sept. 30 editorial “Moving to community care; State-run centers for the developmentally disabled are finally on the way out.”

State institutions for people with developmental disabilities that have an annual cost per resident of $181,700 a year are expenditures that the state can no longer afford.

Small, more normalized community group homes can serve almost anyone presently residing in the institutions for an average of half the money Illinois is now spending on those outmoded facilities.

Let’s start with the Jacksonville and Mabley Centers, as you suggested, and then let’s finish the job over the next few years by downsizing and closing the other six relics of outdated warehousing of people with disabilities.

— Don Moss, executive director, United Cerebral Palsy of Illinois, Springfield

State-run centers

I hope that state-run centers for the developmentally disabled are not on their way out.

There is no such thing as “one size fits all.”

Yes there should be less restrictive settings available for those who can live and flourish in those settings.

Not all can.

My daughter has lived at Shapiro Developmental Center for 26 years. Some of the staff have been there longer. She has thrived there. She needs a much more structured setting than a group home could give her and Shapiro gives her that. Members of the staff truly care about the residents they watch over and should be given salutes and not be called “entrenched union” workers.

Yes, care there might be more expensive than in a group home; but just as those who need that setting should have it, so should those who need the other setting have it as well.

— Nancie Blatt, Highland Park

Community support

The Chicago Tribune underscores the point that closing institutions for people with disabilities should not be guided by politics or the budget.

The decision should be guided by the needs, the rights and the quality of life of people with disabilities.

For decades, the disability community has organized to compel Illinois to implement the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the 1999 U.S. Supreme Court Olmstead ruling, which give people with disabilities the right to receive supports in the most integrated setting. Yet, Illinois lags far behind the rest of the country, institutionalizing people with disabilities at a rate much higher than the rest of the country, even though institutions typically cost more money and many people currently institutionalized would rather receive supports in their own homes.

Disability advocates interpret Gov. Pat Quinn’s closure announcement as an opportunity to decrease Illinois’ reliance on institutions.

But in order for the transition to community care to be successful, Illinois must transfer resources from the institutions that will be closed into the community.

— Gary Arnold, Access Living, Chicago

Plans for transition

The editorial on “Moving to community care” for people with developmental disabilities is right. People with disabilities can and should be supported in their communities. My adult son is on the autism spectrum and has been living in an apartment successfully for four years with community supports. He has gained independent living skills that many people would not have predicted.

The community system mentioned can better serve the nearly 200 residents of the two institutions to be closed. For a responsible transition, the governor and legislators must see that the money saved follows those individuals into the community for group homes and other supportive services. Planning for the transitions must be based on the needs of the individuals.

Research surveys of parents of formerly institutionalized individuals report that in the community, their loved ones changed for the better in a number of ways: being more communicative, independent, responsible and happier; showing positive behavioral changes; and gaining daily living skills.

Both chambers of the Illinois Legislature have adopted a resolution calling for a plan to enhance and expand access to quality community services and supports for people with developmental disabilities. Those community services are woefully underfunded in Illinois. Closing two institutions presents both an opportunity and a responsibility.

Our elected officials have the responsibility to provide appropriate funding for Illinois citizens with developmental disabilities.

— Bonnie Dohogne, Evanston, member, Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities

Tony Paulauski

Executive Director

The Arc of Illinois

# Thank You Tony for sharing....

Morton Grove, IL Library Addresses Accessibility, Transparency Issues : Oct 2011

2011-10-14T05:56:00.000-07:00

Board members continue to try to clear the air.

Ever since news broke of the previous Morton Grove Library board violating the Open Meetings Act, the new library board has been trying to turn the page toward a fresh start.

At last night's board meeting members continued to discuss various topics focusing on how to make the library a more transparent and accessible place for patrons.

Complying with accessibility standards

Board member Paul Berg said troubleshooting has begun regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance for the library.

ADA lists various standards for building designs in order to assist those with disabilities including wheelchair ramps and accessible routes.

The library currently doesn’t meet certain accessibility code standards for those with disabilities. Berg said the library will work with an outside consultant to determine the scope of work and a timeline for the project, which is still in its infancy.

“Obviously nothing is in cement,” he said. “We are just starting the proposal.”

Resident Laura Frisch voiced her concern about the library’s current lack of accessibility during the public participation portion of the meeting.

“My mother is wheelchair-bound and she lives in Morton Grove and she couldn’t come to activities in (the Baxter Room). She couldn’t access 90 percent of the non-fiction books that are here in the library. I do appreciate that circulation and reference is wonderful about getting books for people," she said. “But it’s still a matter of we’re living in the 1970s, early 1980s, in this library for accessibility.”

Berg said it would cost an estimated $4.1 million dollars to get the building up to Illinois Accessibility Code standards.

Library appoints FOIA officers

Board members approved the appointment of Natalya Fishman, head of Reference Services, and Kevin Justie, interim co-director, as library Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) officers. Both Fishman and Justie will "receive Open Meetings Act training from the Illinois attorney general.”

At last month's board meeting Justie noted that the library also made FOIA request information available on the bulletin board and on the library's website.

Recently Patch obtained a series of papers through a FOIA request regarding issues with the previous board. The papers allege that previous board members had a “scheme” to hide a tax increase so that the library could fund a new building.

Also during the meeting, the board adopted a email and record retention/destruction policy. The policy requires that all library-related emails between personnel be retained for one year.

New Head of Youth Services

Board members announced their new head of the Youth Services Department Ann Finstad. Finstad previously served as a children’s librarian at the Winnetka Public Library. She started her position at the Morton Grove Public Library this past Monday, Oct. 10.

Stay tuned to Patch for more information on the Morton Grove Library board.

#Source: Morton Grove Patch By Collin Czarnecki Oct 2011

http://mortongrove.patch.com/articles/library-addresses-accessibility-transparency-issues

CCDI ACTION ALERT : Illinois Jacksonville Institution Closure : WLDS Radio Questionable Agenda

2011-10-13T10:16:00.000-07:00

As Shared By the Coalition for People with Disabilities in Illinois (CCDI)

This morning we learned that Bill Gorman from SILC was interviewed on WLDS radio in Jacksonville regarding the closure of Jacksonville State Operated Developmental Center. The WLDS radio host informed him that Bill was the ONLY person who he had heard of who supported the closure. !!! We at CCDI know that disability advocates across the state support closure. We must make our voices heard!

We have got to take action here to let this radio station know that the disability community across this state wants and needs Jacksonville SODC to close. We want Illinois to be free of large long term care institutions that warehouse people with disabilities! Community integration is our civil right.

Below you can find the contact info for WLDS and WEAI radio stations in Jacksonville. Call and/or email them today to let them know why the closure of Jacksonville SODC is important for disability rights in Illinois. Here is an example of what you can say:

“Hello, my name is _________ and I am a member of the Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Illinois. I am calling to let you know that the disability community here in Illinois and across the country supports the closure of Jacksonville Developmental Center. People with all types of disabilities are better served in the community, and it is time for Illinois to get rid of large long term care institutions that waste taxpayer dollars and violate civil rights. We need to change to a system of community based supports that both integrate people with disability in the community, and provide jobs for workers.”

In particular if you are a family member of a person with a severe disability, or a person with a severe disability living in the community, please, please call this radio station and tell them your story. They need to know that community integration works for people with disabilities, and that it creates jobs.

Here is the contact info. Please call or email WLDS today!

WLDS/WEAI

2161 Old State Road

Jacksonville, IL 62650

Business Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00AM-5:00PM

Main: (217) 245-7171

Fax: (217) 245-6711

WLDS/WEAI Newsroom: (217) 243-4712

WLDS On-Air Line: (217) 243-4351

WEAI Request Line: (217) 243-2800

To contact WLDS/WEAI News about a news story or event, please email us at news@wlds.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

To communicate a show idea, topic or guest, please email each station directly.

WLDS: wlds@wlds.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

WEAI: weai@weai.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

###

Thanks to CCDI, and please share this ACTION ALERT and let our thoughts and voices be heard...TY

Illinois : Group preps for Oct. 24, 2011 Jacksonville Developmental Center hearing

2011-10-13T07:27:00.000-07:00

A five-hour “marathon” meeting requires planning.

That’s why a group of concerned people met Wednesday to discuss ways to mobilize the community in its effort to save the Jacksonville Developmental Center at an Oct. 24 hearing.

The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability will hold a hearing at 5 p.m. Oct. 24 at Illinois College’s Bruner Recreation Center, 1121 Edgehill Road. The meeting is expected to last several hours — at least five, according to Lonnie Johns, who was involved in a similar effort to save the Jacksonville Developmental Center 25 years ago — and buses will be there to transport people from other parking areas.

The Jacksonville Developmental Center employs about 420 people, who provide round-the-clock care for an estimated 200 people with developmental disabilities. Gov. Pat Quinn has suggested closing it and other state facilities by the end of February.

About 35 people showed up on Wednesday, representing a broad spectrum of Jacksonville residents — educators, religious representatives, state employees, city officials and representatives for state politicians.

Ideally, the group wants to see 2,000 people attend the hearing.

“If we show up with just 200 people, it looks like we don’t care,” said Michael Dillion, AFSCME Council 31 staff representative.

The numbers are feasible, as a circulating petition has already garnered more than 18,000 signatures.

The goal is to present a petition with 20,000 signatures or more.

The group encourages different community groups to share their perspectives on the impact of the Jacksonville Developmental Center, including personal stories from residents’ relatives, from employees and also from business leaders regarding the impact the closure could have economically.

Jenny Geirnaeirt, Jacksonville alderman and legislative director at the district office of State Rep. Jim Watson, said she would prefer to have those who would like to speak at the hearing let them know.

AFSCME Council 31 Regional Director Jeff Bigelow was pleased with the response because the issues surrounding the proposal make it “a battle on many different fronts,” he said.

Politicians are about to enter into the Illinois fall veto session on Oct. 25 and a union arbitrator has ruled that closing the Jacksonville Developmental Center and other state facilities would violate a no-layoff agreement signed last year.

In addition to shuttering the center, Quinn proposed closing Tinley Park Mental Health Center, Singer Mental Health Center, Chester Mental Health Center, Jack Mabley Developmental Center, Logan Correctional Center and Illinois Youth Center in Murphysboro.

There has already been strong representation at some of the other hearings, Bigelow said.

About 350 people showed up at a hearing for the Singer Mental Health Center in Rockford and about 200 in Murphysboro for its hearing on the Illinois Youth Center.

Not only could the closing of the center impact those currently employed and the community as a whole, it could potentially traumatize evicted residents who do not adapt well to change and in many cases would be left with few places to go, Bigelow said.

On top of all that, the governor has announced no plans for how the people will get services if it closes at the end of February, Bigelow said.

Jeffery Lamb, a mental health technician at the Jacksonville Developmental Center, shared a story about a man he’s worked with in his 14 years there. It took 11 years, but after taking walks with him around the facilities, after crossing the street with him to get a soda and snack from the gas station, after reaching the point where they could sit in a restaurant together, the man was able to go to a group home.

“It does start to feel like family,” Lamb said. “You can’t work with these folks and not form an emotional attachment.”

This kind of attachment does not exist in nearly all private group homes, argues Bigelow, who has worked with developmental centers for most of his 25-year-tenure with AFSCME.

Dealing with many of the situations at these kinds of centers requires skill, ability and loving care, he said.

“As an employee, it’s nice to see the community response,” Lamb said. “It’s encouraging. If we can just get everybody here together, I think we can really make a difference. I think we can keep this open.”

#Source: My Journal Courier, Jacksonville IL : by JAKE RUSSELL

http://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/jdc-35794-oct-five.html

Illinois Closing Institutions is sensible : Opinions : William Gorman and Ruth Burgess Thompson Oct 2011

2011-10-13T06:11:00.000-07:00

William Gorman and Ruth Burgess Thompson: Closing 2 centers is sensible

The State Journal-Register | Springfield, IL - Opinions

Gov. Pat Quinn has proposed the closure of Mabley and Jacksonville developmental centers because of fiscal reasons. There are times when a fiscal crisis can provide an opportunity to do the right thing and also save money. This is one of them.

The Statewide Independent Living Council of Illinois and the Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Illinois support the closure of Mabley and Jacksonville developmental centers. The facts to support closure are overwhelming. Fourteen states have already closed all of their state institutions. Illinois institutionalizes more people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities than 48 other states with our eight state developmental centers.

Numerous national studies indicate that the vast majority of parents feel their loved ones are safer, healthier and have a higher quality of life in the community rather than in an institution.

We understand the fears of parents who have a loved one residing at Mabley and Jacksonville; however, with adequate transition funding, services can be provided in the community to meet their needs. We now have the opportunity to rectify this situation by re-allocating funds during the veto session, to ensure the smooth transition of individuals to the community.

A supplemental appropriation may also be needed next year since the savings from the closure of an institution lag one to two years behind the closure. Rates of reimbursement for community providers should be increased to ensure a smooth transition for individuals leaving the developmental centers into the community.

We urge the legislature to support sufficient funding to rebalance Illinois’ system of service provision toward community services.

The other concern frequently raised in opposition to the closure of the state institutions relates to the loss of state employee jobs. The reality is that as jobs in the institutions are reduced, new jobs will be created in the community. Therefore, the net job loss will be minimal.

