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Is Your Child Up to Date?
Attention parents: New Maryland school entry vaccine requirements for 7th graders starting in August 2014.
- Menningococcal
- Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis/whooping cough)
Visit with your child's healthcare provider to find out. Your child's school will need proof of his/her vaccines to attend school on time.
For more information, download a chart here that describes the requirements.
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Montgomery County Schools New Guidelines for Teaching Homebound Students
Montgomery County Public Schools is trying to improve its program for instructing students who can't get to school for physical, emotional or disciplinary reasons. School officials say the current approach is outdated and insufficient.
Plans for changes to the Interim Instructional Services program include personalized learning plans, various ways for students to take part in lessons, and a focus on students' social and emotional well-being, said Ursula Hermann who was director of the school system's department of student services before her recent retirement.
The program - formerly called Home and Hospital Teaching - serves about 800 students each school year who are out of the classroom for varying amounts of time, ranging from around four weeks to the majority of the school year.
Data from 2013-14 shows that most students who needed instruction through the program - about 336 - had a physical or medical condition. About 244 students were out of school due to emotional needs, about 142 due to disciplinary reasons and about 72 due to pregnancy. You can read the complete Gazette article here.
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Family Voices Announce 1 in 5 Campaign
Family Voices has embarked on a new national campaign to highlight that one in five families with children has at least one child with special health care needs. The goal is to help state and federal legislators understand the needs of these families. Many are not fully aware of the stress families experience trying to meet the needs of their child in a maze of multiple and complex systems of care.
Every day, Family Voices is making a difference in the lives of these families. If you want more information on how you can be part of this growing organization and have an impact on One in Five families, go to www.familyvoices.org. Order your 1 in 5 buttons today. |
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National Down Syndrome Society Offers Series of Videos
The National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) offers a series of videos highlighting the abilities and accomplishments of children and adults with Down Syndrome. Milestones is a series of videos featuring four families of children with Down Syndrome. Dreams features people with Down Syndrome of all ages talking about their aspirations. The videos are available free to download or view on line at the NDSS website.
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People with Disabilities Paid Less Than Minimum Wage
At a noisy warehouse off Veterans Highway in Millersville, a young woman concentrates as she pokes black shoelaces into cardboard packaging. In another room, workers slowly count tiny bottles of hair products, placing them in plastic bags that will end up as samples in salons.
To some, these workers with developmental disabilities are getting valuable on-the-job-training and the self respect that comes with employment. Others say they're being exploited because wages in the facility, run by a nonprofit, are as low as 25 cents an hour.
A nearly 80-year-old exemption in the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act allows employers across the country to pay so-called "subminimum" wages to hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities. In Maryland, some disabled workers have been paid as little as a penny an hour in recent years, according to documents obtained by The Baltimore Sun through public-information laws. Find out more by reading the entire article here. |
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Maryland Student with Autism is Class Valedictorian
Montel Medley, a 17-year-old with autism recently graduated from Surrattsville High School in Clinton, Maryland, with a 4.0 GPA and as his class valedictorian. Montel, during his valedictorian speech, discussed some of the challenges he dealt with growing up including being nonverbal until he was 3 years-old. Montel will be attending Towson University. Read more about Montel here.
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Upcoming Events
July 26 -31, 2014
Annual Conference on Independent Living
Washington, DC
July 29 - 30, 2014
National Training Seminar
Military Child Education Coalition
Washington, DC
August 8, 2014
7:00am - 4:00pm
Pikesville, MD
Save the Date:
Southern Maryland Buddy Walk
October 5, 2014
Run Walk Roll Against Bullying
Sunday October 26, 2014
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Workshops
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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Americans with Disabilities Act Anniversary July 26
The Southeast ADA Center has released the latest version of its ADA Anniversary Tool Kit. Updated for the 24th anniversary, the Tool Kit includes a sample proclamation, background and history of the ADA, statistics, case law updates, social media tips, and much more. The entire Tool Kit may be used free of charge and customized for multiple channels and audiences.
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Five Ways to Lower Prescription Drug Prices
With prescription drug prices continuing to rise, people are looking for ways to lower the cost and save money. In addition to contacting drug manufacturers and joining membership clubs, Clark Howard has a list of five ways to lower prescription drug costs. Read his article on his website here.
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Every Milestone is Major
"Child will ride independently in bumper cars," said no child development book ever. It's another one of those things that parents of typically developing kids wouldn't think twice about, a child zooming around in a bumper car. But when Max did it for the first time last year, it was a big deal. And it was just as much of a thrill watching him do it again when we were on vacation last week and browsing through the photos last night.
That's the thing about milestones and the "inchstones": You don't stop savoring them.
Read Ellen Seidman's blog here.
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