A Note from the Director
We're becoming increasingly concerned about the number of phone calls we're receiving from parents whose children with disabilities are victims of bullying at school and in their neighborhoods.
What's it going to take to stop bullying? Each and everyone of us has to become engaged in bullying prevention. During the rest of the year, we will feature stories, websites, or resources that promote bullying prevention.
In preparation for National Bullying Prevention Month in October, we'll also be conducting community events every month throughout Maryland. In October, get your running or walking shoes on and join us for a 5k Run, Walk, 'n Roll Against Bullying at Western Regional Park. We'll post more information as we get closer to the event.
Won't you join us in stopping bullying now? If you feel passionate about this cause and want to help us, send an email to Val Englert at val@ppmd.org. We have lots of events planned and have many opportunities for you to help.
Josie Thomas Executive Director |
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Parenting a Child with a Disability
Womenshealth.gov is a website sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services devoted to womens health. Within this website, you can find information on raising a child with a disability. The site offers many resources and would be especially useful for a parent of a child who is newly diagnosed. Along with this is girlshealth.gov site for girls and young women with disabilities can read about how to live with their disabilities and famous people who also had disabilities.
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Free Service Helps Families Prepare for 911 Emergencies
 | | Smart911 Overview |
Smart 911is a free service that allows citizens across the U.S. to create a Safety Profile for their household that includes any information they want 9-1-1 to have in the event of an emergency. Then, when anyone in that household dials 9-1-1 from a phone associated with their Safety Profile, their profile is immediately displayed to the 9-1-1 call taker providing additional information that can be used to facilitate the proper response to the proper location. At a time when seconds count, being about to provide 9-1-1 with all details that could impact response the second an emergency call is placed could be th e difference between life and death.
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Abilities Network Child Care Inclusion Project for Children with Autism
The Autism Inclusion Project supports children (birth to age 12) who are being evaluated for or have a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, and who are attending child care or out of school time programs in Baltimore County or Baltimore City. Children may be referred for free supportive services by their child care program, parent, or guardian.
With parent permission, an Inclusion Specialists will design an individual support plan and work with program staff to help support and fully include children with an autism diagnosis in their child care setting. Abilities Network offers many resources for families of children with disabilities. Visit their website to find out more.
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U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Data on Schools and Students with Disabilities
The U.S. Department of Education [ED] conducts the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), formerly the Elementary and Secondary School Survey (E&S Survey), to collect data on key education and civil rights issues in our nation's public schools.
The CRDC collects a variety of information including, student enrollment and educational programs and services, disaggregated by race/ethnicity, sex, limited English proficiency and disability.
On this site you can access information on your school district and school regarding the percentage of students with disabilities, suspensions, expulsions, college and career readiness and more.
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Common Core Test Draft Accommodations Are Ready for Review and Open for Comment
The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for Colleges and Careers, which had released pieces of its proposed accommodations policy for students with disabilities, has now put out a full draft of its accommodations manual for public comment.
The draft PARCC Accommodations Manual is a comprehensive policy document that will support local educators in the selection, administration and evaluation of accommodations for the assessment of students with disabilities and English learners on the PARCC End-of-Year, Performance-Based and optional Mid-Year assessment components. The release of the manual is an important step in meeting PARCC's commitment to accessibility for all students, especially students with disabilities (SWD) and English learners (EL).
To review the draft manual and find out more about PARCC you can visit their full website.
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Save These Dates!
May 11, 2013
1:00pm - 4:00pm
Rockville, MD
May 11, 2013
10:00am - 4:00pm
California, MD
May 17 & 18, 2013
9:00am - 4:00pm
Timonium, MD
May 18, 2013
Community Epilepsy Forum
9:00am - 12:00pm
Baltimore, MD
May 28
Assistive Technology Fair
The Arc Baltimore at Seton
6151 Metro Drive
Baltimore, MD 21215
Morning session: 10am-12pm
Evening session: 6pm-8pm
There are a lot of new workshops and training events on our calendar! Be sure to check the PPMD online calendar for time, location, and registration information for these and many other training opportunities. www.calendarwiz.com/ppmd
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Camps for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children
Deaf Camps, Inc. is a volunteer-run, non profit organization dedicated to providing fun, safe, communication-rich camps that promote the development of Deaf/hard of hearing children learning American Sign Language. Several camp options are available this summer for ages 8-18. Scholarships are available.
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SECAC Donates Books to Library
The Queen Anne's County Special Education Citizens Advisory Committee has donated books on a variety of topics of interest to families of children with disabilities to the public library. To view the titles available and how to borrow them read this article from The Bay Times.
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ARC Baltimore Summer Camp Guide
The ARC Baltimore has released its 2013 Camp and Vacation Opportunities for Children and Adults with Special Needs. The complete guide is available on line and includes opportunities throughout central Maryland. Download your free copy here. |
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