There is a reason that 14 states have closed all of their state institutions and this is not based on programmatic or quality of life considerations alone. It also happens to be true that community services, in general, are also more cost effective than institutional services.

The average cost of an Illinois state institution is $181,700 per person per year while the average Community Integrated Living Arrangement cost is $52,454. Therefore, in this time of fiscal austerity, how can we justify the continuing existence of these two developmental centers?

We hear time and time again the need to reduce government expenditures. We can no longer justify, fiscally or programmatically, the continued operations of Mabley and Jacksonville.

William Gorman is executive director of the Statewide Independent Living Council of Illinois.

Ruth Burgess Thompson is executive director of the Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Illinois.

#Source: The State Journal-Register Oct 13, 2011

Copyright 2011 The State Journal-Register. Some rights reserved

http://www.sj-r.com/opinions/x95961140/William-Gorman-and-Ruth-Burgess-Thompson-Closing-2-centers-is-sensible

Tasting Event to Benefit People with Disabilities - Rolling Meadows, IL on Oct 24, 2011

2011-10-13T06:09:00.000-07:00

Countryside Association for People with Disabilities will host the 7th annual Recipe for Success at The Meadows Club in Rolling Meadows on Monday, October 24th. This popular culinary-based fundraising event will feature food and drink samples from dozens of area restaurants. Other event activities include a live and silent auction, a 50/50 raffle, live music by the Bruce Blanck Quartet, and other special surprises. Recipe for Success is open to the public and kicks off at 5:30 PM.

Individual tickets are available for $75 each and can be purchased online; you can also purchase a table of 10 for the discounted price of $675. $40 of each ticket price is tax-deducible and all proceeds from the event will support the program participants of Countryside Association for People with Disabilities, a 58-year-old agency that supports children and adults with developmental disabilities who reside in northern Cook and Lake County.

This year’s participating restaurants include Dinner by Design, Egg Harbor Café, El Torero Mexican Restaurant & Bar, Enzo & Lucia Ristorante, Francesca’s Famiglia, Hugo’s Frog Bar & Chop House, Indulge Cheesecakes, Kyriaki – A Greek Eatery, Morkes Chocolates, Rivers Casino Restaurant, Season’s 52 and more! For a complete listing, visit www.countrysideassn.org. Event sponsors include BMO Harris Bank, Xerox Corporation, American Family Insurance, United Healthcare and Advanced Data Technologies, Inc.

Each year, the programs that Recipe for Success supports decrease the number of individuals with disabilities who are unnecessarily institutionalized and increase their autonomy, access to independence and participation in their community. Countryside Association develops work opportunities and job training to reduce unemployment, as nearly all program participants Countryside supports fall below the poverty line. They agency also offers support to help individuals and their families maintain community independence and remain in less restrictive, less costly residences. Planned and emergency in-home respite services are available to families that support children and adults with disabilities when caregivers must leave the home. And, Countryside also offers healthy, individualized activities each day to persons with severe disabilities and seniors in our community centers to combat social isolation and compensate for any age-related decline. Find us on YouTube to learn more!

So mark your calendars and tell your friends to stop by The Meadows Club (2950 W. Golf Road, Rolling Meadows) to learn a little bit about a wonderful cause and, more importantly, enjoy some awesome cuisine and place bids on some fabulous prizes! For more information, please contact Countryside Association for People with Disabilities at (847) 540-3705, visit www.countrysideassn.org, or email info@countrysideassn.org.

About Countryside Association for People with Disabilities

Through a continuum of services and supports—at facilities in Palatine and Waukegan, Illinois—Countryside Association serves over 650 children and adults with disabilities and their families who reside in northern Cook and Lake Counties. The agency operates on the opinion that people with disabilities have a wealth of potential as employees, community members, volunteers, friends, and next door neighbors. Countryside is committed to providing choices and opportunities for individuals to reach their goals of independence, employment, and full participation in their community. To find out more about Countryside, visit our website or find us on Facebook

For Countryside Association for People with Disabilities:

http://www.countrysideassn.org/

#Source: Trib Local By Amy Barker - Oct 12, 2011

http://triblocal.com/lake-zurich/community/stories/2011/10/tasting-event-to-benefit-people-with-disabilities/

PACE RELEASES PROPOSED 2012 BUDGET - Bus Service & Paratransit : Oct 12, 2011

2011-10-12T16:41:00.000-07:00

PACE Suburban Bus PROPOSED 2012 BUDGET

Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 12, 20114:00:00 PM

Media Release Office: (847) 228-4295

Contact: Patrick Wilmot (847) 228-4295

No fare increases or service cuts included in budget as public hearings begin October 17

The Pace Board of Directors officially released the agency's 2012 budget for public review and comment, with the first of 13 public hearings beginning next week. Despite the struggling economy, the agency plans no fare increases or service reductions in its balanced budget for the second straight year.

"We've been aggressively containing our costs and restructuring service to maximize efficiency," said Pace Chairman of the Board Richard Kwasneski. "The actions we've taken in recent years have put us in good position to release a positive budget message- one that not only calls for no negative impacts on riders, but increases service in some areas."

The Suburban Services operating budget, which includes fixed route bus service, vanpool and Dial-a-Ride service, totals $195 million and includes some new service to be implemented in late 2011 and early 2012. These include two new Call-n-Ride routes in the Wheaton/Winfield and St. Charles/Geneva areas, additional trips on I-55 express service, and a federally-funded route connecting the southwest suburbs with employment centers near OHare Airport and in the northwest suburbs.

The Regional ADA Paratransit budget is set at $126.6 million to provide complementary transportation to people with disabilities in Chicago and the suburbs. The RTA has set contingencies on funding requiring Pace to implement certain efforts to increase efficiency on the service in Chicago. These include setting trip reservation hours to regular business hours and continuing progress toward implementation of a centralized dispatch system.

Thirteen public hearings have been scheduled regionally throughout the city and suburbs, and take place October 17-27. For the first time, Pace will host an online webinar to provide access to those unable to attend a hearing. Details and registration are available at www.pacebus.com. "Our budget message is very positive this year, but we still encourage people to participate in the public hearing process," said Kwasneski. "We're always interested in hearing ideas on how we can improve." The budget document is available at public hearings and has been distributed to municipalities and libraries to be made available to the public. It can also be downloaded from Pace's website. Those unable to attend the hearings can submit written comments to Pace Government Affairs, 550 West Algonquin Road, Arlington Heights, IL 60005 or through the Public Hearings section of www.pacebus.com.

# # #

Pace, the Suburban Bus Division of the RTA

Public Hearing on Pace's Proposed 2012 Operating and Capital Programs,

2012-2014 Financial Plan for Operations, 2012-2016 Capital Plan.

Notice is hereby given that Pace, the Suburban Bus Division of the Regional Transportation Authority, is holding public hearings on its proposed program and budget for the year 2012 (January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012), the operating financial plan for 2012-2014, and the capital plan for 2012-2016.

Pace proposes a balanced and stable budget for 2012 as no fare increases or service reductions are anticipated for Suburban Service or Regional ADA Paratransit.

RTA funding for Regional ADA Paratransit service is contingent upon Pace’s pursuit of centralized dispatch and reduction of paratransit reservation hours to normal business hours. Pace proposes reservation hours from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Any person wishing to comment on the proposed budget may present views orally at the public hearings or by submitting written material on or before the last date of the hearings, which is Thursday, October 27, 2011, or by accessing our website at www.pacebus.com in the “Public Hearing Comment Form” area. Copies of the proposed program and budget are available for public inspection at:

• Pace

• 550 West Algonquin Road

• Arlington Heights, Illinois

• 60005-4412

Individuals with disabilities who plan to attend these hearings and who require certain accommodations other than transportation in order to allow them to observe and/or participate in these meetings, are requested to contact Pace at (847) 364-7223 option 3 (voice) or (847) 364-5093 (TTY) ten days prior to the scheduled meeting.

Budget information will be available at most public libraries, as well as townships, city and village offices in the six county Pace region. You can also view the document via the Internet at www.pacebus.com by clicking on “About Pace” and selecting the link “Annual Budget,” followed by “2012 Annual Budget Document.” Pace will conduct a Webinar on the 2012 Budget on Friday, October 14, 2011 from 10:00 am to 10:30 am. Participants can register at www.pacebus.com.

Public Hearing Locations, Dates and Times follow:

Dates and Locations

City of Chicago:

Monday, October 24, 2011

City of Chicago (North) Budget Public Hearing

11:00 am –1:00 pm

Sulzer Regional Library

4455 N. Lincoln

Chicago, IL 60625

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

City of Chicago (West) Budget Public Hearing

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Garfield Park Conservatory

Community Room

300 North Central Park Ave.

Chicago, Illinois 60624

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

City of Chicago (Southwest) Budget Public Hearing

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Arturo Velasquez

Westside Tech. Inst.

2800 S. Western Ave.

Chicago, IL 60608

Thursday, October 27, 2011

City of Chicago (South) Budget Public Hearing

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Olive Harvey College

Cafeteria

10001 S. Woodlawn

Chicago, IL 60628

Suburban:

Monday, October 17, 2011

Lake County Public Hearing

4:00pm - 6:00pm

Waukegan Public Library

Bradbury Room (lower level)

128 N. County Street

Waukegan, IL 60085

Monday, October 17, 2011

North Cook County Public Hearing

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Pace Headquarters

Board Room

550 W. Algonquin Road

Arlington Heights, IL 60005

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

McHenry County Public Hearing

4:30 pm – 6:00 pm

Crystal Lake Municipal

Complex, Council Chambers

100 W. Woodstock St.

Crystal Lake, IL 60014

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Will County Public Hearing

4:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Joliet Public Library

Meeting Rm. B (second level)

150 N. Ottawa St.

Joliet, IL 60432

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Kane County Public Hearing

4:30 pm -- 6:30 pm

Kane County Government Center

Auditorium, Ground Floor

719 S. Batavia Ave

Geneva, IL 60134

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Southwest Cook County Public Hearing

4:30 pm -- 6:30 pm

Oak Lawn Village Hall

Auditorium

9446 S. Raymond

Oak Lawn, IL 60453

Thursday, October 20, 2011

West Cook County Public Hearing

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Howard Mohr Community Center

7640 Jackson Blvd.

Forest Park, IL 60130

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

DuPage County Public Hearing

4:30 pm – 6:30 pm

DuPage County Government Center

Auditorium

421 N. County Farm Rd.

Wheaton, IL 60187

Thursday, October 27, 2011

South Cook County Public Hearing

4:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Homewood Village Hall

Board Room

2020 Chestnut

Homewood, IL 60430

If you have any questions, please contact Pace Customer Services at (847) 364-7223 "Option 3" (voice) or 847-364-5093 (TTY)

Danica Patrick Brings "COPD" to Capitol Hill : interview -article & video : Oct 13, 2011

2011-10-12T13:51:00.000-07:00

Racing star Danica Patrick visited Capitol Hill today to lobby for COPD, the respiratory disease that killed her grandmother and that’s been a major focus of Patrick’s work in the public-policy arena.

“I’m just here to use my platform as who I am, and obviously with my experience with it, to relate to those who do suffer from someone in their family having COPD — to try and urge them to do something about it,” Patrick told us on ABC’s “Top Line” today.

video platform video management video solutions video player

“I don’t know what government needs to do about it. But the bottom line is is that pure awareness is going to be enough to do something about this disease and change its statistics.”

Patrick joked that she didn’t “do so well in school on my Constitution test,” but said she’s gaining a new appreciation of how hard it is to move things along in Washington.

And she said she’s excited about focusing exclusively on NASCAR racing next year.

“We all do best when we’re doing something that we really, really enjoy and I just actually really love driving, and especially racing those cars,” she told us.

“You’re just gonna see a lot more of me, that’s for sure. There’s gonna be a lot more racing. But I think it’s gonna kinda bring out a racier side to me. In Indy car it’s — it’s not very good to bump, but in NASCAR it’s something that is pretty useful and it’s very self-policing out there.”

“Have you ever driven down the highway and you think to yourself, ‘man, I just want to bump this guy?’ Well, guess what? In stock cars, you can.”

#Source: ABC News By Rick Klein Oct 13, 2011

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/danica-patrick-brings-racier-side-to-capitol-hill/

The Red Kite Project - complementary link to watch Autism Documentary - Chicago Childrens Theatre

2011-10-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

(click above headline for Full Movie Presentation at IMDB) or http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi3221162265/

Preview

YouTube Uploaded by RascalsAndRogues on Feb 22, 2011

"The Red Kite Project" - a moving new documentary by award-winning filmmaker Kerry Shaw Brown.

The Red Kite Project follows Jacqueline Russell, the Artistic Director of Chicago Children's Theater, as she sets out to create the first interactive, multi-sensory theatrical performance installation for children with autism. Having spent 13 years volunteering in classrooms of autistic children, Russell's mission is to assemble a team of artists, educators and parents to create a program (The Red Kite Project) that brings joy, excitement and education tothe autistic children who need it. Brown captures her incredible and often challenging journey over a three year period, as she touches the lives of autistic children and families across Chicago, and offers a fascinating perspective on how the disorder affects those who come into contact with it and theimportant role that art can play in shedding more light on it.

