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A Note From the Director | | |
Dear Parents and Education Advocates:
We hope that your summer break has started well with more opportunities for you and your child or youth with disabilities to explore other activities. There are some great ideas in this newsletter about other ways to use your time and energy.
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| Professional of the Year |  | |
On May 6th in Wichita, Connie Zienkewicz, the executive director of Families Together, was chosen as the 2010 Professional of the Year by The Arc of Sedgwick County.
Several local and statewide leaders in special education expressed their admiration of Connie's contribution and commitment to families whose children receive special education services.
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| Education Advocate Update |  |
Submitted by Darla Nelson-Metzger, Topeka Center
Do you still have your survey sitting around? If so, please mail it in! We need to know your willingness to serve and your current contact information. For those of you serving for a student, we need to know about your experiences over the past school year. This data is tabulated and reported to the Kansas State Department of Education.
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Bilingual Opening in the Kansas City Center
30 hours per week
Some travel and minimal evening/weekend work
The successful candidate should have:
written & verbal fluency in English & Spanish
a basic knowledge services for minorities
an interest in helping others learn about educational rights, and
strong organizational, presentation and people skills.
*Parents of children with disabilities encouraged to apply.
Please download the PDF application and fax to DeeDee at the Kansas City Center.
Fax 913-287-1972 | | |
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Families Together, Inc. is the statewide organization that assists parents and their sons and daughters with disabilities. Our program's missions is to encourage, educate, and empower families to be effective advocates for their own children.
Families Together, Inc. is dedicated to a society that includes and values all people. We offer families the security of belonging to a support network of other parents that face similar goals, challenges and needs. | | |
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Newsletter available in .pdf |
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Access to the General Education Curriculum and Students Receiving Special Education Services |  Ensuring that students with disabilities have access to the general education curriculum was a key feature of the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a feature that was strengthened in the 2004 reauthorization. The 1997 amendments required that the IEP of all students receiving special education services include:
A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services to be provided to the child, or on behalf of the child, and a statement of the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided for the child -
to advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals;
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to be involved and progress in the general curriculum;
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to be educated and participate with disabled and non-disabled children [Section 300.347(a)(3)]
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Wonderful Opportunity for Families with Children with Special Needs from Birth-8 |
 The division for Early Childhood (DEC) is excited to announce an opportunity for families of children with disabilities and other special needs! DEC will offer 25 stipends covering the cost of registration for the 26th Annual International Conference for Young Children with Special Needs and their Families which will be held in Kansas City, Missouri from October 14-17, 2010. The stipend covers full conference registration (a value of more than $275) as well as optional participation in full-day workshops offered on Thursday October 14 and/or half-day workshops offered Sunday October 17. Go to www.dec-sped.org and click the "Conference" link to learn more. The DEADLINE for applications is August 10th. Once approved, Kansas families can apply for an additional scholarship from Families Together, Inc. to cover hotel and parking costs.
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| Actualizacion de Seguros del Autismo |
 El 19 de abril, el Gobernador Parkinson firmo la HB 2160 convirtiendo en ley, convirtiéndose Kansas el estado numero 18 en pasar una legislación imponiendo un seguro medico para pagar el diagnostico y el tratamiento del autismo. Si bien este es un primer paso muy impórtate para la comunidad de autismo de Kansas, los detalles del proyecto de ley se quedan cortos en crear una verdadera reforma de seguro de autismo para todas las familias afectadas.
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Autism Insurance Update |
Submitted by Michael L. Wasmer, DVM
 On April 19, Governor Parkinson signed HB 2160 into law, making Kansas the 18th state to enact legislation requiring health insurance to cover the diagnosis and treatment of autism. While this is a very significant first step for the autism community of Kansas, the details of the bill fall short of what is necessary to create real autism insurance reform for all affected families.
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Health Care Reform: Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs |
 Now that the intensity of the debate has calmed, and legislation has been passed, you have probably heard that health care is going to be reformed, one way or another. Do you understand what that means for you and your family? Is it true that insurance companies are prohibited from excluding coverage to children based on pre-existing conditions? Yes. Do parents really have the option of keeping adult children on their insurance plans until age 26? Yes. Will it be illegal for insurance companies to drop people from coverage when they get sick? Yes, again!
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| Family Story: Rolling with the Tide |
by Kristina McCollum
Lola  Rosalie Shea was born a little over 3 years ago, 3 very long minutes after I passed through the hospital doors. Now that I've had some time to get to know her, I can see the true humor in her arrival (and now that enough time has gone by since I nearly gave birth on Ward Parkway in our '96, dog-hauling, teal green Isuzu Rodeo). That very day in December, 3 weeks before her Christmas day due date, Lola's daddy & his Pop-Pop painted her bedroom bright pink. In true Lola style she read this as a clear indication that we were ready; let's go! As a 3 ½ year old this now manifests itself every morning as Lola takes her time to wake up, but once she's awake it's time to get dressed and get a move on. It's a quality in her that I admire, one that I lack-I have no problem spending the day at home in my pajamas.
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Kansas Emergency Services for Children |
Submitted by Phyllis Laramore
Kansas Emergency Services for Children's (EMSC) interest is to invite/recruit families who are being served by our emergency medical responders in collaborative relationships between health care professionals and families, that uses those relationships to assist in providing quality EMS care and promoting overall community health and safety. It acknowledges and uses the family's knowledge of their family member's condition and their skills in communicating with and caring for their family member. It emphasizes the importance of keeping family members informed about their loved one's condition, prognosis, and treatment. Family-centered care encourages family presence during procedures and the inclusion of family representatives on committees and advisory councils designed to guide health care organizations and create public policy. Family centered Pre-hospital Care embraces family-centered care principles during on scene treatment, transport, and transition of care to in-hospital health care providers.
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