Kim Smith

Executive Director and Lead FRC

P2P Groups and Events

Fundraisers/Donation

Clothing Drive! 

Parent to Parent will gladly take all of your used clothes, shoes, belts and purses!  When you're cleaning out your closets, please remember to bring your "no longer needed" items to P2P.  We'll give you a tax receipt and P2P receives $.15 per pounds from the ARC of Washington.  Every little bit helps us continue to provide services, so please remember us in your cleaning efforts!   

Parent to Parent News

Sibshops is Back!   

  

Our first Sibshops was a huge success with 9 young people participating (ages 6-12).  We hope this will be a dynamic and growing group, so please join us for the next Sibshops at P2P on November 10th at 6:00 p.m.  If you have any questions, please call Sylvia at (360)352-1126 ext. 106 ~ See you at Sibshops!
 

Helping Parent Program

 

 Being a parent of a child with a disability can be hard work!  Personal support from
another parent who has a child with similar needs can be helpful in coping with these
challenging experiences and feelings.
Helping Parents are trained to listen and their experiences have taught them to
understand.
Helping Parent volunteers have completed a training program and are available to provide
support and information.

If you are interested in becoming a Helping

Parent volunteer or would like to be matched

up with a Helping Parent, please contact

 

Sylvia Heiser, (360) 352-1126 ext 106.  

Your experiences can be valuable help to
other parents of children with special needs.

Parent to Parent Online Support Group

 
P2P is excited to start a new online support group for parents, grandparents, caregivers and so on who just need to talk, find resources, vent, share and find support with each other.  We know it's hard to get out for groups sometimes so we hope to offer and new way for people to connect.  The group will feature everything from working effectively with schools to legislative issues to bartering for items you may need or have that need to be traded for something someone else may need or have!  Anything goes, any topic can be listed.  We want this to be a very supportive environment and look forward to launching it on November 1st.  The group will be private, so please contact facilitators Kim Smith (ksmith@ssp2p.org) or Matt Graffagnino (mgraffagnino@ssp2p.org) for your personal invitation!   

Legislative Corner  

A Special Session

On November 28th, 2011 the Washington State Legislature will reconvene for a special session to cut another 2 billion dollars from our state's budget.  The reason is simple.  There is simply not enough revenue coming into the state to cover the budget that was enacted earlier this year.  Unfortunately, health and human services will be taking the brunt of these cuts due to the fact that 70% of the state's budget is protected by federal rules or constitutional requirements.  The state's poorest and most vulnerable citizens are at risk of losing vital services such as pharmacy coverage, routine dental care, and day programs for adults with developmental disabilities.  Even funding for Parent to Parent is on the chopping block.  Our only hope of preventing these cuts is to come up with ideas to create more revenue.  If you have such an idea, consider writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.  The Arc makes this easy for you to do.  Simply go to http://capwiz.com/arcwa/home and click on the "Media Guide" tab.  Choose five newspapers to send to, then write your message and click send.  Remind people that it is important for legislators look at revenue options, because an all-cuts budget would be devastating to those who rely on the state for their very survival.  Work with other advocates and make your voice heard.  

~Karen Huggins        

The Bittersweet Now

Hello Everyone,

     I have some great news to tell you all.  My oldest son Matty's development is coming along great! I also have some slightly troubling news; Matty's development is coming along great! You'll see what I'm saying in a minute.....

     I have some good and bad news to report;  the good news is that Matty said a full sentence clear as a bell, the bad news was he told the dog to "shut her pie hole or she was gonna go outside."(GASP) Great news! Matty's starting to make lots of independent decisions. Unfortunately, they include not listening to me. Sweet!  Matty is exploring the backyard and all it has to offer, like high tree branches and the fence to climb.  He's using appropriate phrases and words for situations like filling in the proper cuss word when I spill my coffee on the counter.  He's becoming more of a master of his domain too, telling me "No!"  and then doing what I asked him to do anyway, usually by the third time. Oh, sometimes I just call his name and he says, "NO!" before he even knows what I'm gonna ask. Love that one.

     He is honing his gross motor skills like a champ, especially when using his vise grip on the TV remote when I ask him to hand it over.  The legs are starting to work well too!  I'm recalling the time when he pulled me into the downtown fountain soaking me when I told him it was time to go home and he needed to take my hand. Fine motor you ask? Acing it! Doorknobs are way easy to turn now, allowing access to the great outdoors.  Socially his sense of humor is great, telling me I smell in line at the grocery store in front of everyone (I DON'T SMELL!), usually causing a round of laughter at my expense which just fuels his fire. Let's not even get into the bathroom humor and ALL that comes with that!

     And inquisitive I tell ya, asking so many questions like, "Where are you going? What are you doing? Is that blue?" Often to perfect strangers....wearing red. At least he may be coming out of his Little Einstein obsession. I heard him call one of the characters an idiot the other day. (I happen to agree with that comment and didn't interject.) Who knew my boy was so fashion conscious? Apparently the other kids at school wear their clothes inside out and backwards too, and I'm not hip enough to get that.   Bathroom training is so on schedule, invite me over and you'll see because as soon as we walk in the door he will immediately announce he has to go potty, "Hi how are you?, What's that? I gotta go potty!" I just smile and say "The roast smells delicious." It goes on and on and on and on......

     The bottom line is that every day he is becoming more and more like a typical boy and I am so amazingly grateful. And that my friends, is great news to report!

Matt Graffagnino

Volunteers

Volunteer Needs

Thank You

Thank you to Mixx 96 for sponsoring the Creative Office Olympics.  Our amazing team of four raced their way to victory on trikes, office chairs and in a packing box.  Family, friends, staff and board members turned out as the cheering section as the "P2P Dream Girls and Mr J" took 1st Place!  What great fun and what an excellent way to continue to increase awareness about South Sound Parent to Parent in our community!  Thanks to everyone who participated! 

Thank you to Hunter Farms for the great P2P Pumpkin Patch family day.  We had 99 people attend for a great time in the pumpkin patch!

Thank you to Panda Express for the fund raiser and for the families who had a bite to eat.  Every dollar counts for P2P! 

New Additions to the Lending Program

Books

*The Down Syndrome Nutrition Handbook:  A Guide to Promoting Healthy Lifestyles

*Early Intervention Games:  Fun, Joyful Ways to Develop Social and Motor Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum or Sensory Processing Disorder

*The Elephant in the Playroom:  Ordinary Parents write Intimately and Honestly about Raising Kids with Special Needs

Equipment

*The Listening Program (10 disc version with nature sounds) 

News from the Board 

Our staff is doing a tremendous job fulfilling our agency's mission with integrity and heart during these financially challenging times.  As resources shrink for the families we serve stress and fear increase. Our staff handles this gracefully and positively by listening, brainstorming and problem solving together.  Through careful budgeting and spending practices the staff has stabilized our financial situation for the near future.  Parent to Parent is becoming a more familiar name out in the community thanks to everyone's outreach.  Our board is very proud of our staff's accomplishments and grateful that they touch so many families.   

Erika Krupp, Board President