The documentary came to fruition as a sort of happy accident for Brown, who initially connected with The Red Kite Project only to create video images for a test performance. As he learned more and more about the people involved in bringing to project together, he began to realize that he had stumbled upon something compelling. With a small but generous grant from The Children's Brain Research Foundation, Brown began filming. The finished product documents the program as its influence spreads across the US and the world, changing lives and education on the autistic landscape along the way.

The documentary was completed in the winter of 2011. It is available on Amazon and can also be viewed here. Brown is the Director of Rascals & Rogues, a Chicago-based production company.

Ability Chicago Response on Illinois Governor Quinn Announcement of Closure of State Institutions : Oct 12, 2011

2011-10-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

Thank You…

Governor, Pat Quinn, announced plans to reduce and restructure the number of state-operated facilities for people with developmental and psychological disabilities. This will result in the closure of:

• Singer Mental Health Center in Rockford

• Chester Mental Health Center in Chester

• Tinley Park Mental Health Center in Tinley Park

• Mabley Developmental Center in Dixon

• Jackson Developmental Center in Jacksonville

As the State of Illinois has found it more convenient to place People with Disabilities in Institutions, by Gov Quinn's action we as a State move forward on having the 'choice' of a Group Home.

For years so many advocates and originations have worked for this day to happen, we all owe these people our support and gratitude.

The ruling against the State of Georgia in the case Olmstead v. L.C and E.W; the 1999 U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the right of individuals with disabilities to live in their own community.

As the cost to institution an individual is more then double to offer a Group Home setting, with the proper support system in effect. With Illinois participating in a CMS-funded Money Follows the Person demonstration grant for a number of years. In providing these grant funds, CMS intent was to change the biased thinking that has made states like Illinois to Institutionalize Individuals, instead of allowing people with disabilities to participate in there communities and to live there lives to the best of there 'Abilities'.

While there is a very organized opposition to the closure of the above 5 Institutions, we need to be just as organized in our support for those individuals that want to live in there own communities, with group homes with the proper support system in place.

________________________________________

Our friends at the Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Illinois (CCDI)

Have put together Talking Points for Legislative Calls/Emails on Closure; it is a pleasure to share the information CCDI has put together:

ACTION NEEDED NOW!

Proposed closure of two Developmental Centers

The Governor has proposed closing Jacksonville and Mabley Developmental Centers and anti-closure forces are rallying to stop him. Please email or call members of the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability and let them know that people with developmental disabilities CAN AND SHOULD be served in the community, not in institutions! Tell them both institutions must be closed with a reasonable plan to transition residents safely into community based settings where possible.

Also, talk with your own representatives, especially if you live in the districts that include those two centers (Jacksonville and Dixon).

COGFA MEMBERS ARE:

NAME EMAIL PHONE

*Jeffrey Schoenberg jschoenberg@senatedem.ilga.gov

(217) 782-2119

*Michael Frerichs frerichs@senatedem.illinois.gov (217) 782-2507

*Matt Murphy senatormattmurphy@gmail.com

(217) 782-4471

*Suzi Schmidt statesenatorschmidt@gmail.com (217) 782-7353

*Dave Syverson info@senatordavesyverson.com

(217) 782-5413

*Donne Trotter senatortrotter@yahoo.com

(217) 782-3201

*Patricia Bellock rep@pbellock.com

(217) 782-1448

*Kevin McCarthy Kevmac37@sbcglobal.net

(217) 782-3316

*Elaine Nekritz enekritz@repnekritz.org

(217) 558-1004

*Raymond Poe poer@housegopmail.state.il.us

(217) 782-0044

*Al Riley rep.riley38@sbcglobal.net

(217) 558-1007

*Michael Tryon mike@miketryon.com (217) 782-0432

REPRESENTATIVES WHOSE DISTRICTS INCLUDE JACKSONVILLE AND MABLEY:

NAME EMAIL PHONE

Mabley Developmental Center

*Senator Tim Bivins tim@timbivins.com 217-782-0180

*Representative Bill Mitchell repmitchell@earthlink.net 217-782-8163

Jacksonville Developmental Center

*Senator William (Sam) McCann SenatorSam@frontier.com

217- 782-8206

*Representative Jim Watson jimwatson@localnetco.com 217-782-1840

Frame this issue in your own words, but feel free to use any of the talking points or facts below:

TALKING POINTS ON CLOSING MABLEY & JACKSONVILLE

1. Everyone can live in the community with appropriate services and supports. For every one person in an institution who has severe disabilities, there are five people in the community just like them.

2. Illinois MUST develop and aggressively implement an Olmstead plan – Olmstead decision was in 1999. What other minority group would wait to realize their civil rights after a landmark decision? The state should have begun moving toward community supports twelve years ago.

3. The community knows how to support individuals who have lived in state institutions BUT money from closure of institutions MUST be re-allocated to community services and supports.

4. People with intellectual and other developmental disabilities live safer, healthier and fuller lives in small community settings.

5. Research shows that parental attitudes change after their loved ones move into small community settings.

6. Yes, people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities have moved backed into state institutions. That is a failure of the system, not a failure of that person.

7. There are now fourteen states without state institutions.

8. Illinois now has eight state institutions with about 1,975 residents.

9. The daily costs of an Illinois state institution is $ $181,700 per person per year, BUT the average Community Integrated Living Arrangement (CILA) cost is $52,454 according to the Division of Developmental Disabilities, March/2011

10. In 1998, there were 3,405 individuals in Illinois state institutions. In 2011 there are now 1,950 individuals in state institutions a 58% decrease. - The rest of the nation is trending away from institutionalization and toward community-based services and supports. More importantly, today families are not institutionalizing their children as they were urged to in the past. They are keeping them in their homes, or at least in their communities. It is probable that within the next two decades, there will be no families whatsoever institutionalizing their children and those who are currently living in institutions will have died. To continue to fund, let alone increase funding to institutions is fiscally irresponsible and not sustainable.

14 States Without State-Operated Institutions*

1. District of Columbia (1991)

2. New Hampshire (1991)

3. Vermont (1993)

4. Rhode Island (1994)

5. Alaska (1997)

6. New Mexico (1997)

7. West Virginia (1998)

8. Hawaii (1999)

9. Maine (1999)

10. Michigan (2009)

11. Oregon (2009)

12. Alabama (2012)

13. Minnesota (2000)

14. Indiana (2007)

* (Source) Challenges in Developmental Disabilities: State of the States, State of the Nation, 2011, D. Braddock, Ph.D., Arc US Convention.

Editorial Support for Community Services

Chicago Tribune, May 23, 2011

“Disability advocates say the state could save roughly $170 million by closing four of its eight institutions. This needs to happen in a way that’s least disruptive for the people at these institutions. But it needs to happen.”

State Journal-Register, May 22, 2011:

“For years, advocates for the developmentally disabled have tried, with very limited success, to persuade the state to move away from reliance on institutions and toward greater use of residential group homes and community programs for those with developmental disabilities.”

“Illinois must move out of the dark ages in treating its most vulnerable citizens.”

Pantagraph.com, May 22, 2011

“… the trend in recent years has been moving toward community-based settings – and Illinois lags far behind other states that have scaled back or eliminated state-run institutions for those with developmental disabilities.”

“It is a matter worthy of consideration – for financial as well as humanitarian reasons.”

Rockford Register Star, April 27, 2011

“Illinois has its priorities exactly backward.”

“ Is it any wonder why Illinois is ranked 51st in the nation for supporting citizens in their communities?

Chicago Sun-Times, June 15, 2011

“For a state looking to cuts costs wherever it can, moving away from expensive institutional care is imperative.”

“States that have seen the light have moved away from warehousing people with disabilities in large, residential facilities in favor of placing them in smaller, community-based settings.”

# For CCDI, please visit: http://www.ccdionline.org/index.html

State of Illinois Launches Free, One-on-One Medicare Counseling Sessions Statewide During Early Medicare Open Enrollment Season Oct 2011

2011-10-11T16:23:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 11, 2011

State Launches Free, One-on-One Medicare Counseling Sessions Statewide During Early Medicare Open Enrollment Season

Gov. Quinn Proclaims Oct 10th-15th as Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP) Week;

Highlights State’s Volunteer Effort to Help Elderly, Persons with Disabilities

CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Insurance today announced free counseling sessions at more than 25 locations statewide to help thousands of seniors and people with disabilities learn more about Medicare insurance coverage and how to apply for benefits. The Department’s Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP) volunteers will be on site to provide one-on-one assistance during the Medicare open-enrollment season, which this year falls on October 15th through December 7th. Governor Pat Quinn proclaimed this week, October 10 – 15, 2011, as “SHIP Week” in Illinois to applaud the volunteer effort and to help remind Medicare-eligible residents that open-enrollment begins sooner this year.

“Especially during the open enrollment season, many Illinois residents have questions about Medicare and how to apply for a plan that best meet their healthcare needs,” said Acting Director Jack Messmore. “I am proud of the dedicated SHIP volunteers who help seniors and people with disabilities navigate through the Medicare application process and towards obtaining necessary healthcare coverage.”

SHIP assists Illinoisans who have questions about or problems with Medicare, Medicare supplemental insurance, Medicare Advantage Plans (HMO, PPO, and PFFS), Medicare claims and appeals, prescription drug coverage through Medicare and other sources, and long term care insurance. Throughout the year, hundreds of trained SHIP volunteers staff 204 sites in every county to help elderly residents learn more about available Medicare insurance options. Since SHIP’s inception, volunteers have provided nearly 700,000 hours of counseling, assisted more than 900,000 clients, and saved Medicare beneficiaries an estimated $75 million in customer service costs.

In addition to the year-round services provided by SHIP volunteers, the Illinois Department of Insurance is conducting a series of free, one-on-one counseling sessions throughout the state to assist Medicare-eligible individuals with the Medicare open-enrollment season, which runs this year from October 15th – December 7th.

A list of upcoming SHIP events during open-enrollment season is available on the Department’s website at:

http://insurance.illinois.gov/SHIP/

or by calling the SHIP toll-free hotline at (800) 548-9034.

Taco Bell Found In Violation Of Disability Law : Oct 2011

2011-10-11T16:17:00.000-07:00

A federal judge has ruled that Taco Bell violated federal and California laws protecting the disabled from discrimination at its restaurants.

U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland is now deciding what improvements the company must make to its 220 stores in California and how much the fast-food chain must pay the thousands of customers represented in the lawsuit who use wheelchairs and scooters.

Taco Bell could appeal the ruling. Company spokesman Rob Poetsch declined comment because the lawsuit was still pending.

The customers are represented by several disability rights organizations and Tim Fox, a Denver lawyer who filed a similar lawsuit against Taco Bell in Colorado. Taco Bell settled that lawsuit in 2000 by agreeing to improve its existing restaurants and include disabled access in new buildings.

Hamilton's ruling Wednesday stems from a class-action lawsuit disabled customers filed in December 2002. They alleged California stores failed to provide proper handicap parking, wheelchair accessible tables and restrooms and other accommodations for the disabled that are required by state and federal laws.

Taco Bell argued that it had fixed many of the alleged violations over the last nine years, including complying with a 2007 order from the judge to fix problems with its lines, doors and tables.

But the judge said the company was still out of compliance in several areas and "is not currently following its own access policies, and has a history of not doing so." She said Taco Bell managers failed to follow internal policies to inspect the store before it opened each morning to ensure it was in compliance with disability laws.

Hamilton's ruling came after a weeklong trial in June conducted without a jury. The trial focused on a single store in San Pablo as an "examplar" of all company-owned stores in California.

Taco Bell is owned by Louisville, Ky.-based Yum Brands Inc.

#Source: Associated Press By PAUL ELIAS; Oct. 07, 2011

One mom's battle to protect her child with disabilities from bullying & The Kindness of Fourth Graders : article

2011-10-11T06:19:00.000-07:00

A child who looks, or behaves, differently from his peers is—inevitably, it seems—the target of teasing and other unkindnesses (small and large) on the part of those peers. It's painful for the child and can make parents, witnessing this suffering, feel powerless. But one mother we know, Michaela Searfoorce, decided to try the direct approach. After her son James, who has a host of physical and developmental issues, had an embarrassing accident during recess, she sat down with the kids in his class and leveled with them—about her worries that they'd make fun of him, about why it happened, about why he does some of the other odd things he does. The result? They asked great, honest questions, listened carefully to the answers, and showed welcome compassion. Here's her story.

Written By Michaela Searfoorce

As I made my way to my son James's school on Friday afternoon I tried to imagine what magic spell I could recite to his classmates to make them all forget about Wednesday's incident (description to follow). Do you ever wonder what other kids think about your special needs child? This is not actually something I dwell on often, but standing in front of 22 very curious faces I wondered what questions were about to come my way, and hoped that I would be able to answer them both honestly and appropriately (I really didn't want to say "poop" or "megacolon" in front of a bunch of fourth graders).

