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Photo of the Week
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for more photos - gallery
send great photos to
photos@usod.org
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Did you also know that you can send photos to woodbine house for their use? click here for details
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H1N1 and Seasonal Flu Vaccine
for Children with Down syndrome
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Dr. Brian Skotko
The Children's Hospital of Boston Down Syndrome Program has released a series of guidelines and recommendations regarding the H1N1 and Seasonal Flu Vaccines. Click Here for the 2009 Flu Update.
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Designate USOD
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 Make a Double Difference!
Please consider designating your UW donation to USOD. Thanks!
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Join Our List
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USOD
Board of Directors |
Casey
Atkinson
David J. Bruening
Allan Buzzelli
Renee Chappell
Denise Cirino
Sandy Donahoe
Scott Eitman
Sue Groszek
Debbie Marks
Michele C. Raia
Ann Regan
Katherine E. Schubert
Lisa G. Trifiletti
Ken Vinikoff
Brian J. Weiss, DPM
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USOD Community Assessment Survey -
***First Drawing Friday Dec. 4th at Noon***
For a $100 Gift Card to Wal-Mart (so do your survey)
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 10 Chances for 10 Minutes
The Up Side of Downs of Greater Cleveland is excited to announce the 2009 Community Assessment Survey of its families and community partners throughout Northeast Ohio who care for a loved one with Down syndrome.
It is imperative for everyone in our community to take 10 minutes
to help lend a voice for the future of the Up Side of Downs.
The survey is accessible here --> 2009 USOD Community Assessment Survey and on the homepage of the USOD website at www.usod.org, through December 12, 2009.
· This CONFIDENTIAL research project consists of a 20 Question online survey.
· The primary goal of the study is to further understand the needs, wants and service gaps of our community.
· This information will then help direct the programming, advocacy and funding priorities of the Up Side of Downs.
Families that participate in the survey and update their contact information will be eligible to win one of 10 prizes of US Savings Bonds, area Gift Cards & toys that will be drawn at the USOD Holiday Party on December 13, 2009. (Winner need not to be present to win.)
We thank you in advance for your valuable time & insights.
You are helping all of us to better celebrate life with Down syndrome.
****We Need 200 More Families to Step Forward****
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Apraxia Seminar - USOD Subsidy Available
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 Friday, December 4, 2009
Nationally renowned speech pathologist Nancy Kaufman, M.A., CCC-SLP
will be presenting a workshop on Friday December 4th in Strongsville,
OH. The tuition is $125+20 late registration fee, so a total of $145,
USOD is offering to subsidize $75, on a reimbursement basis. Register
in advance and submit your total paid fees and a check will be issued.
This clinical seminar will focus on evaluation and treatment. The
seminar begins with discussions of differential diagnosis of apraxia,
flaccid dysarthria and phonological disorders, then moves into
practical and functional treatment techniques. Introduced will be the
key concepts of phonemic simplification, successive word approximations
and pivot syllables, and how treatment interventions derived from these
concepts have proven highly effective in increasing speech
intelligibility in children with apraxia of speech.
Full Program Details are on the Kaufman Childrens Center Website
and this is the registration link.
*****the latest Apraxia Kids E-Newsletter is out*****
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USOD Grandparents Group
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 Monday, Dec. 7 at 10:00 am
Get together for great conversation, support & friends. Since the
last meeting overwhelmed the Starbucks we are moving to a larger space
at the Cleveland Clinic Community Room B. USOD will bring coffee &
pastries. Free. 5001 Rockside Road, Independence , please rsvp to Gay
McVeigh.
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Baby & Toddler Playgroup - West Side
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 Monday, Dec. 7 6:30 pm
Great time will be had by all moms, dads, babies & small siblings.
Come hang, chat & play. Feel free to bring blankets and small toys.
Free.
Grandparents are welcome!!
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Building your child's Sound Bank
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by Marinet vanVuren
We already know that early intervention is very important in helping
our babies with Down syndrome learn. One of the strategies discussed on
Friday was how to develop and help build your baby's repertoire of
speech sounds. Traditionally some speech and language therapists
would've only introduced the early developmental speech sounds to young
babies. These sounds usually include consonants like b, p, m, h, w as
well as a few vowel sounds like oo, ah and ee. The literature states
that during the first year of a typically developing baby's life the
baby develops a full 'sound bank' of all the speech sounds heard in the
English language (that is if your baby only hears English at home).
Babies usually start making sounds by cooing and making throaty sounds.
However, these sounds do not remain in your baby's sound bank because
they are not heard during everyday English, hence these sounds are not
reinforced.
The same is true for babies with Down Syndrome. They are
also exposed to all the different speech sounds in English on a daily
basis, but unlike typically developing babies they do not always
develop the full sound bank of sounds in their first years. So, it is
up to us to introduce them to our children. read on.....
