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News From the Heart
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June 2011
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FND is Awarded Family to Family Health Information Center Grant
We are happy to announce that we have been awarded the Family to Family Health Information Center grant for children and youth with special health care needs and their families. The award was made by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration. The grant to serve families across Florida begins June 1 of this year. FND will provide information and support to families on various topics regarding the needs of children and youth with special health care needs. More announcements about services, workshops, and events will be released soon.
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Día del Niño
Family Network on Disabilities' Parents Educating Parents in the Community (PEP) Program hosted Día Del Niño on Saturday, May 14, at The RCMA in Immokalee. We would like to thank Southwest Florida Insurance, Little Caesar's Pizza, Winn-Dixie, and especially the staff at RCMA. This event would not be the same without their support, generosity, and compassion.
We would also like to thank the Mary E. Dooner Foundation for their support. The Foundation made a generous donation to help support this event and the PEP Program and we are very grateful.
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Mothers Against Brain Injury 2011 PSA Contest Winner
If you voted in this contest focused on teen unsafe driving practices and their consequences, you are probably interested in which PSA won.
1st Place: Phone Snatcher
2nd Place: Disappearing
3rd Place: Texting and Driving
4th Place: Regretful Aftermath
The videos can still be viewed at www.firstcoastteens.com.
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FND's TILES Program Wins National Award of Excellence
Family Network on Disabilities is happy to announce that the Transition, Independent Living, Employment, and Support (TILES) Program has been awarded the Annual Award for Excellence in Transition-focused Parent Training from PACER Center's TATRA (Technical Assistance on Transition and the Rehabilitation Act) Project. This annual award identifies and highlights promising transition tools for students with disabilities.
Project Director, Tara Bremer, Training Coordinator, Amber Dame, and Youth Mentor, Randall Kleinheinz, were presented with the award at the 5th Annual Secondary Transition State Planning Institute for the newly-developed Road to Successful Transition Workshop. This is a six-module lesson plan to help with transition planning and self-advocacy.
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L-R: Amber Dame, Tara Bremer, Randy Kleinheinz
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The Road to Successful Transition Workshop is a key component in FND's new statewide Youth Advocacy and Action Project of FND. This project is aimed at developing advocacy and leadership skills among youth with disabilities, who then put those skills into practice by advocating for themselves and for improvement in their communities.
In addition to in-person training sessions, The Road to Successful Transition Workshop will be made available through webinars, archived presentations on our website, through FND University (an e-learning platform which will be launched later this summer), and distributed on CD's.
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 Wrightslaw Special Education & Advocacy Training Program with Peter Wright, Esq.
We hope that you will be joining us in person at the Wrightslaw Special Education Law & Advocacy Training Program on Saturday, June 4, 2011, from 9:00 am until 4:30 pm at the USF St. Petersburg Campus Activity Center. But... if you missed registration or live outside of the area, you can still join us from your computer or Android phone. Just visit our website (www.fndfl.org/wrights-law/) on June 4 to register and watch via livestreaming for FREE.
The Wrightslaw special education law and advocacy training program focuses on four areas:
- Special education law, rights and responsibilities
- Tests and measurements to measure progress and regression
- SMART IEP's
- Introduction to tactics and strategies for effective advocacy
Wrightslaw Programs are designed to meet the needs of parents, educators, health care providers, advocates and attorneys who represent children with disabilities regarding special education.
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 Apps for Children with Special Needs
The use of the iPhone, iPod, and iPad is a revolutionary new platform for assistive technology. We recently discovered Grembe Apps. Grembe Apps was founded by Lisa Brandolo Johnson, a physical therapist, and Jeffrey Johnson, a software engineer, who have three children, one with a disability. Their mission is to create quality, versatile, and affordable apps to benefit those with special needs and the people who care for them. You can check out their apps and story by clicking here.
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 5th Annual SPARC Conference
Registration for SPARC 2011 is now open. The conference is hosted by STAND (STatewide Advocacy Network on Disabilities) and will be held Saturday, September 24, 2011, from 8:00am until 4:30pm at Morgan Fitzgerald Middle School in Largo, FL.
This is a Florida statewide conference on exceptional student education with national presenter and exhibitors. This annual conference is widely known for the variety of resources brought to one venue for parents, teacher and other professionals that work with individuals with special needs. Information will be offered on federal, state and local agencies, as well as private companies, doctors, therapists, advocates and much more.
Click here for additional information.
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Florida Senior Safety Resource Center
With funding from the Florida Department of Transportation, The University of Florida's Institute for Mobility, Activity and Participation has developed the Florida Senior Safety Resource Center (FSSRC). This is a database containing over 700 transportation services. This is up to date information for seniors or persons with disabilities to assist in finding appropriate, acceptable and affordable alternative transportation options. The website provides information for all of Florida's 67 counties. Click here for more information.
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