I started off by explaining why I was there—I told James's class that he didn't know I had come but that I was worried about sending James back to school after what happened on Wednesday and wanted to make sure it was safe for him to come back. I told the kids that I was concerned about what might be said to James and that I didn't want him to be made fun of for something that was outside of his control. I gave a brief explanation of James's disability and related medical issues that led to Wednesday's disaster, and also talked with them about James's past surgeries and his history with intestinal issues. Then, I opened up the floor for questions—regarding Wednesday or James in general. Here are just a few of the questions I was asked:

Q. What happened Wednesday? Why did James not know what to do?

A. James may not have been able to tell you, but as his mom I know what was going on inside of him. James had an extremely busy week with you guys—dance performances, field day, field trips, testing—and because of his crazy schedule his medication didn't work properly and James was not able to go to the bathroom for nearly 2 weeks [there was a collective gasp at this pronouncement, especially from the boys]. On Wednesday his body did not cooperate with him and James couldn't make it to a bathroom in time. He didn't know what to do because he was outside and far away from a bathroom.

Q. Is James upset at home?

A. Not really. Thankfully, James forgot about what happened by the time we got home—he forgets about things very quickly sometimes. I am hoping you will help him forget about it.

Q. Why does James make weird faces and tip his head sometimes?

A. James's brain works differently than yours or mine and sometimes he is thinking about something and acting it out in his mind. You know how you can keep your thoughts secret from people if you want to? James can't do that sometimes.

Q. What kind of surgery did James have?

A. He has had a lot of surgeries—on his eyes, stomach, teeth, legs.

Q. Did it hurt when they did surgery?

A. No, because they gave him a shot that made him sleep through all of them, kind of like when you go to the dentist.

Q. Why does James spin in circles a lot?

A. Sometimes when it is really chaotic or loud James likes to spin in circles to deal with all of the noise. Other times he likes to spin because it feels good to him.

Q. I had that same kind of surgery and sometimes my eyes get tired and they go like "this."

A. That's what happens when James's eyes get tired, too.

Q. Why does James get mad when I say "good job"? Why does James get mad when I try to help him?

A. James may have not been able to tell you, but as his mom I am pretty sure that he isn't usually mad, even if he looks like he is. When James gets mad he is usually one of 3 things—scared, frustrated, or embarrassed. Sometimes when you say "good job" James is feeling frustrated or embarrassed that he can't do whatever you guys are doing—dance, gym, math—as well as you, and he thinks you are teasing him or just feels upset that he can't do those things. He is embarrassed to have you help him because he wants to do it himself.

Q. What can we do to make him not feel embarrassed?

A. Act like you don't notice that he is not doing it the same as you—all he wants is to fit in with the group.

Q. Is it serious?

A. [After some clarification from the teacher:] As long as James takes his medicine and sees his doctors he should be just fine.

Q. Why does James make noises like "this"?

A. James sometimes doesn't realize he is making noises, and other times he can't help it. Sometimes when he is stressed out or excited he makes noises—the noises help calm him down. It is better if you just ignore them.

Q. Why does James cry at popping noises?

A. This is a very serious thing I want to address [I spoke to the whole class but everyone knew I was really talking to a handful of kids in the class]. I understand that there have been some popping incidents during lunch, where people are popping chip bags at James. This must stop. James's ears are shaped differently on the inside and popping noises scare him because they really hurt his head on the inside. They hurt James like he is being hit [I made some good eye contact here]. If James were given a million dollars inside of bubble wrap he would throw it in the garbage [there was a huge gasp from the class at this revelation] because popping is so horrible to him. We can't have balloons or anything else that might pop in our house because we don't want to hurt or scare him. When something pops near James it feels like he was hit in the head, that's how much it hurts. So if you are popping chip bags at James, it is the same as if you hit him. Popping is hitting.

Q. How can we help James? What can we do when he is upset?

A. You can help him by being his friend, and by acting like he is just one of the group. You can pretend not to notice the ways he is different from you, the noises he makes, or the "weird faces." Instead of asking what's wrong you can act like you don't know he's about to cry and let him recover by himself so that he doesn't feel embarrassed. You can protect him from other children at lunch and recess if he is having trouble understanding the rules to a game or if they are making fun of him for doing unusual things by inviting him to hang out with you.

Q. One time I fell off the stage and had an accident in front of everyone.

A. I bet you felt scared and embarrassed too. [Nod.] So you especially know how James felt last week at recess. [Nod.]

Q. Why couldn't James walk to the bathroom on Wednesday? Was he paralyzed?

A. He wasn't paralyzed but his insides kind of were. James couldn't get to the bathroom because his stomach hurt so badly he couldn't walk. You know how your insides hold everything inside for you so you have time to get to the bathroom without an accident? Sometimes James's body doesn't do that for him, and there is nothing he can do about it. Can you imagine how much it would hurt if you couldn't go to the bathroom for 2 weeks? [Lots of nods.]

Q. What can we do to help on Monday when he comes back?

[This was asked about 15 different times and ways, and I answered the same way with slight variations each time.]

A. The best thing you can do for James is to pretend like nothing ever happened, because James has already forgotten about it. All James needs to be happy is a bunch of good friends. James is not worried about coming back Monday because he doesn't know what happened is such a big deal anymore. I am worried as his mom that he will be made fun of, so I need your promise that you will not mention what happened on Wednesday and that you will tell a teacher if you hear anyone giving James a hard time, especially at lunch or recess. [A classroom full of thumbs up went into the air.]

It was 3:00 and almost every child still had their hand in the air though I had been answering questions for an hour. The minute the session was "closed" I was swarmed by children who were eager to touch my 8 month old, who I had brought along for the meeting. Children were touching his cheeks and holding his hands, while others were bringing up classwork and pictures to show me. I could barely get out of the room for them to pack up—I must admit, I felt like the popular kid (it was probably the baby) and I hoped that I could pass off some of my popularity onto James.

Yesterday I sent James to school with one change of clothes and no small amount of anxiety. I felt that my meeting with the children had gone well. The teachers and administration had been nothing short of supportive, amazing, kind, helpful, wonderful, and amazing (seriously, this does not even begin to do justice to how amazing they were). BUT, James had not "gone to the bathroom" since the incident. Even with the new meds. Ugh.

Despite my worrying, there were no calls during the day, and when I came to get him after school he looked relaxed and happy. The teachers said he had a great day and James came up to inform me that "Kasia was his best friend today." Other children said hi to the babies and all was well. I instantly felt about 10 pounds lighter.

It looks like I underestimated the kids. So, fourth graders everywhere but especially in class 318, please accept my apology for not giving you enough credit to take information and use it for good. I hope one of you gets to read this at some point a few years from now—no matter what else you have done up to that point, I hope that you will be able to find out what a difference you made in someone else's life. James may not have been able to tell you, but as his mom I am telling you how grateful we both are for your help, support, and kindness.

###

This piece is reprinted from thefoorce.com, Michaela Searfoorce's blog, on which she helps connect parents of special needs kids to resources and events in the New York area, and also shares her experiences. Here's what she says about James: "James is an amazing 10 year old boy in a 4th grade CTT class on the UWS. His main diagnosis is a rare chromosome defect which has resulted in numerous medical issues, global developmental and physical delays, and labels such as PDD-NOS, Sensory Integration Dysfunction and ADD. Despite multiple surgeries since birth and new challenges every year, James is generally a very happy, affectionate child and brings a smile to the faces of nearly everyone he meets."

Published: October 7, 2011

Illinois program offers disabled students a unique living environment : Oct 20, 2011

2011-10-11T06:18:00.000-07:00

We all strive to remain independent as best we can. For persons with disabilities this can be one of the major challenges they face daily. Yet, as five students from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign demonstrate, it can be done. The students have begun a collaborative blog, entitled The Fine Scholars, in which they (sometimes rather colorfully) share what it means to be a college student with special needs. You can visit the blog directly at http://www.thefinescholars.com/

The dialogue (although indescribably unique) was not what captured my attention. Instead, the back story of how these people came to know one another provided inspiration. The students are part of a unique residential program sponsored by the university. Known as Beckwith Residential Support Services, (BRSS), this initiative allows various offices on campus to support their students with disabilities. Created in 1981, as a stand-alone service, the primary goal has remained the same. Yet, the infrastructure has evolved tremendously. During 2010, Nugent Hall, a state of the art residence opened with items such as: keyless entry, fully-accessible technology suites, functional bathroom facilities, workout equipment and much more!

The initiative goes above and beyond physical access issues though. Also provided at Beckwith are academic, transportation, counseling, and personal assistance services (PAS). The PAS are provided on a scheduled basis by other university students specially trained by BRSS staff. In addition, there is a 24/7 staff member living in the residence hall should any student need services when their regular personal assistant is unavailable. Detailed information regarding the entire Beckwith Program can be found at http://www.disability.illinois.edu/living-accommodations/beckwith-residential-support-services-nugent-hall

For me, programs like this one are a major need. What are your thoughts? Would this work in other universities? Why or why not?

As always, thanks for reading!

On Twitter.com @dmorriso87

#Source: Wilmington Star News by David Morrison; Oct 10, 2011

http://disabilities.blogs.starnewsonline.com/11713/program-offers-disabled-students-in-illinois-unique-living-environment/?pa=all&tc=pgall

YouTube videos mentioned by Ability Chicago Info Blog

2011-10-10T06:36:00.000-07:00

For an easy review of recent, and past YouTube Videos posted with Ability Chicago Info Blog articles please visit;

http://www.youtube.com/social/blog/abilitychicagoinfo?feature=similar

The Coffee Klatch Radio Show: Parental empowerment & advocacy when raising a child with a disability

2011-10-10T06:19:00.000-07:00

SPECIAL NEEDS TALK RADIO

Visit our sister network with five new shows

There is nothing more empowering than confidence and there is no greater need for that empowerment than when raising a child with a disability.

The success and response to the programs on The Coffee Klatch has been overwhelming. Our guests are comprised of the most respected and admired in the world. The offering of a broad range of topics and children’s disorders has brought a unity among our followers with a greater understanding of our children, a greater respect for their parents and the acceptance and appreciation of the differences in both.

In an effort to continue providing outstanding broadcasts to the special needs community, Special Needs Coffee Klatch Ltd. has expanded with the addition of a sister network -‐ Special Needs Talk Radio. Our goal is to offer parents support, information and inspiration on their special needs journey by offering practical and focused educational parenting programming.

Become empowered, become confident, become the best parent you can be. Meet and learn from those who have dedicated their careers to treating, protecting and educating special needs children. Meet the parents who have walked in your shoes, understand your fears and are here to guide you.

Dr. Gary Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis, two of the most respected professionals in the special needs community, authors of Reading Disabilities: Beating The Odds will teach parents and professionals how they can help children develop their personal, social, emotional and academic abilities.

Elise Ronan, a special needs parent and advocate with Susan Cortilet, a life skills and college coaching specialist bring you into the real world of raising a child on the Autism spectrum from infancy to adulthood.

Jennifer Laviano, a special education attorney with Julie Swanson, a parent of a teenager with a disability and a Special Education Advocate unriddle the questions and anxiety surrounding Special Education Law and your child’s rights.

Nicole Eredics educator and founder of The Inclusive Class along with the incredible Terri Mauro author of 50 Ways to Support Your Child’s Special Education and The Everything Parent’s Guide To Sensory Integration Disorder help you create a sensory friendly classroom and world for your disregulated child.

Ariva Weiss and Ilana Danneman the incredible forces behind Fun and Function bring you the best Gizmos, Gadgets, Sensory Solutions, Apps, and Games to help your child calm, learn, overcome, communicate and have fun.

Talking Special Needs Network is committed to bringing you the same quality broadcasts and standard of excellence that you have come to expect from The Coffee Klatch.

# For The Coffee Klatch, please visit: http://thecoffeeklatch.com/

2011 Chicago Marathon Winner's of the Wheelchair portion : Tatyana McFadden of Illinois & Kurt Fearnley of Australia

2011-10-09T09:52:00.000-07:00

As Reported by Chicago Sun-Times Oct 9, 2011

Tatyana McFadden, 22, a student at the University of Illinois, won the women’s wheelchair portion. She was born in Russia and battles spina bifida. “It’s a tough course,” she told NBC5 after her win. “It wasn’t really windy.”

Kurt Fearnley of Australia. He was the Chicago Marathon champion in 2007, 2008 and 2009. He won the New York Marathon in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. He won the gold medal in the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing.

# For the full Sun Times article: http://www.suntimes.com/8120029-418/record-breaking-chicago-marathon-with-mosop-shobukhova-wins.html

Disability Policy: White House to Host State-Specific Calls About the American Jobs act and the FY2012 Budget on October 13 & 14, 2011

2011-10-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

On Friday, October 7, the White House released the following invitation:

Good morning,

Please join us for state-specific calls on Wednesday, October 12th, Thursday, October 13th and Friday, October 14th to talk about the American Jobs act and the FY2012 Budget.

Below is dial-in information for each state call. If you require captioning for any of the calls, please email sfeuerstein@who.eop.gov and put the following in the subject line of your email — "captioning required for state call"

In the body of your email, identify the state call for which you need captioning services.

These services only will be available for those who are deaf or hard of hearing. We will not maintain or provide transcripts of the calls.

Please email us by Monday, October 10th no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern in order for us to be able to arrange captioning services.

You can also visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/disabilities where you can keep up with what the Administration is doing for Americans with disabilities.

Please circulate to those in the specific states that you know may be interested in these calls.

If you did not receive this email and would like to be added to the White House disability distribution list to receive email updates and information, please email disability@who.eop.gov with your name, city, state, and organization.