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Behavior - Resources & Parent Education Lecture
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 Wednesday, December 9 7:00 pm
Understanding emotions and the impact they have on the individuals we
support can be challenging under the best of circumstances. Jennifer
Smith, Behavior Curriculum Intervention Specialist for the CCBDD,
presents this topic to focus on defining emotions and how they develop
in both healthy and unhealthy ways, and tactics used to bring balance
back once emotions have caused the brain to function with the fight or
flight response.
As a participant, you will gain an understanding of how emotions develop and the effects of unbalanced emotions. Also, Jennifer will suggest strategies which can be used to address unhealthy/unbalanced emotions at home and in the classroom.
Cleveland Clinic Independence, Community Room B
5001 Rockside Road Independence, OH 44131 - mapquest
For more info on Ms. Smith & the lecture - click here
please rsvp to the usod office or rsvp@usod.org
Article - When your child engages in difficult behaviors...
By David Pitonyak, Ph.D., Blacksburg, VA
What follows are 10 things to remember if your child, because he or she exhibits difficult behaviors, is at risk of not belonging. If you don't have the time or energy to read one more word, remember these two ideas: Taking care of yourself is one of the most important things you can do. If you don't, it will be very difficult to take care of anyone else.
Remember that your child's problem behavior(s) has meaning. Finding out what your child needs is the first step in supporting your child, and the people who love your child, to change. read on .... Additional resources on behavior are at the usod site.
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Making School a Sensational Place
Sensory Processing Disorder
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 by Chynna Laird
It has
been discovered that 30% of school-aged children are labeled as having
learning
disabilities. Seventy percent of these children have Sensory Processing
Disorder (SPD), also known as Sensory Integration Dysfunction, as the
underlying cause of their disorders.
A love for learning starts in childhood.
Seeing the glimmer in a youngster's eyes when they've mastered
something is
truly an amazing thing. Unfortunately, some children struggle with
severe sensory
issues that can interfere with the way they learn. This doesn't mean
they can't
learn;
only that they must learn in a different way.
When my daughter, Jaimie,
was diagnosed with SPD at the age of two-and-a-half, one of my main
concerns
was how a child barely able to handle the sensory stimulation of simple
things
such as a bath or a car ride was going to be able to function within a
busy
public school system.
Children with sensory sensitivities or SPD
have a higher risk of
slipping through the educational cracks due to misdiagnosis and
misunderstanding. The problem isn't that these children have difficulty
with learning; their struggle is staying
focused as other stimulants in their environment fight for their
attention. And
for these children, who often need constant movement to organize their
little
bodies for tasks at hand, the aspect of sitting still for lessons can
be an
additional challenge. The answer
starts and ends with the child: seeing and working with what
they can
do and "tweaking" the rest, wherever possible. read on......
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Holiday Party - Pre-Registration Needed by 12-6
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6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Come One Come All to the 2009 USOD Holiday Party!
This year we are very excited for the generous support of Lowe's's Greenhouses & Santa's Hideaway Hallow to present a wonderful holiday party for our USOD kids, siblings, parents & grandparents!!!
We are going to have our quieter activities the first half
of the evening with the wonderful talents of wandering
entertainers, the Amazing Puppet Theater Company, tons of great crafts
& more. The second half of the evening we will be rockin out and
having a great time to the spining of Brian Kazy, our dance troupe and
so much more.
Santa will be there so remember your camera & wish lists!
Pre-registration is required by December 6th. Click Here |
TD! Run by player with Down Syndrome touches fans
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There is a great video
quickly becoming a YouTube sensation. It is a high school student who has
Down syndrome and gets into the game to make a touchdown run. Here is a link to the video on YouTube and also one of the
many news articles about the
run. Or just Google "Matt Ziesel"
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2009 NEO Buddy Walk Results & Thanks
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 If You Missed the Thank you Edition!
Catch all the great stats, pictures, thanks and next years date in the final e-newsletter for the 2009 NEO Buddy Walk. Don't miss a thing....NEO FINALS 2009
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Family Friendly Events for December - All Around Town
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 Sensory
Friendly Movies
Saturday
December 12, 10:00 a.m.
