Students will have the opportunity to live on a college campus and join more than 900 alumni from across the state that have been a part of this unique program created specifically for young leaders with disabilities. At no cost for the student!  Students who attend YLF make new, life-long friendships and resource connections to help them reach their personal, academic, and career goals. Alumni of the California Youth Leadership Forum say it has forever changed their lives for the better. You can also go to www.CalYLF.org for more info and a copy of the application and instructions or call RFENC!

Williamson Insurance Agency and Oak Tree Furniture are sponsoring the 1st Annual SLATE Charity Show n' Shine at Oak Tree Furniture in Redding. The store is located at 2760 Bechelli Ln. and all proceeds and donations will be donated to Rowell Family Empowerment's SLATE program. Radio, news, food vendors and much more will be on hand. Over 50 classic cars already registered for the event! So come on down and show your support for children with developmental disabilities.

With autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) affecting nearly one percent of children in the United States, autism is an urgent public health issue with a profound impact on millions of Americans. World Autism Awareness Day is an opportunity to recognize the contributions of individuals with ASDs... Read More.

 

Every April we recognize National Autism Awareness Month and the special challenges faced by those with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). CDC estimates that an average of 1 in 110 children in the U.S. have an ASD. At the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, we continue to strive to meet the complex needs... Read More.

Rowell Family Empowerment, with the help of a couple wonderful volunteers, has prepared a puppet show geared toward disability awareness and anti-bullying. It's a great little show using PACER's hand and rod puppets and a little creativity.

...See the flyer for more info

A new NAMI signature program, NAMI Basics, has come to the North State. This program teaches the fundamentals of caring for you, your family and your child with mental illness. It's FREE and you can sign up by calling RFENC at 226-5129. This will be held Wednesdays from May 4 - June 8, 6 - 8:30pm at Rowell Family Empowerment in Redding.

...See the flyer for more info

This is your opportunity to acknowledge those special people who make a difference in the lives of students with special needs. The Community Advisory Committee (CAC) and the Shasta County SELPA will sponsor the Twelfth Annual "Appreciation Night," awards on Thursday, April 21, 2011, at Boulder Creek School, 505 Springer Drive, Redding from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.

...Continue reading the flyer

The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes invites nominations for its 2011 awards. The Barron Prize honors young people in the United States and Canada who have made a significant positive difference to people and our planet. Each year, the awards program selects ten national winners to receive $2,500 each to support their service work or higher education.

For complete program guidelines, nomination instructions, and information on previous winners, visit the Barron Prize Web site.

Eight Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) teams will participate on April 26 & 27 at Turtle Bay School in a basketball tournament to raise awareness about autism. Games will go from approximately 12pm - 6pm the first day and 8am - 5pm the second day. Come down and show your support! Proceeds will go to local agencies that provide services to families with autism, including Rowell Family Empowerment. Contact Stephen Bell at (510) 224-7218 for more info.

NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness. If you want to be a part of this event please send email to NamiWalkChico@gmail.com. This walk is about anyone you care about that has to deal with a mental illness and the stigma that comes with it. One out of four people has a mental health issue of crisis at some point in their life. Stigma against these medical conditions often delays potentially effective treatment and contributes to substance abuse issue and homelessness.

A free screening clinic will be held to identify children in your area who can benefit from the expert care provided at Shriners Hospitals. If you know any children under 18 who might have orthopedic problems, bring them to the free clinic for an evaluation to find out if they may be eligible for treatment. 9am - 1pm at Oroville Sports Club, 2600 Oro Dam Blvd. Contact Jeff Ford at (530) 693-1866 for more information.

Shasta County districts will be going through a special education self-review process this year. Thet finally are getting direction/input from the state. They will be holding the required parent input meetings at various times. Each district will be sending home a letter and the parent input survey to all parents of special education students in the district. It is important that parents respond, as districts are required to have a 20% parent response rate!

Karen Lytle, Scentsy Certified Consultant, is taking pre-orders for the flameless Piece by Piece Scentsy Warmer. Scentsy Family Foundation is donating all of their net proceeds from the sales of this warmer to Autism Speaks. But Karen is donating 100% of HER proceeds from this warmer to RFENC for the next 6 months. And for those who do not want to order this particular warmer, mention Rowell Family Empowerment when placing your order through Karen and she'll donate 10% back to RFENC. Thank you, Karen!

Reach Karen at her office by calling 530-547-2185 or 530-949-7661 (cell). You can also reach her through her website at www.KarenLytle.Scentsy.us.

Please take part in the IDEA National Survey, a survey of whether the rights of students with disabilities and their parents are protected. The IDEA National Survey Project is sponsored by the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD), National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS), Autism Society of America (ASA), Autism National Committee (AutCom), and The Advocacy Institute (AI). The survey is at www.IDEAsurvey.org

The Northern Valley Talk-line is a "warm line" available for all Butte County residents. It is a consumer and family member ran, non-emergency, non-crisis mental health support line for individuals in need of an empathetic listener, peer support, or referral to support services. The Talk-line is available toll free 7 days a week, 4:30-9:30 PM at 1-855-582-5554 (1-855-5-talk-line).

We are looking to start a sibling group in the Redding area. What we need is some young adults who are siblings of someone with diverse abilities to help run the program. If you are interested please contact Wendy (wendyl@rfenc.org) or Kat (Sklowrance@aol.com).

ADEPT was developed at the request of parents of children with autism spectrum disorders so that they could access training in Evidence Based practices using technology. The use of technology makes accessing training easier for families in remote areas. It also provides an alternative to group based models for families who find it challenging to arrange for the logistics of that typical training format. The ADEPT program also provides a venue for families to share information with others about their child's needs and the strategies that can help.



Both our Redding and our Chico office will host small audiences for this webinar. Call the appropriate office to let us know to expect you!

Shane Nurnberg will present this training at the In the Spectrum autism support group from 6:30pm - 8pm. He will discuss the multi-touch interface and how it can help children with disabilities. You will also learn about several different apps and Shane will field questions throughout the training.

To register, or for more information, please call 751-1925.

This workshop describes how trust and relationship building are critical to effective facilitation and team cooperation. There is research based evidence that schools with a high degree of trust are far more likely to make and sustain meaningful change. Strategies for building trust in schools will be presented, as will as opportunities to identify various types of trust among school teams.

...Continue reading the flyer

Find dates and times of our recurring trainings and support groups by going to our Online Calendar, available on RFENC's website. Need more info about our trainings? Just navigate over to the left hand menu and go to 'Parent Services' and 'Workshops'. Need to know when those trainings are happening? Just navigate over to the left hand menu and go to 'Parent Services' and 'Event Calendar'.