Call Times — All Times are Eastern

Wednesday, October 12th:

New York American Jobs Act Call

•12 p.m. EDT

•Dial-in #: (800) 230-1093

Florida American Jobs Act Call FL

•2 p.m. EDT

•Dial-in #: (800) 288-8976

Thursday, October 13th:

Missouri American Jobs Act Call

•10 a.m. EDT

•Dial-in #: (800) 288-8960

Minnesota American Jobs Act Call

•10 a.m. EDT

•Dial-in #: (800) 230-1096

Illinois American Jobs Act Call

•11 a.m. EDT

•Dial-in #: (800) 288-8968

Massachusetts American Jobs Act Call

•1 p.m. EDT

•Dial-in #: (877) 258-1466

Maine American Jobs Act Call

•2 p.m. EDT

•Dial-in #: (800) 288-8968

Colorado American Jobs Act Call

•3 p.m. EDT

•Dial-in #: (800) 230-1085

Arizona American Jobs Act Call

•4 p.m. EDT

•Dial-in #: (800) 288-8960

Michigan American Jobs Act Call

•4 p.m. EDT

•Dial-in #: (800) 230-1092

Wisconsin American Jobs Act Call

•5 p.m. EDT

•Dial-in #: (800) 230-1093

Oregon American Jobs Act Call

•6 p.m. EDT

•Dial-in #: (800) 230-1059

Friday, October 14th:

Virginia American Jobs Act Call

•11 a.m. EDT

•Dial-in #: (800) 230-1092

Texas American Jobs Act Call

•12 p.m. EDT

•Dial-in #: (800) 288-8960

Ohio American Jobs Act Call

•2 p.m. EDT

•Dial-in #: (800) 230-1059

Pennsylvania American Jobs Act Call

•3 p.m. EDT

•Dial-in #: (800) 230-1074

New Jersey American Jobs Act Call

•4 p.m. EDT

•Dial-in #: (800) 230-1085

California American Jobs Act Call

•5 p.m. EDT

•Dial-in #: (800) 230-1074

Montana American Jobs Act

•6 p.m. EDT

•Dial-in #: (800) 230-1059

Wheelchair racer can’t wait for Chicago Marathon : article 2011

2011-10-09T05:53:00.000-07:00

{photo: Wheelchair marathon champion Amanda McGrory shares her winning spirit and words of advice to patients at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago on Thursday. | John H. White~Sun-Times}

Amanda McGrory gets itchy if she spends too much time out of her racing wheelchair.

“I was in the Cayman Islands on vacation scuba diving three weeks ago, and I’m down there thinking, ‘This is so nice, but I really wish I could just go for a push,’” said McGrory, who’ll defend her Bank of America Chicago Marathon title on Oct. 9.

McGrory, bent forward at the waist and pushing for dear life, is seeking her fourth wheelchair gold medal here — and its $5,000 purse.

“I’m actually living off of prize money,” said McGrory, 25, while sharing some inspiring words with a group of disabled people at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago Thursday.

She just bought a condo near her alma mater, the University of Illinois, where she trains.

Wheelchair racers start the marathon 10 minutes ahead of the runners.

McGrory can be found wheeling up and down the ramps at the Illini football stadium, or hanging upside down by her ankles while climbing stairs with her hands on one of the many contraptions at the school’s workout facility designed for disabled people.

There are war wounds on her hands, which operate inches from spinning carbon spokes that resemble the blades of a lawnmower. Her 80-pound frame atop her 19-pound wheelchair has reached downhill speeds nearing 50 miles an hour. Her specially designed wheelchair costs $5,000 but is worthless during the four minutes it takes her to change a flat. And the fact her wheelchair is pink probably doesn’t help the egos of the men she regularly competes with, and sometimes beats, while training.

Her trophy shelf includes gold, silver and bronze medals in wheelchair events from the Paralympic Games in Beijing.

“I’m really happy with where I am today, and don’t think I would change anything even if I had the option to,” said McGrory, who’s best marathon time is 1:39:30.

But it’s been a long journey since the day she woke up at age 5, waddled downstairs to the couch and never walked again. She was diagnosed with acute transverse myelitis, a disease that can suddenly attack the spine.

“I was feeling pretty lost and alone in the world. All of my friends could walk and they were riding their skateboards and their bikes,” said McGrory. Things changed at age 7, when she attended a camp for kids with disabilities and saw what they accomplished.

“As soon as I found racing ... my life did a complete 180,” said McGrory, who noted that Oct. 19, the 20th anniversary of the day she last walked, is fast approaching.

“Maybe I’ll make a cake,” she said.

#Source: Chicago Sun-Times BY mitch dudek mdudek; Aug 25, 2011

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/7280546-418/wheelchair-racer-cant-wait-for-chicago-marathon.html

"Girl, Interrupted" Movie Presentation: A teenager is wrongly institutionalized amid the social upheaval of the 1960s:

2011-10-08T18:51:00.000-07:00

From Crackle: Girl, Interrupted

http://www.crackle.com/c/Girl_Interrupted/Girl_Interrupted/2485258/

A superbly acted and thought-provoking flight over the cuckoo’s nest that netted Angelina Jolie an Oscar.

Crackle Movies, TV Shows & Original programs, visit:

http://www.crackle.com/

*When the movie is removed from Crackle, it no longer will appear here, enjoy while we can, TY, Crackle..

One-Stop website - overview of the services available to people with developmental disabilities in each state OCT 2011

2011-10-08T06:22:00.000-07:00

Welcome!

The Medicaid Reference Desk is a tool to help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities find out what Medicaid can offer them.

It is a project of The Arc and the Administration on Developmental Disabilities.

The Person-Centered Planning Toolkit:

Download the toolkit (pdf):

http://www.thedesk.info/downloads/PersonCenteredPlanningToolkit.pdf

Contact The Medicaid Reference Desk

1825 K Street NW, Suite 1200

Washington, DC 20006

(800) 433-5255 | All rights reserved. ©2011

contact@thedesk.info

#Source: http://www.thedesk.info/

Housing Action Illinois' October 2011 Newsletter

2011-10-08T06:01:00.000-07:00

Housing Action Illinois' Housing Matters! Annual Conference & 25th Anniversary Celebration

It's not too late to take advantage of the Early Bird registration for the

Housing Matters! 25th Annual Conference & Celebration. Don't miss out on the state's largest gathering of affordable housing professionals and the opportunity to attend workshops on the latest housing issues and the chance to network with colleagues in the field!

Visit:http://www.housingactionil.org/conference to view schedule and register online.

State Budget Update

Once again, Illinois has seen a drastic cut in the budget. Fiscal year 2012 shows a 52% reduction for the Emergency and Transitional Housing program and a 38% reduction for the Homeless Prevention Program. Programs across the state are feeling the impact:

The City of Chicago terminated its overnight emergency services shift for the homeless and laid off 24 employees in the Department of Family and Support Services.

Helping Hands of Springfield has had to reduce their daytime hours and no longer offers showers and other services to people who do not have a bed at their shelter.

West Suburban PADS was forced to delay the annual opening for their shelter by two weeks.

The City of Chicago decided to stop accepting new clients into the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program, which will phase out within the next six to nine months.

During the upcoming fall veto session, Housing Action and our partners will work together to advocate for funding to be restored to the Homeless Prevention Program and Emergency and Transitional Housing program.

Federal Budget Update

Continuing Resolution is in effect until November 18 because once again, the beginning of a new federal fiscal year started on October 1 without the House and Senate coming to an agreement on a federal budget.

The Senate Appropriations Committee and the House Appropriations Subcommittee both passed their own budgets for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Both bills cut HUD funding by more than 5% as required by the deficit reduction legislation passed earlier this year.

The proposed budget impacts a wide span of programs and people, including approximately 42,000 households who currently have Housing Choice Vouchers; if Tenant Based Rental Assistance Contract renewals are funded at the House level, these households could face homelessness. Other programs negatively impacted by the proposed budgets include the Public Housing Capital Fund, the Section 202 Housing for the Elderly program and the Section 811 Housing for People with Disabilities program.

A letter penned by the National Low Income Housing Coalition was sent to Congressional leaders urging them to increase the allocation for HUD programs in the final fiscal year 2012 appropriations bill on September 30.

You can read more about the budget crisis at http://www.housingmatters.net/takeaction.asp?aaid=5529, and don't forget to add yourself to the HousingMatters.net to stay in the know.

HUD Updates

HUD-VETERANS AFFAIRS SUPPORTIVE HOUSING:

In September, HUD issued two policy notice revisions to HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) vouchers.

The first notice addresses the number of vouchers that a Public Housing Authority (PHA) can project base. Previously, HUD stated that it would approve PHAs that wished to project base their HUD-VASH vouchers on a case-by-case basis. With this revision, the number is no longer limited to half of the allocation, however the vouchers must be counted with project-based housing choice vouchers when determining that no more than 20% of the PHA’s voucher budget authority is project based. The notice also requires a PHA to document its ability to provide a HUD-VASH voucher to families that occupy project-based units but want to move.

The second notice revised operating and reporting requirements when households want to use their HUD-VASH voucher in a different geographic area. The revision ensures that the vouchers remain available to homeless veteran households upon turnover. It also directs PHAs that experience a funding shortfall and choose to recall or stop issuing vouchers to terminate HUD-VASH special purpose vouchers last, and should they resume issuing vouchers, to serve families of homeless veterans first.

More information can be found at http://pschousing.org/news/hud-issues-hud-vash-voucher-notices

McKINNEY-VENTO HOMELESS ASSISTANCE GRANTS:

In the third quarter of 2010, Illinois ranked fourth in the nation among foreclosures, totaling 47,802 properties. In an effort to combat these outrageous numbers, the State Housing Task Force created the Foreclosure Working Group,which will receive administrative and financial support from the Illinois Housing Development Authority.

Representatives of this group range from government officials to non-profit directors, homeowners impacted by the foreclosure crisis to policy advocates, and academic professors to lending institutions. The Foreclosure Work Group has two primary focus areas: foreclosure impact and housing education and outreach. Specific duties include:

Monitor emerging housing problems and make recommendations.

Oversee actions to prevent foreclosures and mitigate their impact on local communities.

Oversee and provide insight about the rebuilding process caused by the housing crisis.

Provide a comprehensive and holistic approach to the rebuilding process.

Housing Action's Executive Director, Sharon Legenza was nominated to co-chair the task force. We'll be sure to keep you updated with the Foreclosure Working Group's success stories!

WE NEED YOUR HELP:

Between now and mid-November, we need to advocate for support for funding of housing counseling at $60 million, especially in the House. If you haven't already, please reach out to your House member to let them know about the impact of no funding for housing counseling on your agency and the clients you serve. If you have reports from any of your outreach, or if you want help doing outreach, please contact Bob Palmer, Housing Action's Policy Director at 312-939-6074 x. 206 or bob@housingactionil.org.  

Upcoming Training Opportunities

Our intention is to host a two-person panel to introduce CNT’s Housing and Transportation (H+T®) Affordability Index and to discuss how it has been implemented to improve affordable housing decisions. We will present two case studies, one from our work The Housing Trust in Santa Fe, NM and one from our work with the Illinois Housing Development Authority, and discuss the lessons we have learned from these efforts. The case studies will form the basis of recommendations for how housing counselors, housing developers and public officials can use the H+T Index to improve affordable housing decision.

Housing Action will also host an end of the year peer-to-peer round up, tentatively slated for December. For more information on either of the events listed, please contact Erica Page Muhammad at 312-939-6074 x 108 or erica@housingactionil.org.

Caravan

From August 29 – 30, 2011, members of Housing Action Illinois’ Board of Directors and staff held a stakeholders meeting and visited organizations in the Southern Illinois Region as part of our sixth annual Caravan. Each stop included a discussion on local housing issues in Southern Illinois specific to rural agencies and potential solutions.

Almost 40 individuals representing nonprofits, government, and business came together to discuss the state of housing in their communities. Cynthia Struthers of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University presented on the impact of the US Census on Southern Illinois. While many issues were identified at the meeting’s open dialogue, issues revolving around mobile home owners and landlords not being held accountable for making imperative repairs were revisited the most during the discussion. Solutions brainstormed included increasing community education with municipal leaders, landlords, lenders, etc. and participation in the federal government’s Request for Information. The meeting concluded with a discussion on effective advocacy. Participants were encouraged to research their legislators beyond their party-affiliations, put a face on the people affected, bring clients to meet with legislators if possible and share cost-savings outcomes.

Says Mary Lu Seidel of Fox River Grove: "Participating in the Housing Action Illinois 2011 Caravan inspired my own work, and reinforced the value of HAIL's role in public policy, education and advocacy. Meeting with these extraordinary agents throughout the state brought home the value of what they do and how essential it is that a state-wide organization like HAIL is there to support it."

Our New Members

Homelessness in Suburban Cook County, Embarras River Basin Agency, Inc., and the Illinois Migrant Council.

VISTA Corner

On September 7th, VISTAs from the Illinois Affordable Housing Support Project came together for a “round-table” discussion about 9/11 (where we were when it happened, our thoughts and feelings on the day, our reflections on what the past 10 years have brought), and then spent some time discussing “VISTA stuff” such as specific projects, sites, sustainability, etc. Afterward, we headed to the Greater Chicago Food Depository and joined other organizations to volunteer for four hours gleaning pears. Altogether, 12,400 pounds of food was repackaged to be distributed to 650 agencies and our VISTA Team had a wonderful day of bonding and serving our community in a different way than usual!