The Princess and the Frog
Solon Cinemas
Saturday December 12th,
10:00 am
The Princess and the Frog
AMC Ridge Park Square, Brooklyn
Saturday, December 19th, 10:00 am
Elf
AMC Ridge Park Square, Brooklyn
FREE
Admission and free popcorn and drink
Holiday Parties
Autism Society of Greater Cleveland-FAMILY
3rd Annual Holiday Party
Saturday December 5, noon to 3:00pm
St. Michael's Woodside
5025 Mill Rd., Broadview Hts, OH 44147
ASGC at (216) 556-4937
High 5 Club Chanamas Party
-ADULT
(Christmas and Chanukah
Celebration)
Friday, December 11, 6:00-9:00pm
Beachwood Community Center
25225 Fairmount Blvd. Beachwood, OH
Edie Solomon at 216-371-2328
Winter Fantasy Dance - Socialbilities -ADULT
Friday December 11, 7:00 to 9:00 pm
1275 Sweitzer Ave., Akron
Contact Nancy at 330-762-9755
by Dec 4th
Friendship Circle - Jewish Families
Sunday December 13
Chanukah Family Fun Day Featuring COSI on wheels at the Mandel Jewish Community Center. Co-sponsored by the USOD. $5 flyer info
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Blue Ribbon Holiday
Party-TEEN
Teen and adults w/
disabilities ages 12 and over
December 18, 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm
Solon Community Center -- Banquet room
Contact Kimberly English
440-248-5747 ext.2114 by December 16
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Looking for Teens & Young AdultS
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 Step Forward & Be Heard
The Bureau for Children with Medical Handicaps (BCMH)
is looking for young people ages 16-26 to join their Young Adult Advisory
Council. This group meets once every three months, at the Visiting Nurse
Association, 2500 East 22nd Street, Cleveland 44115, to talk about
transition challenges they encounter. The group is lead by Dr. James Bryant,
Medical Director, BCMH, and Kathy Bachmann, Parent Consultant, BCMH. BCMH
reimburses participants' mileage and also pays a stipend. For more information
contact Kathy at 614/752-2930.
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First Edition of USOD Inclusion Solutions
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 November 2009
Inclusion Solutions is an online e-newsletter that will assist you in your efforts to support students with Down syndrome in their classrooms and at home. The newsletter provides strategies you can implement with your child or student to help them achieve their unique potential. We hope this newsletter will become an effective means of exchanging ideas between teachers, parents, paraprofessionals, therapists, and administrators.
Inclusion Solutions also shares information about upcoming
conferences & new products that may be helpful in your homes
or classrooms. Click Here for the November 2009 Inclusion Solutions
We welcome your comments & suggestions please contact Gina
Mitchner at gina@usod.org or 216.464.USO D (8763).
Special Thanks to the Kansas City Down Syndrome Guild for
their support & resources for the USO D Inclusion Solutions.
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Free Lifetime National Park Passes
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 DS Association of Greater St. Louis
Individuals with disabilities can
get free lifetime passes to National Parks across the United states... The web page is: www.nps.gov/fees_passes.htm
You must have proof of
permanent disability (a doctor's letter works fine.) You can only get the pass in person
at a park so plan ahead. The pass allows the holder +3 adults to enter free & for other discounts.
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Calling all artists with Down syndrome!
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FOR WORLD DOWN SYNDROME DAY
STEP ONE: If you are an artist with Down syndrome, create a WDSD TShirt design (www.worlddownsyndromeday.org) by hand or by
computer using your choice of art. Create your design on an 8 ½ x 11 inch piece of bright white paper using a max of four colors. Your design must be your own original unpublished work and must not contain any third-party logos, trademarks or copyright materials.
STEP TWO: Mail your design (without folding it) to DSAGC-T-Shirt Design Contest, 644 Linn Street #1128, Cincinnati, OH 45203 dated by January 10th, 2010
See flyer for full details, rules & PRIZES - WDSD TShirt Contest
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Adapted Programming- Winter 2009
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 Lake Metro Parks
Life Center Plus - flyer
Mayfield Heights
SPLASH Swim, Persevere, Learn, Achieve, Have Fun! Flyer
Adaptive Swimming at Kent - Flyer
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USOD Mission
To provide support, education, and advocacy for people with Down syndrome, their families and communities.
Vision
The Up Side of Downs is committed to building a community where
people with Down syndrome are independent and have the opportunity to
reach their fullest potential.
History
In the early 1980's, a handful of parents whose children had Down
syndrome began to meet informally over coffee for socialization and
support. Nearly thirty years later, with the help of a lot of coffee
& caffeine, their vision and hard work has taken the Up Side of
Downs from a grassroots parent movement to a staffed nonprofit
organization joining over 800 families throughout Northeast Ohio.
We invite you to connect with our with our support community to join us at one of our many programs & services, do research in our comprehensive resource directory, join our on-line family support network, enjoy our scrapbook photo gallery and so much more.
Contact the Up Side of Downs of Greater Cleveland.
The Up Side of Downs of Greater Cleveland
23230 Chagrin Blvd., Suite 640
Cleveland, OH 44122
phone
216.464.USOD (8763)
fax 888.708.USOD (8763)
e-mail
info@usod.org
web www.usod.org
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