To learn more about AmeriCorps*VISTA, please visit: http://www.americorps.gov/about/programs/vista.asp

Work for Housing Action

The Director of Technical Assistance (TA) is responsible for the implementation, management, and evaluation of Housing Action’s Technical Assistance and Training program. As a member of the senior management team, the Director of TA participates in strategic planning and budgeting initiatives, and is responsible for working within the mission, policies, and guidelines of the organization to advance affordable housing in Illinois. The Director of TA staffs the Board of Director’s Housing Developers Committee and, as needed, the Housing Counseling Professionals Committee.

Deadline has been extended to October 14th. Please send cover letter, resume, writing sample, and three references via email to: employment@housingactionil.org with “Director of Technical Assistance” in the subject line. No phone calls please.

About Us

Housing Action Illinois is a statewide, non-profit, membership-based organization.

OUR MISSION: To increase and preserve the supply of decent, affordable, accessible housing in Illinois for low-and moderate-income households.

OUR VALUES: Housing is a human right. We believe in a society that promotes basic human needs such as decent and safe housing for all of its members. Public policy and government spending should ensure that the basic housing needs of all people are met.

OUR VISION: To create an environment where all Illinois residents, including people with the lowest incomes, have a voice in housing policy and community development. We seek to bring together community stakeholders such as residents, businesses, and government to work together to increase the supply and availability of affordable housing across the state.

OUR MEMBERS: Nonprofit organizations, individuals and corporations throughout the state, who care about and believe in the importance of decent, affordable, accessible housing for all our residents.

Stay Connected

The Housing Action Illinois E-newsletter is distributed every other month, and includes affordable housing news, upcoming events, tips for housing developers and counselors, and legislative updates.

Signing up for Housing Counseling Training and Technical Assistance Notices will help keep you informed of all Housing Action Illinois-sponsored trainings and technical assistance opportunities.

Housing Developer Training and Technical Assistance Notices will keep you up to date on all trainings and information that you need as an affordable housing developer.

Public Policy Advocacy Updates and Alerts summarize the latest news on housing and homelessness at the state and federal levels and provide opportunities to take action

For More Information

E-Mail: news@housingactionil.org

Phone: 312-939-6074

Website: http://www.housingactionil.org

©2011 Housing Action Illinois

11 E. Adams St. Suite 1601

Chicago, IL 60603

LifeMyWay video: Vincent: I want to own my own business : Community, Advocacy & Disability Life in Illinois

2011-10-07T06:32:00.000-07:00

YouTube Uploaded by lifemywayil on Jun 23, 2010

I live in Chicago. I have been an advocate for over 10 years. I serve on multiple boards to help advocate for people with development disabilities.

Our friend Vincent is also a member with Ability Chicago.

For more information of LifeMyWay,visit: http://www.lifemyway.org/

Special Education Is A Challenging But Rewarding Profession

2011-10-05T18:37:00.001-07:00

Are you the kind of person who accepts the differences in others? Are you organized, patient, and able to understand and motivate? If you answered yes to these questions then you have exactly what it takes to be a special education teacher.

Special education teachers work with children and youths with varied disabilities and barriers to learning, including severe cognitive, emotional, and/or physical challenges. The majority, however, work with children that have mild to moderate disabilities and most instruct at the preschool, elementary, middle and secondary school level. Schools are not the only venue in which you will find a special education teacher as there are many non-profit organizations specializing in services for the disabled who benefit from the expertise of special education teachers.

Teaching methods include intensive individualized instruction, problem-solving assignments, and small-group work. Special education teachers are taught to identify and ensure that the appropriate accommodations are provided to those students who need them. These teachers are instrumental in developing an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for each of their students, outlining the students needs and abilities and goals for the upcoming school year.

Of course the classroom is not the only place you will find special education teachers as some work with infants and toddlers in the child's home, with his or her parents. These services generally include helping the child develop social, language, motor, and cognitive skills through the use of play. The field is constantly evolving and technology is becoming more important with the use of synthesized speech computers and other interactive software programs.

Although this type of teaching can be very rewarding, it does have increased challenges and demands and can at times be physically draining. Many teachers are stressed due to the heavy workloads and the substantial documentation required for each of their students. Also adding to the stress of the job is the threat of litigation against the school district by parents who may not be satisfied with a child's progress or the methods used.

Besides the education necessary to teach special education, many States require licensing along with a bachelor's degree and the completion of an approved training program. Across the United States, you will find many colleges and universities offering programs in special education, not only at the undergraduate level, but the master's and doctorate levels as well. Some institutions require a fifth year of study which is usually spent student teaching.

The employment outlook for special education teachers is very promising as it is expected to increase gradually through 2018. Much of this forecast is due to the alarming increase in the number of students needing these services and the fact that most districts report difficulty in finding qualified teachers to meet the growing need. Job opportunities are also increasing for those who specialize in areas such as autism for example.

There are many related occupations who work with children and youth with disabilities such as: audiologists, recreational therapists, and speech-language pathologists. All will require at least a bachelor's or master's degree in special education at the very minimum along with specialized training. This education may also be obtained through online universities as well. If you have what it takes to maximize the potential of these special individuals then you might consider being their teacher.

Leadership Programs - Get Complete Info About Leadership Programs And Associated Benefits

2011-10-05T18:32:00.000-07:00

Successful businesses have the idea that investing in the next generation of leaders is vital to sustaining competitive gain and attaining corporate growth over the long term. Leadership program furnishes function managers with the superior decision-making and execution skill they require to outshine as multifaceted leaders. You will come out well prepared to take on greater cross-functional accountabilities- and eventually drive performance throughout your organization.

Leadership program is designed for individuals who will deduce that cross-functional responsibilities or accountabilities of organization leadership, Leadership Program or Leadership Development Program an incorporated outlook of the fundamentals of management. Leveraging advanced techniques and strategies, you will find out how to excel in execution and decision making.

Effective leadership program or leadership development program assist the candidates to make optimal utilization of the skills achieved during their experience as managers. Such sorts of programs also offer modules of application workshops and skill-based courses, which are handy for the candidate to take up, try out and perfect the fundamentals of leading. They are appropriate to professional from every field such as supervisors, managers, entrepreneurs or executives.

Leadership programs help sharpen the strategic vision of candidates and magnify the scope and efficiency of their leadership behaviors and qualities. As the economy turns into more competitive, all professional should try and take a part of leadership training, in order to widen their prospects. Understanding the indispensable principles and concepts of strategic leadership facilitate candidate to communicate, formulate and execute their vision effectively.

Many renowned institutes offer leadership program or leadership development programs, which lead for the advancement of tomorrow global leaders. The methodology and time of such programs may contrast, however, the fundamental concept is the same? Most leadership programs training invest a lot of money of teaching the basics and strategies of human capital improvement. Such leadership education assists an individual with real-life changes, which sooner or later make him/her evolve into a truly worthy leader.

A candidate with leadership ability is weighted as the vertebral column of any organization and is accountable for its continued success. Experts have always been specific about the significance of leaders at all levels in company and all the big organization have been investing in money into the process of making leaders continuously. Learning programs or leadership development programs are meant for the eccentric candidates who are eager to follow the curve found in a leadership program. They undergo tough to learn skill training courses and are made to read business leadership books, so as to get success as a leader.

The notion of organizational leadership is changing with changing times. Previously the programs carried out under this head did not contain a subject of business ethics.

Now the time has quite changed as the importance of ethics in the business has been pointed out clearly, a complete study on ethics of business has been comprised in the leadership program. Interviewers are always willing to hire candidates who know the significance of business ethics and apply in their leadership ability.

The New Way to Learn Languages Fast

2011-10-01T08:37:00.001-07:00

In days gone past, foreign languages were taught with a dictionary and an accent teacher, learning vocabulary piece by piece through conversion from the student's native language. This method, tried and true, requires a lot of time and memorization, and never leads to true fluency without full immersion at some point. It is apparent that this method, while useful to a point, is not nearly as effective as it needs to be for efficient language learning.
For these reasons teachers have for some time now sought out a program which could teach a foreign language using the method by which children learn their first language: association and mimicry. Babies learn language by mimicking their parents and associating words and phrases with actions and objects. For example, a child won't learn that an apple is an apple by being told it, or by reading the word from a dictionary. Instead, they will see an apple and hear their parent call it an apple, and associate the shape and color of the fruit with the word. Simple as it sounds, that is the most effective and natural way to learn a language. But the question has been how can this active learning philosophy be standardized and minimized so it can be used by the general public?
New software available today has been designed with this learning method in mind. By teaching students through visual and audial association, more vocabulary is retained and the grammatical nuances of the language are learned as a part of the process, instead of as a confusing translation from their mother language. In fact, very little if any of the speaker's native language is used in the instruction in order to each a whole new tongue instead of just a converted one. This method has helped many people to learn Spanish, French, German, Russian, and other languages.
If you are trying to learn a foreign language and have had little luck with traditional software or methods, consider looking into more advanced programs which use the modernized methods of learning a language. They will almost always produce a superior result to the old method, and in our competitive marketplace there are many different varieties available for different prices. Of course, if you are looking for true fluency as fast as possible, nothing beats full immersion! For those of us who can't afford to live In Greece for a year, however, modern language software offers a great chance to learn a foreign language for business or pleasure.

Cias Hart is a veteran and resident of Arizona. He is fluent in English, Bad English, and Spanish. He is also versed in Albanian, Greek, Cantonese, French, and is seriously considering learning Esperanto for fun. If you are trying to learn Spanish or another language, check out The Best Way to Learn Spanish to get started on a few programs which may help your studies. Good luck!

"Dolphin Tale" Ideas and Resources

2011-09-29T16:05:00.000-07:00

My class is very excited about the new movie "Dolphin Tale." In science, we've been discussing how scientists can use a model to help them investigate their questions and variables.

Here are a few resources I've either found or created that you can use to support reading, writing and science through ideas from the movie "Dolphin Tale."

Power Point that can be printed or shown on an Activeboard/SmartBoard

Science Worksheet to go with Scientific Method and Power Point

Writing Prompt to go with Power Point

Scholastic Resources

Winter's Tail

Hope you enjoy!

Top 5 Conference Call Service Providers Available

2011-09-20T09:14:00.000-07:00

Technology has made life much easier for everyone. It is no longer a difficult thing to connect with people living in different countries. With the help of technology, it is no longer expensive as well. Call service provider companies have played an important part in it. This product has gained a lot of popularity in the corporate world. The best thing about this software is that using and setting up the service is quite easy. This service is also called VOIP in most of the places.

In order to use the software, all you need to have is a good internet connection. Other things related to the software will be provided to you by call service provider. You will find a lot of good call service providers available in the market. The selection of the service provide completely depends upon your preferences and requirements. Since there are a lot of service providers, they all are offering difference packages. But before anything else, you need to make sure you have switched to better internet connection.

Once you are done with the set-up, you can start making or receiving calls instantly. You need to be very careful during the selection of call service provider. Since there are many, it will be hard for you to select a right one. You need to do a good research on the service providers who are already available. It is always good to take second opinions. Ask people who are already using such softwares; they will definitely guide you in a better way. Following are the five best call service providers available in the market offering best services. They are being used widely as well:

VoIP Buster

The advantage of this software is that you will not have to spend a penny after purchasing this software. It provides services absolutely free of cost. The call quality is also very good because it uses the latest technology. Users can also make calls via computer and that too free of cost. The time duration is also unlimited which means you can make free calls for unlimited period.

Skype

Skype is known to be a very good call service provider. It is not only limited to your computers but you can also download and use it in your mobile. This way you can stay connected to your friends and family residing in other parts of the world. It also provides you added services like call waiting and call forwarding.

iCall

In icall, you will have a lot of added features apart from making international calls on lowest rates. The call quality is reported to be not that good in comparison to Skype but then again; it is considered to be among good service providers.

Vonage

The best thing about Vonage is that you can use it first and in case; you do not like the services; they offer 30 days money back guarantee.

VOIP

Installing this software is quite easy and there are no extra efforts required. The call quality is also very good and it offers very good calling rates. It also has unlimited monthly calling plans to United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

James Fu

Security of Your Family With Use of Spy Cameras

2011-09-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

I think definitely we all are concerned about the safety of our children and our hard earned properties like the house or the office where we work and we have to understand that we are not only fortunate but also smart and aware that these days there are several security gadgets in the markets which are easily available and these security gadgets are the hidden cameras, the nanny cameras, the spy cameras, the CCTV cameras and so on. If we have to be safe and secure, we have to be familiar with such excellent security gadgets. It has become quite necessary that we by ourselves make an initiative and secure our hard earned possessions in an appropriate way and for this we have to make use of such efficient spy camera only.

Huge and heavy CCTV cameras are being used by the administration so that they are survey the actions of the culprits in the public places whereas tiny and attractive hidden spy nanny cams are used by general public and a common man so that he/she can save him/her self from the harm given by the thieves or anyone else. Earlier the cameras were used only by the professionals. People today know how to be safe and secure and so they are making use of such cameras. Today we can see that cameras come in several sizes and shapes. They are not only inexpensive but they are beautiful too.

People who like to shop online can definitely have a look at the innovative and pioneering and magnificent hidden desk calculator cameras on the website and they can place an order for it online only and they will see that their product has been safely shipped to their respective address mentioned during the order. People not only make use of such equipments only for safety, but there are even using for excitement purpose. Cameras can be used for excitement, for collecting images of the environment, sceneries and even to capture the images of all the memorable events and moments which we spend with our friends and family members. While cameras like the hidden cameras and spy cameras can be used for analysis and inspection.

If you are searching for both protecting your loved ones and business from invaders then choose a quality product. Life can be in your control with the right security gear installed in your home. You can make use of these gadgets to help protect your interests in best way possible.

When choosing a product internet is a great source of searching. The online shopping has changed the world we live in. It can be confusing to select a product when you have so many choices. Life can be made easy with some research, do some background checking and you have to read the customer reports and then make a purchase. Buying a quality product is important as if the picture is grainy and of poor quality then it will not be advantageous in your situation. Whatever your need to use a camera for personal or professional use, there is one that will fit your needs. My-spycam is your one stop portal for all your security needs.

Jane Molano

Spy Camera – Catching Your Cheating Spouse

2011-09-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

Do you think your spouse is loyal to you? What if your spouse is cheating on you? With the purpose of catching a cheating spouse, you need to take advantage of a few spy gadgets. Are you amazed at how a private detective exposes if your spouse is disloyal to you and is in fact cheating on you? By means of discreet, modern technology and a bit expertise, today’s private detectives without any difficulty expose cheating spouses with much simplicity.

New day new mission, your goal is to catch a deceitful spouse and helping you to achieve this and get all the evidence you need is small but ingenious looking spy tools like spy voice recorders and cameras. Spy voice recorders are the first choice of any private detective or investigator, enabling him to record discussions covertly. Listening tools can be used to listen to voices over distances. Connect them to a recording device like a DVR and you can have the evidence on the spot! Mostly in view of the fact that several digital phone recording systems can catch both ends of a discussion, in addition to ambient room noise providing a great deal necessary framework. Be certain to confirm your local laws on recording gadgets to keep yourself out of legal trouble.

Small discreet spy cameras and recording devices and especially pinhole cameras can be positioned across the home, in rooms, passageways and so on to make an effort to expose riotous behavior of your erring spouse. These small cameras are difficult to notice, however are dependable when it comes to capture hours of recording video footage with excellent quality. Low light or night vision cameras or PIR motion detecting cameras can as well assist notice slippery spouses, once positioned in tactical positions.

Other excellent options include nanny cams, wireless spy cameras, IP spy cameras and hidden spy cameras. The private detective you hire may recommend adding a spanking new "picture frame camera" to your main bedroom; a picture frame with a built in covert spy camera that can help expose and record evidence while you are away at your job. Body worn cameras carried on by private detectives such as spy pen cameras, spy sunglasses cameras, necktie cameras, or spy watch cameras can record evidence as the detective is strolling around mostly because the majority of recent mini cameras have an adequate amount of memory space for storing video footage.

If you want to expose and catch a cheating spouse, you should visit an online spy store and browse through a range of innovative spy tools yourself. At present with all the spy tools to be had in the market there's no way the fact can evade you. However, as you search for the right spy cameras and other investigative tools do remember prices and products may vary from one online store to another. Therefore, do compare products and rates before placing your order. Another area of concern is customer service, a reputed online store will always respond to your queries and will offer money back guarantee if you are not satisfied with the product.

Jane Molano

Why Electrical Engineering?

2011-09-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

Why not electrical engineering? Electrical Engineering has now become the second most popular engineering degree in the country right after software engineering. With technological advances continuing to be a big area of growth, electrical engineering has found itself to become a popular field of study for many students. For students that are looking for the fastest growing field of study, Electrical Engineering may be the right choice for any interested student.

The current status of jobs in the field is vastly growing and in the future is projected to have many job opportunities readily available for recent graduates. The program has a big demand for a strong foundation in physical science and mathematics, and students should be aware of engineering fundamentals. But the availability of jobs openings becomes its biggest benefit and also includes a very competitive annual salary.

What also makes this field very prospective is that current average salary of $85K depending on experience and expertise. According to 2009 job statistics, the Electrical Engineering bachelor degrees had entry level offers starting at $60K and master’s program graduates starting at $71K. With those averages just being in the starting salaries, there is definitely more potential to grow as one increases their experience and education levels.

As popularity for the field increases, there also becomes difficulty in choosing the right program that fits an individual and his or her lifestyle. Not only is it important to find a program that is in tune a student’s goals but also one that works well with the schedule of the student. Classes are now being offered on campus and online to best fit a student's schedule and programs that allow that are growing to be the most popular.

Stanford University has become quite a popular choice for many graduate prospective students due to its reputation for great educators as well as offering courses at the convenience of the student. Electrical Engineering graduate certificates that are available include: Communication Systems, Electronic Circuits, and Micro/Nano Systems. The Master’s degree program in Electrical Engineering requires 45 units among three categories: Breadth Courses, Depth Courses and Additional Electrical Engineering Courses. The Breadth requirements provide a foundation type training that allows the student to explore different areas and learn the basic engineering skills. The depth requirement takes the student further to learn more in depth about one subject area. And the additional Electrical Engineering Courses are a way for students to study in depth Electrical Engineering through hands on course work and further study class options.

Since Stanford also offers many of its graduate courses online including courses for Electrical Engineering, students have the great ability to gain a graduate certificate on-campus or online. This allows the student more freedom and more time to work the graduate program into their life and therefore make the process of obtaining an additional degree more at ease. But what truly makes the Stanford University Electrical Engineering program special is its ability to uphold education excellence while remaining accessible to any student.

KC Gonzales

Memorable Moment # 11: Name Changes

2011-09-19T20:17:00.000-07:00

My parents christened me with a first, middle and last name when I was born. When I got married, I took on my husband's last name. In spite of these facts, my student's want to bestow new names on me each year. In the past few years, I have been all of these:

"McFly"

"Ms. Yogurt"

"Mrs. Yo-yo"

"Yo"

And let's not forget, my personal favorite:

"Ms. Oder"

I really do shower. The last one was a result of a child's speech impairment, not my personal hygiene habits.

picture references:
http://johnlmalone.wordpress.com/2011/04/09/marty-mcfly-the-flea/
http://www.storeitfoods.com/yogurt_maker
http://freebornobiterdictum.blogspot.com/2011/05/time-for-yo-yo-to-recoil.html
http://www.shorelineenvironmental.com/odor-elimination.html

Reading Block

2011-09-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

Some of you know I've recently switched teaching pre-schoolers with disabilities to teaching third grade students with disabilities.

In Florida, third grade is a "high stakes grade level." Children who do not pass the reading section of our achievement test face a mandatory retention.

My assistants and I are working diligently to help our students develop and improve their reading skills. We have a few systems and procedures that we have in place to help our students maximize reading opportunities throughout the day.

In this post I'll list our systems and procedures, and then in future posts, I'll explain in more detail how we specifically address each item.

1) Guided Reading Groups led by the teacher using district adopted curriculum materials (for my district this is Harcourt StoryTown)

2) Scripted Phonics lesson led by a classroom assistant using SRA Reading Mastery materials

3) "Book Buckets" that include individual leveled readers from ReadingA-Z and a reading log.

4) Sight word practice. We store this in our book buckets and simply write targeted a sight word on an index card, hole punch it and collect them on a binder ring.

5) Shared poetry using poems from curriculum materials and other supplements.

6) Shared reading focusing on robust vocabulary and focus skills such character, setting, recalling details, etc.

7) Accelerated Reader using individualized goals and reading levels.

8) Read aloud chapter books.

9) Read aloud grade level short stories led by a classroom assistant.

10) Reading "choice time" activities (popular songs with lyrics..karaoke style, Boggle, Boggle Jr, Spell It Puzzles, Bananagrams, Scrabble, Scrabble Jr, etc).

We've just started our third week of school and I feel as if we are really starting to move with our reading groups and instruction. It took us a bit of time to finish assessments, formulate groups, and teach our students procedures for each of the areas we've attacked.

Hopefully, by the end of the year, we'll be able to report some good growth in our students' reading skills. I say "we" and "our" with intent because it require a team effort between the students, their families, my assistants and me!

How to Parse HTML code - Convert code HTML menjadi character

2011-08-24T16:41:00.000-07:00

Parse HTML adalah sebuah tools untuk men-convert sebuah kode HTML menjadi character yang bisa dimengerti dalam sebuah konten/postingan. atau kalian juga bisa menambahkan Iklan ke dalam postingan, nah sebelum ditambahkan harus diconvert dulu codenya lewat parse HTML.

Langsung coba aja di bawah ini.. ^_^

Math Facts: Free Interactive Game Online

2011-08-17T17:23:00.000-07:00

I found a new-to-me website for practicing math facts. It's a basic "drill and kill" type of game, but it is simple and clearly presented. It also gives the user options of using different operations and different sum/difference totals. Check it out:

Harcourt Basic Facts

Big Changes.......

2011-08-01T07:18:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy, busy summer.

In addition to all of the typical summer school and summer vacation activities, I decided to transfer schools and grade levels. I will actually be teaching at the neighborhood school that I attended myself as a kindergarten student!

In the fall I will start teaching a class for third grade students with varying exceptionalities. And, although, I will miss my pre-k students and assistant terribly, I'm looking forward to the change.

photo courtesy of Chris Campbell on Flicker CC, "Top Of Antique Bell" http://www.flickr.com/photos/cgc/

Including Samuel

2011-06-08T16:37:00.000-07:00

This blog post recently came across one of my list serves. I found it worth sharing again.

Take a look:

Including Samuel

Memorable Moment #10: "Embarrassing"

2011-04-20T10:36:00.000-07:00

SCENE: There's an assembly in the cafeteria during my class's breakfast time and my assistant's hip has really been bothering her, so we ate breakfast in the classroom. (This involves getting breakfast and taking the meal roster back which is a lot if walking, so I told her I would do that.)

BUILD UP: We're potty training a little girl in my class, so before I took the meal roster back, I told her to go potty. She went in and I'm in the classroom. I hear her shout "Mrs. Y., I pee!" I hear several thumps of the roll of toilet paper and know that she is taking too much. I went in and see her with a mound of toilet paper by her on the floor. As we clean up, a piece gets stuck to her shoe. She tries to shake it off, but it doesn't come off. So we're giggling and she's trying to get the toilet paper off her shoe and I tell her "Oh Gosh, you don't want to have toilet paper on your shoe, that's so embarrassing." She giggles and tries again but it doesn't come off. So we talk again about getting the toilet paper off her shoe because we don't want bathroom germs in the classroom. She giggles and says "Embarrassing" and finally gets the toilet paper off her shoe. We wash up, she goes to the playground and I go to return the meal roster.

PUNCH LINE: I get to the cafeteria (which is about as far across campus from my classroom as you can get) and the cafeteria manager says, "Michelle, what do you have stuck to your shoe?"

Yep, that's right, I had toilet paper stuck to my shoe....

Manuel de Los Santos video

2011-04-16T15:50:00.000-07:00

My husband found this link in his wanderings online.

He thought it would be of interest to me....he was right!

I think this is an amazing story.

National Geographic Website

2011-04-10T13:05:00.000-07:00

My school is inundated with caterpillars right now. With so many natural, incidental learning experiences available, this is a perfect time to implement our life cycles unit.

National Geographic Kids has many great resources to also support this theme. Of course, in addition to bugs and butterflies National Geographic also has many other topics addressed too. Check them out!

Creature Feature: Monarch Butterflies

What in the World: Bugging Out!

More Sea Life Resources

2011-02-12T07:07:00.000-08:00

Since I live in South West Florida, a unit on sea life is particularly meaningful to my students and there are many opportunities to extend with real life experiences.

We have a field trip to Mote Marine Aquarium planned in March. I took my class on this particular field trip about 4 or 5 years ago. This year we are going to participate in the lesson about sea turtles and will actually get to make squid "popsicles" and then feed the turtles in the aquarium.

Of course, we also support this unit with many classroom experiences. I have found a few new resources to share:

Fern Goes for a Dive (free, animated read aloud story)

Fern Goes to Hawaii (free, animated read aloud story)

Mermaid Lullaby

Seashore Tap and Type

You can find other Sea life resources that I have gathered at this post, this post, this post and this post.

Literacy and Art and a Gentle Reminder

2011-02-02T16:26:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had one of those days when the stars and planets are aligning to make sure you "get the message?"

I had one today.

My class is in the middle of a camping theme. They have been having a grand time playing in tents, singing around our "campfire," pretending to roast marshmallows, pretending to grill hamburgers, reading by lantern light, etc.....all of the play based experiences you would expect to find in a preschool classroom.

The shared reading book we have been reading this week is called "The Camping Scare" by Terri Dougherty. It's a simple book with great picture-to-text relationships and good illustrations that show many of our targeted vocabulary words.

In our art center today, we had out large sheets of black construction paper, the scrap bin, scissors, markers and glue. The children were encouraged to make a camping picture as an extension of our other play experiences and the literature we have been reading.

One child took his turn at the art center and began snipping very small pieces of the scraps. I looked at what he was doing and asked him what he was planning on making. He tells me he's making a tent. (This is clearly NOT a tent...in my mind...it is tiny pieces of paper. In my head, we were going to have a great creative experience where the children could cut out shapes of their choice to create figures of tents, etc and then use the markers for the finer details.) Well, I let him continue with his art project and he continued snipping the tiny pieces of paper. Good thing!

It turns out, he used those tiny pieces of blue paper to glue an outline of a tent, then collaged the brown ones to make logs for a fire, the orange ones for the flames and cut a large purple rectangle and used the markers to draw a "friend sleeping in a sleeping bag." It was fantastic!

Clearly, we (as teachers and parents) need to remember that children (even young children) are individuals with their own creativity, thoughts and ideas. I'm so glad that this particular child gave me an experience that serves as a gentle reminder that there are times that children need to have the space and freedom to communicate their thoughts and ideas in the way that they determine rather than with what we impose.

Play based writing

2011-02-01T19:51:00.000-08:00

I have found a lovely, photo based blog entry on supporting writing skills through a play based curriculum.

Check it out. Jenny's preschool classroom writing experiences (indoors and outdoors) are fantastic!

Let the Children Play

Visiting Kindergarten: Social Story

2011-02-01T18:26:00.000-08:00

It's the time of year when, in pre-k special needs classes, we begin to think about the process of transitioning children to kindergarten.

This year, there is a little girl in my class with an interesting combination of strengths and challenges.

She has a good cognitive skills and a good ability to learn vocabulary and concepts through incidental learning. She has a solid base of kindergarten pre-academic skills (she knows all of the letters of the alphabet upper and lowercase, she can count to 15, she can identify 11 colors and 6 common shapes. She knows many beginning consonant sounds, has an awareness of rhyming words, can read all of the names of the students in class and reads approximately 10 sight words.)

She gets overwhelmed with new experiences and has difficulty transitioning to new activities (especially if it is in a different location on campus). She still needs staff support for potty training. Her fine motor skills are significantly delayed and she still needs staff support for many tasks that include visual motor planning.

We have decided to try to specifically address an area of strength with an area that is a significant challenge for her while she is still in pre-k. She is going to start going to a shared reading and phonics lesson with a kindergarten class for approximately 20 minutes a day. Since she has good cognitive skills and she does not need any staff support in our pre-k large group circle time, we are going to try to balance this with the challenge of accepting a new experience. We are hoping that she will become familiar with the kindergarten building, the kindergarten classroom and the larger group of kindergarten students. We are also hoping that our pre-k staff can go with her for a short period of time and then fade away so that we increase her independence and comfort in the kindergarten classroom.

To help her prepare for this, we have drafted a simple social story (you can download a generic copy here.) about going to the kindergarten classroom. She has a copy at home that her family has read with her for the past week and there is a copy at school that classroom staff have been reading with her too. We have also started walking past the kindergarten room and having conversations about visiting kindergarten on Monday.

We're hoping by layering in the staff support and also building on her strengths, she will begin to feel comfortable and be able to learn new skills in the kindergarten class.

Homecoming Queen: Teenager with Down Syndrome

2010-12-05T13:04:00.000-08:00

This story recently came to me from two sources: A CEC SmartBrief and the parent of a child I tutor.

I think it's worth sharing again!

Homecoming Queen: Teenager with Down Syndrome

Free Interactive Holiday Sites

2010-12-05T12:54:00.000-08:00

I found this site a few years ago. It was challenging to navigate and then go back and find the activities you wanted repeatedly. They have re-organized and uploaded many free interactive boards and activities. They have many that are appropriate for December holidays. They've done a great job! It's so much easier to navigate and find activities appropriate to skill or grade level.

TES iboard player

Here's a link to a post from a few years ago too. My students still enjoy these links!

Interactive Holiday Sites

Free Interactive Fall Games

2010-11-05T09:44:00.000-07:00

Little Critter Scarecrow

Highlights Build a Scarecrow

Squirrel Acorn Harvest

Fall Leaves Matching Game

Dora We Are Thankful

Starfall: Make a Jack O Lantern

Starfall: Silly Turkey

Embedding Literacy

2010-10-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

I'm wrapping up facilitating a very fast paced and intense course on language and literacy. Because of this, I have been engaged in a lot of thinking and reflecting about embedding language and literacy into daily lesson plans and routines.

I'd like to take a moment to share an idea that illustrates how a parent has embedded language and literacy into her child's day.

I drive through 3 school zones and countless bus stops on my way to work each morning. I often see parents waiting with their children at the bus stops.

One mom and her son (who appears to be 5 or 6 years old) used to wait for the bus each day in the manner that you would typically see....the boy had his backpack on, mom was next to him and they stood on the corner waiting for the bus.

For the past few weeks, as I have driven by, I have noticed that she now brings a camp chair (one of those canvas chairs that folds up and has a sleeve that it fits in...you can buy them at Wal Mart for about $10) and a book to the bus stop.

Now, each morning her son sits on her lap as she is reading a story to him.

Wow! So maybe they wait 5-10 minutes for the bus each day. That means her son is getting and extra 25-50 minutes of literacy and language experiences a week. If you multiply that times 36 weeks in a school year that is between 900-1800 minutes a year (or an extra 15-30 hours).

I think this is just so cool! She has figured out how to take a "waiting" period and has turned it into a language and literacy experience.

Sometimes we go nuts trying to figure out when to fit everything "in." This mom has found a way to give her child more literacy and language experiences within a routine that already exists.

How many other ways could we, as teachers or parents also do this? I bet the ways are quite creative and the number is countless!

Free Early Literacy Activities

2010-10-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

This site has recently been shared with me from our pre-k supervisor.

It has many, free printable activities that support literacy of infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers. They have a link for ideas for parents and another link for teachers. Check it out.

Center for Early Literacy Learning

Free Dinosaur Interactive Games

2010-10-08T05:07:00.000-07:00

Dinosaur Train

Diego Dinosaur Adventure

Dino Dig Fossil

Cheap! Dinosaur Measuring and Science

2010-10-04T21:02:00.000-07:00

In the current economy (and as far as being frugal and financially wise at any time!) I am always interested in lessons that can be enhanced as cheaply as possible.

My class has been involved in a inquiry based unit on dinosaurs for the past week. It seems to me that there are always easy ways to integrate language and literacy lessons in every unit, but sometimes it is more difficult to integrate math and science. Since this unit focuses on dinosaurs, science is not a problem either, but how can we integrate math concepts? Here's one idea we used.

I found these dinosaur figures at my local Dollar Tree. (Yes, it cost a whopping $1 for this lesson.)

I explained to my students that these dinosaurs were supposed to get bigger when we put them in water. We decided to measure them with a ruler, predict how big we thought it would get and then measure it after it grew.

Since I wanted to focus on some math skills, we made a big deal out of measuring the dinosaur. I left my finger on the number 4 after we measured and reminded the children that he should get "bigger." I asked them "How big do you think he will get?" as I ran my other pointer finger across the top of the ruler (showing them the most logical choices across the ruler.) They made their predictions as I recorded them and then we observed. The pictures show you where we are so far!

After we measure our dinosaur again tomorrow, we'll take him out of the water and predict what will happen. It will be interesting to see if any of the children will predict that he shrinks back to 4 inches (remember, that's where we started at our first measurement!)

Missing Pumpkin

2010-09-26T17:38:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite lessons was designed to help a kindergarten-second grade class generate questions and improve their writing skills. We called it our "Missing Pumpkin Mystery."

For a week or so in October we had a pumpkin on display in our classroom. We were gearing up for the day we would scoop the insides out, count the seeds and carve it.

This particular group of students really needed to work on generating questions and using descriptive words within their writing. So some of the school staff helped me stage the "Missing Pumpkin Mystery."

One day after their specials period (art, music, phys ed, etc) the pumpkin was missing from the classroom. Once they noticed it, we decided on a plan of action to get our pumpkin back.

The first thing we did was to make "Wanted" posters for our pumpkin. The students took a brown paper grocery bag and drew a picture of our pumpkin on it. They then had to write three statements describing our pumpkin so "others would know if they saw OUR pumpkin."

We then decided to report our missing pumpkin to our principal to see if he could help us. (I had given him, the media specialist, our cafeteria assistant and our day time custodian their scripts so they would lead us to the next person to help us find the pumpkin.)

The children had to explain what happened, ask their questions and then describe out pumpkin to each person. The principal suggested we ask the media specialist "because he saw a lot of pumpkins in the media center." She suggested we ask the cafeteria assistant because "maybe they needed it to make pumpkin pie." The cafeteria assistant suggested we ask the custodian "because he sees the whole school make cleans up all the messes." As it turns out, the custodian "put it in our refrigerator because he was afraid it would get rotten."

We had great fun with this activity and it provided the kids with a real reason to use the skills I wanted them to practice.

"Post It" Graphs

2010-09-23T15:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a simple strategy that we use a lot in my classroom. I write each child's name on a post it. Then I write a question on a piece chart paper and usually add visual supports for each column of the graph. Below is a picture of our most recent graph:

I like to use the post it graphs for lots of reasons:

1) They help children learn literacy skills by reading their name and their peers' names.

2) They help children develop language skills by answering questions and making choices.

3) They help children develop task related skills and focusing skills because they are actively involved and then they physically get to place their own name on the chart.

4) They help children develop social skills by learning how to take turns and wait for their own turn.

5) They help children develop math skills as we count the number of votes in each column and discuss concepts of more, less and the same (equal).

6) They help children develop literacy skills by becoming part of our environmental print in the classroom.

7) They are quick and easy to prep for! That means I don't spend more time preparing the materials than it takes the children to actually engage in the activity.

PBS: "All" means all

2010-09-01T18:32:00.000-07:00

When I was in college and learning about the social foundations of education, I remember being surprised to learn that the word "all" meant different things to different historical / theoretical contributors. Sometimes "all" included landowning men, sometimes it included women, sometimes it included children and sometimes it include people with disabilities, but very rarely did it mean "all."

A few weeks ago I attended a train-the-trainer workshop to teach PBS strategies to families. As I reflect more on the tenets of PBS and begin to schedule our family workshops, I came back to a slide that a friend and I created when we were training new teachers how to set up their V.E. classrooms. We came to the conclusion that when implementing positive behavior support systems and philosophies, "all" should really mean "all."

the kids who raise their hand and the kids who yell out

the kids who bathe every night and the kids who need to

the kids who write with their pencil and the kids who throw their pencil

the kids who say “I love you!” and the kids who say “ $#@% you!”

the kids who use a tissue and the kids who wipe their snot on you

the kids you’d take home in a heartbeat and the kids you hope are absent

the kids with parents that support you and the kids with parents that challenge you

the kids who respond to your interventions and the kids that exhaust your bag of tricks

the kids who consistently get their meds and the kids who don’t

Our main purpose of posing the above statements was to encourage teachers to reflect upon the following question:

Am I providing a safe learning environment for all learners?

Memorable Moment # 9: I Need the Keys

2010-08-23T14:17:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of school for students. Since I learned my Harry Wong lessons on the importance of procedures long, long ago, the first few weeks of my pre-k classroom are spent on learning the centers, how to play in the centers and how to clean up the centers. That means I don't open every center every day at the beginning of the year.

Today one of the new students in the class asked if he could play in our puzzle center today. My assistant told him that "puzzles are closed." He stood for a second or two and then replied to her, "Ok, I need the keys."

I thought that was a pretty clever response. :-)

image from stopnlook@ flickr.com

Positive Behavior Support: Solution Board

2010-08-16T14:46:00.000-07:00

Throughout my district (as with many others) there is a large push for the implementation of school-wide positive behavior support (PBS). I am also fortunate enough to work in a community that has received a large grant to support strategies that increase mental health for children in early childhood settings. One of the initiatives funded through this grant is PBS training and materials.

Our early childhood PBS training is based on the pyramid model and training modules from CSEFEL.

One of my favorite strategies that I learned from my PBS training is the "Solution Kit." The solution kit is a strategy that teaches young children the options they may try when a conflict or disagreement arises. It helps them to learn how to independently (or with less prompting) solve problems.

You can watch a video of a teacher modeling the "solution kit" here.

Two years ago, I started using the solution kit with my pre-schoolers. I had a small plastic suitcase very similar to the one in the video and housed the kit at child level near my circle time area. While I loved the concept of the solution kit, I found the implementation to be difficult for my students. The suitcase with the clips was difficult for some of them to manage with fine motor deficits and the solutions all in a pile became quickly disorganized and overwhelming for them. I didn't want to give up on the positive aspects of using the solution kit, so I had to figure out a way to make it work for my population. Our solution kit evolved into a "solution board."

I simply printed and laminated the visuals from the solution kit and then taped them to the side of my desk. They became a permanent fixture in the classroom. The board allowed me to organize the solutions in a manner that was easier for my students to track visually and also eliminated the need for them to be able to open the kit. Towards the end of the year, for many of my students getting ready to transition to kindergarten, I could be across the room and just verbally prompt them to try using the solution board. I even had two parents who saw us using the solution board in the class and asked for the visuals to use at home!

I think the power of the solution board or solution kit (however the concept evolves for you) is that it teaches the children skills for managing their own conflicts. It gives children a measure of control over the resolution to the conflict and does not require an adult to intervene and "fix" the problem. And, ultimately, that's what we want.....for children to independently be able to come to a peaceful solution to a conflict.